1971-72 O-Pee-Chee Dave Dryden #159 Buffalo Sabres

Description

1971-72 O-Pee-Chee Dave Dryden #159 Buffalo Sabres Secure a classic piece of early Buffalo Sabres history with this vintage 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee Dave Dryden single cardboard card. Dave Dryden, an exceptionally technically sound goaltender, carved out his own distinct legacy in the National Hockey League separate from his Hall of Fame brother, Ken Dryden. Notably, Dave Dryden is forever immortalized in professional hockey lore for sharing the ice during a historic sibling goaltending matchup, and he was also an absolute pioneer as the very first professional netminder to introduce the fiberglass mask and cage combination design that laid the foundational blueprint for modern goalie protective equipment today. This card captures him during his tenure with the emerging Buffalo Sabres expansion franchise, making it a crucial addition for any specialized team set builder, player collector, or vintage hockey enthusiast. The card back features the distinctive Canadian O-Pee-Chee branding with comprehensive bilingual French and English text elements, complete with a bright green cartoon illustration header summarizing his career accomplishments and a full statistical breakdown. Looking closely at the condition of this specific card, the front shows decent centering that is slightly biased toward the top-right border. The edges exhibit mild, uniform chipping characteristic of the classic mid-century O-Pee-Chee paper stock cutting wires, while the corners display light softening and moderate wear that prevents a higher mint grade. The reverse side remains relatively clean with excellent color saturation, showing minor surface toning and standard wear along the outer perimeter lines but completely lacking any major programmatic flaws like pinholes or heavy creases. Grade Estimate: VG-EX 4