SOLD 1970 O-Pee-Chee Ken Lehmann #44 Ottawa Rough Riders EX 5

Description

1970 O-Pee-Chee Ken Lehmann #44 Ottawa Rough Riders EX 5 Before flashy celebrations and satellite highlights, Canadian football produced linebackers who became folk heroes purely through punishment, and this 1970 O-Pee-Chee Ken Lehmann #44 card honours one of the most feared tacklers ever to line up at Lansdowne Park. The card back calls him a real bone crushing and vicious tackler, and that description was earned one swollen jaw at a time over a career in which Lehmann copped every major lineman award in the CFL, capped by the Canadian football Most Outstanding Player honour in 1968, a rarity for a defensive player that still gets mentioned in league lore today. Ottawa Rough Riders fans of the era remember Lehmann as the emotional core of the Grey Cup championship teams of 1968 and 1969, squads that defined a dynasty in the nation's capital and made the 1970 O-Pee-Chee CFL release a snapshot of a reigning champion roster. The set frames him in the classic style collectors love, with a dark studio backdrop, the charging Rough Rider logo layered over the lower corner of the photo, and a cream border carrying his name in bold red and black lettering. The reverse is a true Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back, printed in English and French with a whimsical cartoon panel, and it is not a puzzle back variety, which matters to set builders tracking the correct reverse type. Beyond the field, Lehmann crossed into local pop culture through his second career in broadcasting, celebrated right on this card by the cartoon caption Ken works for a radio station, a detail that makes the reverse as conversation worthy as the front. His Xavier University roots and his reputation as the quarterback of the defensive huddle add depth to a card that functions as a miniature biography. Collectors chasing the 1970 O-Pee-Chee Ken Lehmann #44 as a star card, a team set key, or a Most Outstanding Player representative will find this raw example an inviting target. the front shows square corners with only slight dulling at the tips, minor edge chipping confined to the left border, and well balanced centering with even margins on all four sides. The photo surface carries a faint handling line visible only under direct light but no creases, no wrinkles, and no stains, while the reverse displays moderate edge chipping at the top and bottom with light corner wear and gentle scuffing across the black ink, consistent with decades of careful album storage. Centering on the reverse remains tight with the green number oval fully framed. A conservative raw grade of EX 5 is assigned because the edge chipping and corner dulling preclude EX-MT 6, yet the gloss, registration, and overall eye appeal remain strong for a card more than fifty years old. It ships sleeved and toploaded with tracked shipping, and combined orders save on postage for collectors completing the Ottawa run. Own the linebacker who won the league's highest individual honour from the defensive side of the ball. Grade Estimate: EX 5