1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Player Crests Eddie Shack #17 Push-Out Insert Pittsburgh Penguins

Description

1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Player Crests Eddie Shack #17 Push-Out Insert Pittsburgh Penguins Few players in hockey history were loved the way Eddie Shack was loved, and this 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Player Crests Eddie Shack #17 Push-Out Insert Pittsburgh Penguins captures The Entertainer in all his wild-haired early seventies glory. Issued one per pack in 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee first series wax packs, the Player Crests set runs just 22 cards, each styled as a die-cut NHL shield framed in black and red against a striking silver foil-look background, with bilingual English and French push-out instructions printed across the top. Shack was a four-time Stanley Cup champion with the Toronto Maple Leafs dynasty of the 1960s and the inspiration for the novelty song Clear the Track, Here Comes Shack, which famously hit number one on Canadian charts in 1966. By the time this crest was printed he was delighting crowds in Pittsburgh, one of six NHL stops in a career built equally on goals, hits and pure showmanship. His popularity with Canadian collectors has never faded, and his cards from this era consistently outperform common players from the same sets. This is a genuine Canadian O-Pee-Chee issue, and note that the bilingual text appears on the front of the card while the reverse is an intentionally blank tan cardboard back showing the embossed outline of the die-cut shield; it is not a printed bilingual back or puzzle back, which is correct and original for this insert series. Crucially, the push-out crest on this example has never been removed, with the die-cut perforations fully intact, the single most important factor in valuing this fragile set. the silver front displays clean with strong black and red borders and a bright portrait, light touches of wear at all four corners, a hint of edge rub along the right side, centering slightly low with the card number sitting close to the bottom margin, and no creases, wrinkles or surface marks detected under close review; the blank back shows even vintage toning with a crisp embossed shield outline and no stains or writing. We assign a deliberately conservative grade because die-cut silver stock from this set almost always reveals minor silvering loss under magnification, and buyers should expect an honest excellent to excellent-mint example that presents beautifully raw or in a one-touch holder. A must for Shack collectors, Penguins team builders and anyone chasing this short, charming 22-card insert set. Grade Estimate: EX-MT 6