1971 O-Pee-Chee A.D. Whitfield #35 BC Lions Vintage CFL Football Card

Description

1971 O-Pee-Chee A.D. Whitfield #35 BC Lions Vintage CFL Football Card Step back into the golden era of Canadian football with this vintage 1971 O-Pee-Chee CFL card featuring A. D. Whitfield of the British Columbia Lions. Released as part of the iconic 132-card 1971 O-Pee-Chee Canadian Football League set, this card showcases the bruising running back who brought his NFL experience north of the border for the 1970 season. Whitfield played his college ball at the University of North Texas before signing as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys in 1965. He went on to spend four seasons with the Washington Redskins from 1966 through 1969, leading the team in rushing in both 1966 with 472 yards and 1967 with 384 yards. His finest NFL moment came in the legendary 72 to 41 shootout against the New York Giants on November 27, 1966, still the highest scoring game in league history, where Whitfield scored two rushing touchdowns and added a receiving touchdown. The colorful cartoon on the back of this card highlights the fact that Whitfield played under the legendary Vince Lombardi, who coached the Redskins in Whitfield's final NFL season of 1969. After joining the BC Lions in 1970, Whitfield proved he still had plenty left in the tank, finishing second on the team with 754 yards rushing in a single CFL campaign. He would later spend time with the Denver Broncos in 1971 and the Florida Blazers of the World Football League in 1974. This card features the classic bright red border design that makes the 1971 O-Pee-Chee set instantly recognizable to vintage football collectors, along with the BC Lions team logo and position designation of Running Back. The back is a genuine Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back, printed in both English and French with the O-Pee-Chee copyright line and Printed in Canada attribution, and it is not a puzzle back. The playful cartoon illustration shows a football character holding a sign that reads Famous Coach Vince Lombardi, a charming nod to Whitfield's NFL pedigree. The card displays corner softness most evident at the bottom right tip, with minor rounding at the remaining corners and light edge chipping along the red borders consistent with five decades of handling. The image area remains clean and vibrant with strong color registration, and the centering is slightly shifted toward the left side. No creases, wrinkles, or surface stains are visible on either the front or back, and the bilingual text on the reverse remains sharp and fully legible. Given the visible corner wear and edge handling but absence of any structural damage, a conservative raw grade estimate of VG-EX 4 is appropriate. The red borders common to this set naturally show wear more readily than darker borders, which has been factored into this assessment. Grade Estimate: VG-EX 4