1972 O-Pee-Chee Doug Strong #106 Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Description

1972 O-Pee-Chee Doug Strong #106 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Hometown players give vintage cards an extra layer of local romance, and Doug Strong's story as a Winnipeg-born Blue Bomber makes this single especially appealing to prairie collectors, so any search for a 1972 O-Pee-Chee Doug Strong #106 Winnipeg Blue Bombers card lands on one of the most genuinely Canadian narratives in the set. O-Pee-Chee of London, Ontario produced the 1972 CFL series as 132 cards across nine team blocks, and the Blue Bombers singles wear the bright yellow header band above portraits taken against outdoor greenery, here showing Strong in the royal blue jersey with white numeral 27 and gold sleeve striping. The horizontal blue-bordered reverse carries the green statistical box, the cartoon panel, and the parallel English and French text columns that define the Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back format. The back text records that Doug joined the Bombers in 1969 through the Canadian College Draft, that a year later he started at left corner back, and that he also saw time at offensive halfback and returns punts, a versatility profile that made him a valuable roster piece during Winnipeg's early-1970s campaigns. As a Manitoba native wearing the blue and gold, Strong embodied the local pipeline that Bombers fans cheered hardest, and his card anchors the defensive run of the Winnipeg team block where set builders concentrate their condition hunting. For collectors assembling the 1972 O-Pee-Chee CFL set by team, Strong's card is a required domestic single, and raw examples with clean bilingual backs and unscratched gloss remain accessible entry points into one of the most character-rich Canadian issues of the decade. corners show slight softening at the top left with faint whitening, edges carry minor chipping along the left border, and centering sits approximately 50/50 left to right and 60/40 top to bottom, leaving the photo slightly high within the yellow frame. The reverse presents somewhat deeper even toning on the tan stock than its sheet mates, yet remains free of stains, creases, wrinkles, or print marks, and the front gloss survives intact under the sleeve. The card is a Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back, not a puzzle back, with both language panels fully legible. Balancing the corner softening and toning against otherwise clean surfaces, a conservative raw grade of EX 5 is the fair market placement for this hometown single. Grade Estimate: EX 5