1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Dean Prentice #289 High Number Minnesota North Stars

Description

1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Dean Prentice #289 High Number Minnesota North Stars Only a handful of players had ever reached twenty NHL seasons when this 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Dean Prentice #289 High Number Minnesota North Stars card was printed, and the back of the card makes a point of celebrating that rare longevity. As card #289, this is part of the O-Pee-Chee exclusive high number run that Topps never produced, making it available only through the Canadian release and a tougher card for collectors to locate in clean shape. The front presents a smiling portrait of Prentice in the white North Stars sweater set against the vivid red background, framed by the black vertical team lettering, yellow nameplate, and green N logo. Dean Prentice, born in Schumacher, Ontario, broke into the NHL with the New York Rangers in 1952 and went on to play 22 seasons for the Rangers, Bruins, Red Wings, Penguins, and North Stars. He was a Second Team All-Star in 1960 after a 32 goal season, scored more than 390 career goals, and remains one of the most productive players never inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. His final two seasons in Minnesota were remarkably productive for a player in his forties, and he was among the top goal scorers in the history of the league at the time of his retirement in 1974. The reverse is the Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back with English and French biographies noting his chance to move into the top ten all-time in goal scoring, a career record table beginning in 1952-53, and a cartoon celebrating his twenty seasons in the NHL. The front displays clean color and gloss with no creases or wrinkles visible. Centering is nicely balanced left to right and only slightly high top to bottom. Corners show light to moderate softening, with the lower right showing the most wear and the top corners holding up comparatively well. The edges are clean with no significant chipping into the tan border. The back shows even toning with sharp printing, no marks, and no staining. Weighing the corner wear against the otherwise strong appearance, a conservative raw grade of EX 5 is reasonable. This card is a must for collectors who appreciate NHL ironmen, Original Six era veterans, and O-Pee-Chee high numbers. Ships in a protective sleeve and rigid top loader from Alex Collect in Orangeville, Ontario. Grade Estimate: EX 5