1970 O-Pee-Chee Dick Wesolowski #23 Hamilton Tiger-Cats EX 5

Description

1970 O-Pee-Chee Dick Wesolowski #23 Hamilton Tiger-Cats EX 5 Power football fans will love the look of this 1970 O-Pee-Chee Dick Wesolowski #23 Hamilton Tiger-Cats EX 5 newly available at Alex Collect. The front depicts the young Hamilton fullback in his number 27 jersey cradling a football under his left arm, photographed against a deep blue evening sky that makes the black and gold uniform glow. His name and Hamilton Tiger-Cats Fullback designation sit neatly above the Tiger-Cats crest, creating a balanced vintage layout that displays wonderfully. Wesolowski was part of the next wave of Canadian talent joining an established contender, and his cards have quietly gained popularity as collectors revisit the early 1970s Tiger-Cats era. Historically, the 1970 O-Pee-Chee CFL set captures a fascinating transition period for the league. The 115 card checklist blends aging legends with emerging National stars, all presented on classic white stock fronts with colorful action ready portraits and backed by the famous black and green bilingual design. This is a Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back with English and French text and a green cartoon panel, not a puzzle back, confirming its status as a true Canadian print with PRINTED IN CANADA on the reverse. The Tiger-Cats pages of the album are especially evocative because Hamilton finished first in the East in 1970 and was building toward the storybook 1972 Grey Cup triumph at Ivor Wynne Stadium. Cards like this preserve the optimism of that climb and connect directly to one of the franchises most celebrated chapters. Wesolowski's personal story resonates with Ontario collectors in particular. Born December 5, 1945 in Hamilton, Ontario, the 6 foot 1 inch 210 pound back played college football at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before returning home to suit up for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 1969 to 1972. Listed as a National who could line up at halfback, running back or fullback, he contributed to the rushing rotation on the 1970 team alongside Dave Fleming and Ed Buchanan, then led the club with 332 rushing yards in 1971. His greatest team success came in 1972 when Hamilton captured the Grey Cup, giving the hometown product a championship ring with his hometown club. The card back notes that the Ti-Cats were counting on him aggressively and praises his desire, a scouting report that proved accurate as he carved out a useful role. front centering is approximately 60/40 left to right and near 55/45 top to bottom with full borders and excellent registration, surface shows vibrant color with minimal print snow, corners display only light touches with tiny white tips, edges are clean with faint toning, back number 23 is bold and the bilingual text is crisp, black borders exhibit light edge chipping with a few pinpoint white specks along the perimeter but retain deep color, green cartoon box illustrating his high school award is bright and free of stains, no creases, wrinkles, dents or writing are apparent in the sheet images. The conservative grade estimate explanation justifies EX 5 because overall eye appeal is strong with only minor handling, positioning this as a premium raw example for team collectors and condition conscious set builders. Grade Estimate: EX 5