1970 O-Pee-Chee Joseph Poirier #38 Ottawa Rough Riders EX 4

Description

1970 O-Pee-Chee Joseph Poirier #38 Ottawa Rough Riders EX 4 Few defensive backs of the Canadian football golden age carried a nickname as fitting as The Fox, and this 1970 O-Pee-Chee Joseph Poirier #38 card captures the Ottawa Rough Riders interception specialist at the height of his powers. When the fog rolled off the Rideau River and settled into Lansdowne Park, opposing quarterbacks learned to check their coverage twice, because Poirier patrolled the defensive halfback slot with the quiet patience of a hunter and the sudden burst of a trap snapping shut. This listing offers collectors a genuine piece of that era, a raw ungraded example from the beloved 1970 O-Pee-Chee CFL release that remains one of the most affordable and character rich sets in Canadian cardboard history. The 1970 O-Pee-Chee CFL series was produced by the O-Pee-Chee Company of London, Ontario, as the Rough Riders entered the season reigning as back to back Grey Cup champions after their titles in 1968 and 1969. The set is famous for its dramatic dark photo backgrounds, the team logo layered into the corner of each image, and the clean cream borders that frame the player name in crisp red and black type. Equally important to collectors today, the reverse side reflects the bilingual spirit of the Official Languages Act era, pairing English and French text with a hand drawn cartoon panel that adds humour and personality to every card in the set. Joseph Poirier arrived from Loyola College in Montreal and quickly earned a reputation as a ball hawking defensive halfback who led the CFL in interceptions and claimed all-Canadian honours, achievements that the card back proudly recites in both official languages. Teammates and fans knew him as Twiggy, while the cartoon on the reverse immortalizes his other moniker with the caption Joe is known as The Fox, a charming piece of period illustration that collectors of vintage Canadian football adore. For anyone building an Ottawa dynasty set, a Rough Riders team collection, or a complete run of the 1970 O-Pee-Chee CFL issue, this 1970 O-Pee-Chee Joseph Poirier #38 card is a cornerstone addition that carries real on field credibility. the front cream borders show light to moderate corner softening with faint fraying at the tips and small white chipping flecks along the bottom and left edges, while centering sits close to even with a barely perceptible shift toward the right border. The photo retains decent gloss and colour with no creases, no wrinkles, and no writing, and the reverse shows moderate edge chipping along the top and right margins with rounded corners and minor scuffing on the dark ink field, typical of a card that was handled and loved rather than banked. This is a Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back with English and French text plus the cartoon panel, not a puzzle back variety. The conservative grade estimate of EX 4 reflects corner and edge wear plus reverse scuffing that place this card a clear step below EX-MT 6 and just under the EX 5 tier, while the bold image and complete gloss keep it display worthy for a raw collection. Priced for collectors who value authenticity over slab premiums, it ships within 24 hours in a fresh penny sleeve inside a rigid toploader with tracked delivery anywhere in Canada or the United States. Add this sharp piece of Ottawa defensive history to your cart today and own the fox of Lansdowne Park at an honest raw card price. Grade Estimate: EX 4