1973-74 O-Pee-Chee Bob Berry #175 Los Angeles Kings Dark Back

Description

1973-74 O-Pee-Chee Bob Berry #175 Los Angeles Kings Dark BackThe 1972-73 season was the best of Bob Berry's career and the 1973-74 O-Pee-Chee set was lucky enough to capture it, which makes this dark back copy of card 175 a nice sleeper for Kings collectors. Berry was a Montreal born left winger who did not reach the NHL until 1970-71 with Los Angeles, and he made the wait worth it by posting 63 points as a rookie, finishing nine points back of Calder winner Gil Perreault in a race that was closer than the totals suggest. Two seasons later he exploded for a career high 36 goals and 64 points in 78 games, exactly the numbers printed on the reverse of this card, and his reward was a place on the NHL All-Star team in 1973 and again in 1974. He was part of the 1974-75 Kings club that set a franchise record with 105 points, and he later became a well travelled NHL head coach behind the benches in Los Angeles, Montreal, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and San Jose, which gives his playing cards a second act that collectors appreciate. The dark back printing here is the scarcer of the two 1973-74 O-Pee-Chee back varieties, the deep brown stock prone to visible edge wear, and this copy survived with its colour intact. The front presents him in the gold Kings sweater with the crown crest and number 20 on the sleeve, the green border framing him cleanly, while the reverse carries the bilingual English and French 1972-73 season record, 78 games, 36 goals, 28 assists, 64 points and 75 penalty minutes, plus the printed in Canada mark. there is white fuzzing along the bottom edge, a small pink speck in the background near the shoulder, a tiny blue print dot to the left of the B in BERRY on the nameplate, and a light scuff near the left glove and elbow. Corners are clean and centering is strong. With no creases, the card grades a conservative EX 5.Grade Estimate: EX 5