1971 O-Pee-Chee Henry Dorsch #95 Saskatchewan Roughriders CFL Football Card

Description

1971 O-Pee-Chee Henry Dorsch #95 Saskatchewan Roughriders CFL Football Card Fullbacks are often the unsung workhorses of a football team, absorbing contact and gaining tough yards long before the glamour players arrive on the scene. Henry Dorsch, number 16 in this 1971 O-Pee-Chee CFL portrait, was exactly that kind of player for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and this card preserves his image in the green and white of the Regina club. His full length pose, one knee down in the classic O-Pee-Chee football pose of the era, gives the card an immediate sense of presence. The card is a piece of the 1971 O-Pee-Chee CFL set, a 132 card issue organized by team across the nine clubs of the league, with the Saskatchewan block running through the 90s and 100s. The bright red border and white framed photograph on the front are the signature O-Pee-Chee design of the era, and the back is the classic Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back, with Dorsch's biography printed in both English and French beneath the O-Pee-Chee trademark and the printed in Canada line. There is no puzzle back on this card, because it is a Canadian O-Pee-Chee issue, and that bilingual layout is a mark of authenticity for collectors building CFL collections. According to the card back, Dorsch was a native of Weyburn, Saskatchewan, who played two seasons with the Regina Rams before receiving a U. S. football scholarship. He then spent three years at Tulsa University, where he was the regular fullback for the final two seasons. Listed at 5 foot 11 and 195 pounds, he came back to the Canadian game as an offensive fullback and defensive halfback for the Roughriders. The back's cartoon panel mentions that he works in the accounts department of a hospital, a nice detail showing the man behind the player. Fullbacks of the Dorsch mould were essential to the Saskatchewan attack of the era, which relied on a balanced ground game to complement the league's passing stars. the photos show light rounding at the upper right corner, modest edge wear along the bottom and right edges, and a faint surface mark near the lower edge of the portrait, with no chipping, no repair, and no writing visible on either side. The full length photograph is centred acceptably, estimated around 50/50, and the green jersey colours are bright against the red border. The sleeve reflection in the images is not a defect. With the corner wear and light surface mark factored in, I would conservatively estimate a VG-EX 4 raw grade, with the card sitting at the strong end of the range. Set builders hunting the 1971 O-Pee-Chee Henry Dorsch #95 Saskatchewan Roughriders CFL Football Card will find this a solid, honest example for completing the Riders block. Grade Estimate: VG-EX 4