1970 O-Pee-Chee Granville Liggins #96 UPI National College Lineman of the Year Calgary Stampeders VG 3

Description

1970 O-Pee-Chee Granville Liggins #96 UPI National College Lineman of the Year Calgary Stampeders VG 3 A second running-portrait example of the beloved Granny Liggins, this 1970 O-Pee-Chee Granville Liggins #96 offers set builders an affordable path to completing the Calgary Stampeders portion of the classic 1970 O-Pee-Chee CFL series. Liggins bears down on the camera with number 51 stretched across his red jersey and the McMahon Stadium bowl rising behind him, while the riding horse logo and white name plate below identify him as a defensive lineman. Collectors who need a 1970 O-Pee-Chee Granville Liggins #96 for a team set will find this copy honest, displayable and priced to leave room for the higher-grade stars of the sheet. The 1970 series from O-Pee-Chee of London, Ontario is defined by its black backs, lime green cartoon panels and bilingual English and French text, and this card carries a Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back, not a puzzle back. The bio celebrates Liggins as the UPI National College Lineman of the Year, an honor earned during his All-American campaign at Oklahoma in 1967, and notes that Granny could play anywhere along the defensive line, which is exactly what he did after spurning the Detroit Lions' 1968 draft selection to sign in Calgary. Beside John Helton and Wayne Harris he formed the interior of the defense that led the CFL in fewest points allowed in 1971 and closed the season by beating Toronto 14-11 in the 59th Grey Cup. Liggins's story is one of the most colorful in the set, a Canadian-American border story in which an Oklahoma folk hero became a prairie defensive legend and carried his nickname and his wisdom through a long life in the game. For collectors his running pose is prized because it captures the raw urgency of line play, cleats digging into the McMahon Stadium turf with the empty concrete bowl and light towers framing the action. Duplicate copies at a lower grade serve an important purpose in the hobby because they let new collectors experience a black-back O-Pee-Chee card in hand, learning the issue's condition sensitivities before investing in premium examples. the front retains decent gloss but shows light corner wear at the top left tip and a touch of dulling along the white borders, with centering drifting slightly left at approximately 60/40. The reverse is where this copy earns its conservative grade because the black background exposes extensive edge chipping and fraying around much of the perimeter, particularly along the left border as viewed, together with scattered scuffing across the dark field and rough but complete corners. No creases, writing or stains are visible and the card remains structurally sound with no bends. The estimate below prices this example as an honest mid-grade collector copy whose front eye appeal outruns its worn back. Grade Estimate: VG 3