SOLD 1970 O-Pee-Chee Ted Collins #72 Winnipeg Blue Bombers EX 5

Description

1970 O-Pee-Chee Ted Collins #72 Winnipeg Blue Bombers EX 5 Meet the brains and brawn of the Blue Bombers front with this outstanding 1970 O-Pee-Chee Ted Collins #72 Winnipeg Blue Bombers EX 5 card, highlighting one of the most interesting men to ever suit up in Winnipeg, a Canadian tackle who excelled on both sides of the ball while also shaping young minds off the field. The 1970 O-Pee-Chee CFL set is a cornerstone of Canadian football collecting because it combines the visual punch of large color player photography with the unmistakable Canadian identity of its reverse, a full bilingual English and French biography on jet black stock topped by the card number in a green oval and anchored by the lime green cartoon box that delivers a memorable anecdote, a formula that was printed in Canada and distributed for a single season with only 115 subjects, making complete sets a true achievement and single cards prized for their scarcity relative to American issues. Ted Collins stands out in that checklist as a true student athlete success story, a non import from the University of Detroit who measures six feet one inch and 260 pounds and who the card back notes plays offence and defence equally well but prefers the latter, and intriguingly lists his off season profession as High School teacher with the French text adding Professeur d ecole secondaire, a Canadian who chose to teach and to play, embodying the community rooted spirit of the CFL when many players held regular jobs in the winter months. The green cartoon reinforces that identity with the caption TED PREFERS THE DEFENSIVE and TED PREFERE LA DEFENSIVE alongside a lively illustration of Collins in action, a detail collectors adore. The front photograph captures Collins in the classic tackle three point stance wearing number 63 in his white jersey and gold pants, hand on the turf with Winnipeg Stadium behind him, an image that is pure early seventies CFL and that resonates with fans who remember when linemen were expected to play sixty minutes. This Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back is the definitive version for the purist and this 1970 O-Pee-Chee Ted Collins #72 Winnipeg Blue Bombers EX 5 card brings both historical depth and visual appeal to any collection. The front retains excellent gloss and strong color with centering at approximately 52/48 left to right and 55/45 top to bottom, corners show light uniform softening with the bottom left showing the most whitening but no sharp dings, edge chipping is minimal with only faint white speckling along the bottom edge, no creases, wrinkles or surface abrasions are visible, and the back displays clean black stock with only light corner blunting, the green cartoon box is bright and legible with crisp bilingual text noting his teaching career, supporting a conservative Excellent 5 grade that is attractive for display and set building. Grade Estimate: EX 5