1972 O-Pee-Chee CFL Al Marcelin #69 Base Set Ottawa Rough Riders CFL

Description

1972 O-Pee-Chee CFL Al Marcelin #69 Base Set Ottawa Rough Riders CFL Few card backs in the 1972 O-Pee-Chee CFL set pay a compliment as handsomely as the one on this Al Marcelin #69 Base Set Ottawa Rough Riders CFL card, which announces that he was as fine a two way back as anybody in Canada and that his value on defence practically created an obligation to keep him there. The front captures Marcelin in the dark Ottawa jersey with orange and white sleeve trim, number 31 across his chest, framed by the deep red ROUGH RIDERS border that gives the Ottawa block its unmistakable look. The reverse is the classic Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back, printed in blue and green ink on grey cardboard stock with his story told in both French and English, confirming it as a genuine Canadian bilingual back and not a puzzle back. The back lists him at six foot one and 190 pounds, identifies him as an import from Parsons College, and reports that he made All Canadian in his first year while excelling on offence as well, with a cartoon football player captioned to describe a man who does both jobs. Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa was a small private school with a famously aggressive football recruiting machine that closed its doors in 1973, one year after this card was printed, which means the school named on the reverse no longer exists and has not existed for more than half a century. Marcelin played his football in Ottawa during the Rough Riders dynasty years, arriving on a club that captured Grey Cups in 1968, 1969 and 1973, and he lined up alongside the ferocious group of defenders that the capital's fans and writers christened Capital Punishment. In an era when the CFL still prized the rare athlete who could stay on the field for both offence and defence, a player like Marcelin was a coach's dream, and the fact that his card is numbered 69 within the Ottawa block of the 132 card set, which also included 14 Pro Action cards and a checklist at 132, makes it a tidy piece of the very last CFL football set O-Pee-Chee would ever produce for the Canadian market. corners are strong and square with only the faintest touch of handling at the extreme tips, and there is a faint printer's line running through the dark right portion of the photograph, along with a couple of tiny surface specks in the black background area. Centering is close to 50/50 with the image sitting nearly dead centre in the red frame, and the reverse is clean and well centred with light cream toning in the stock and no writing, staining or creasing on either side. A conservative grade assessment places this card at the EX-MT 6 level. The faint printer's line and the tiny specks in the dark photo are minor production and surface quirks rather than damage, and with sharp corners, clean edges, strong centering and an unmarked reverse, this card presents very well for its grade and would satisfy any collector building the Ottawa team block. Grade Estimate: EX-MT 6