1971 O-Pee-Chee Claude Osteen #10 All-Star Los Angeles Dodgers

Description

1971 O-Pee-Chee Claude Osteen #10 All-Star Los Angeles Dodgers Low-numbered cards have always anchored a set, and this 1971 O-Pee-Chee Claude Osteen #10 does so with the quiet authority of a three-time All-Star left-hander crouched in his fielding pose on the Dodger grass. Because O-Pee-Chee followed the Topps numbering exactly in 1971, the coveted single-digit and low-double-digit slots are just as challenging to find in Canadian form, and this bilingual example carries the yellow and black reverse with French and English statistics plus the Printed in Canada declaration that separates it from the American printing. The 1971 O-Pee-Chee run of 752 cards was produced in smaller volume than Topps and cut less cleanly, so low numbers with intact black borders are genuinely scarce in the higher grades. Osteen arrived in Los Angeles ahead of the 1965 campaign and became a rotation cornerstone, helping deliver the 1965 World Series title and earning All-Star honors in 1967, 1970 and 1973 while piling up victories for Dodger clubs that bridged the dry years between championships. He later parlayed that baseball intellect into a long coaching career, which keeps his name familiar to fans well beyond his playing days. the front shows a light rub across the top black border, gentle corner wear concentrated at bottom left, and centering that sits slightly high on the vertical axis while remaining acceptable horizontally. The image itself is bright with strong contrast in the cap and jersey, the facsimile signature is crisp, and the reverse displays clean yellow stock with even margins and no staining, creases or wrinkles. Weighing the border rub and corner wear against the excellent surfaces and solid centering, a conservative raw caller lands on solid Excellent rather than reaching for Excellent-Mint. Set builders who need a presentable low number for an OPC run will appreciate the eye appeal and honest grading behind this 1971 O-Pee-Chee Claude Osteen #10. Grade Estimate: EX 5