1970 O-Pee-Chee Ron Stewart #37 Ottawa Rough Riders EX 5

Description

1970 O-Pee-Chee Ron Stewart #37 Ottawa Rough Riders EX 5 The Canadian Football League's highest individual honours found a home in the trophy case of a running back whose greatest gift was making everyone around him better, and this 1970 O-Pee-Chee Ron Stewart #37 card commemorates that peak for the Ottawa Rough Riders workhorse known to fans everywhere as Stewie. Stewart collected the Jeff Russell Trophy as the eastern standout and the Canadian Schenley Award as the league's Most Outstanding Player, and his own card back crowns him the best blocking back in the CFL, a description that teammates who ran behind him never disputed. The 1970 O-Pee-Chee CFL set places Stewart in motion against the dark bowl of an empty stadium, number 11 visible on his jersey as he cuts across the grass, with the orange charging Rough Rider logo anchoring the photo corner and the cream border carrying his name in the set's crisp red and black type. Issued while Ottawa rode the momentum of Grey Cup championships in 1968 and 1969, the set stands as a contemporaneous tribute to a dynasty roster. The reverse is the Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back with parallel English and French text and a cartoon panel, and it is not a puzzle back variety, which keeps it correct for collectors assembling the standard bilingual set. The cartoon on the reverse adds a slice of period pop culture by declaring Ron is a lawyer and a bachelor, a wink at his off field identity that made Stewart one of the most recognizable personalities in Ottawa sport during the championship years and the award laden campaigns that followed. His Queens University roots round out a biography that reads like a classic Canadian football story book page. For buyers targeting the 1970 O-Pee-Chee Ron Stewart #37 as a star card, a Most Outstanding Player representative, or the key to an Ottawa team set, this raw example delivers strong eye appeal at a raw card price. the front borders stay clean and bright with light corner softening, small chipping flecks at the top right border, and centering that leans slightly left leaving a marginally wider right margin. The photo retains respectable gloss for the dark stock with only faint handling sheen and no creases, no wrinkles, and no marks, while the reverse shows moderate edge chipping along the borders, softened corner tips, and light scuffing across the black ink with the green cartoon panel remaining vivid and complete. The conservative grade of EX 5 reflects the edge and corner wear that separates it from EX-MT 6 while the bold image and solid borders keep it an attractive raw star card for display or album placement. Ships sleeved and toploaded within one business day with tracked shipping and combined order discounts. Grade Estimate: EX 5