1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Tony Esposito #226 1971-72 NHL All Star 1st Team Goalie Chicago Black Hawks

Description

1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Tony Esposito #226 1971-72 NHL All Star 1st Team Goalie Chicago Black Hawks Few goalies in the history of the game have transformed how the position is played and perceived the way Tony Esposito did, and this 1972 O-Pee-Chee Tony Esposito #226 captures the future Hall of Famer at the peak of his first All-Star season, commemorating his selection to the 1971-72 NHL First All-Star Team as the 1st Team Goalie. The front photo shows Esposito sprawled across the ice making a low save in his Chicago Black Hawks uniform, framed by the classic 1972 O-Pee-Chee tan border with the vertical 1971-72 NHL ALL STAR legend, the red TONY ESPOSITO name banner, and the white star badge reading 1st Team Goalie. The 1971-72 season was a milestone campaign for the franchise and for Esposito himself. The 6'4" Canadian, who had overcome a 1968 car accident that cost him most of the vision in one eye, led the NHL in goals against average, claimed his second consecutive Vezina Trophy, and helped Chicago finish with the best record in the league, earning the franchise its first Presidents' Trophy. Esposito went on to lead the league in goals against average for three straight seasons, became one of the first goalies in the modern era to earn First Team All-Star honors, and was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984, one of only a handful of goalies inducted while still an active player. As an early-career card of a future Hall of Famer from his prime All-Star season, this 1972 O-Pee-Chee Tony Esposito #226 is a cornerstone piece for 1972 O-Pee-Chee set builders, 1970s Chicago Black Hawks collectors, and anyone chasing early Esposito issues. The reverse is the Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back, printed in Canada, and not a US puzzle back. It carries the O. P. C. copyright, the NHL ALL-STARS header with its French subtitle, lists Esposito as a Black Hawks Goalie, and features a bilingual statistics table covering his seasons from 1968-69 through 1971-72 with English and French column headings for goals against average and related figures.