1969-70 O-Pee-Chee Gene Ubriaco #149 Rookie Card Oakland Seals EX 5

Description

1969-70 O-Pee-Chee Gene Ubriaco #149 Rookie Card Oakland Seals EX 5 Add a genuine Canadian rookie issue to your vintage hockey collection with the 1969-70 O-Pee-Chee Gene Ubriaco #149 Rookie Card Oakland Seals EX 5. The front features Ubriaco in the celebrated green, blue and silver colours of the Oakland Seals, leaning forward in a classic on-ice pose with his stick. The original Seals crest, oversized red team lettering, black skate illustration and red wing circle combine to create one of the era’s most distinctive hockey card designs. As Gene Ubriaco’s recognized rookie card, this issue represents the beginning of a hockey story that would eventually encompass NHL playing, coaching, management and broadcasting. Ubriaco developed in Ontario hockey before spending several seasons in professional minor leagues. He reached the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the franchise’s inaugural season and recorded a productive 1967-68 campaign before moving to Oakland. He later played for the Chicago Black Hawks and continued his career in the minors. His post-playing achievements add unusual depth to the card. Ubriaco became head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the late 1980s and later served as the inaugural head coach of the Chicago Wolves. He remained closely associated with the Wolves through executive and broadcasting work, becoming a familiar ambassador for the sport. The card therefore connects collectors with the Pittsburgh, Oakland, Chicago and minor league sides of his career. The reverse describes his move from Pittsburgh to Oakland and references his earlier play in Sudbury. It is an authentic Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back with both English and French text, a bilingual cartoon, Canadian printing identification and complete NHL statistics through 1968-69. It is not a puzzle back. This example appears stronger than the other Ubriaco card on the sheet, with generally square visual structure but moderate softness at all four corners. The lower corners show the clearest rounding, and the cream perimeter displays light toning, small flecks and intermittent edge chipping. Centering is slightly right-biased, leaving more border on the left, although the imbalance is not severe for the issue. The green uniform and red lettering retain attractive colour. Fine surface lines and minor print marks are visible in the scan, but some may originate from the protective sleeve rather than the cardboard. No obvious heavy crease or major wrinkle can be confirmed from either photograph. The reverse has corner softness, small edge abrasions and mild age discolouration but remains cleanly legible, with the blue and tan printing still strong. An EX 5 estimate is appropriately conservative because the card has solid overall eye appeal and no clearly visible major structural defect, yet its corner and edge wear prevent an EX-MT assessment. The grade is an informal photographic opinion for this ungraded card and does not guarantee the outcome of professional authentication or grading. Grade Estimate: EX 5