1970 O-Pee-Chee CFL #85 Ed McQuarters Hall of Fame Saskatchewan Roughriders EX-MT 6

Description

1970 O-Pee-Chee CFL #85 Ed McQuarters Hall of Fame Saskatchewan Roughriders EX-MT 6 Long before the green and white became one of the most recognizable colourways in Canadian sport, the 1970 O-Pee-Chee CFL set was capturing the Saskatchewan Roughriders at the tail end of their first golden age, and this listing is one of the true cornerstone cards in the entire 115 card issue. This is the 1970 O-Pee-Chee CFL #85 Ed McQuarters, a genuine Canadian Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle and one of the most decorated linemen the three down game has ever produced. McQuarters was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on April 16, 1943, starred at the University of Oklahoma, and was taken by the St. Louis Cardinals in the eighteenth round of the 1965 NFL draft. After one season south of the border he crossed into Regina and began a nine year run with the Roughriders that turned him into an institution. He arrived in time to help Saskatchewan capture the 1966 Grey Cup, the first championship in franchise history, a 29-14 victory over the Ottawa Rough Riders. From there the honours piled up fast. McQuarters was a CFL All-Star in 1967, 1968 and 1969, won the league's Most Outstanding Lineman Award in 1967, and took the Schenley Award as the CFL's top lineman in both 1968 and 1969, alongside two DeMarco-Becket Memorial Trophies. His playmaking reads like a highlight film, ten fumble recoveries, an 80 yard fumble return touchdown, an interception return touchdown and four blocked kicks. The most remarkable chapter came before the 1971 season, when McQuarters lost his left eye in a home workshop accident and still played effectively through 1974. The Canadian Football Hall of Fame inducted him in 1988 and the Roughriders added him to their Plaza of Honour the following year. measured from the scan, the card presents well-centered with balanced white borders on the front, light and even corner rounding, minor edge chipping consistent with raw 1970s card stock, and no creases or wrinkles visible in the scan. This is the Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back, printed in both English and French on a predominantly black reverse with white lettering and green accents, and it is not a puzzle back. The conservative EX-MT 6 grade reflects that strong centering and a clean unmarked reverse, with only the light corner and edge wear of a fifty-five year old raw card holding it back from a higher tier. For a Roughriders collector, a 1966 Grey Cup completionist, or a Canadian Football Hall of Fame set builder, this card sits near the very top of the 1970 checklist's desirability list. Grade Estimate: EX-MT 6