1971 O-Pee-Chee Herman Harrison #124 Calgary Stampeders CFL

Description

1971 O-Pee-Chee Herman Harrison #124 Calgary Stampeders CFL Collectors seeking one of the most popular Calgary Stampeders of the late 1960s should pay close attention to this 1971 O-Pee-Chee Herman Harrison card, number 124 in the vintage CFL series. Nicknamed Ham, Harrison is pictured in a white number 76 road jersey against a bright blue sky, football tucked under his arm, giving the card a classic action-portrait feel. The red O-Pee-Chee border and Stampeders mascot mark it as a core Calgary card from one of the most distinctive Canadian football issues of the period. On the bilingual back, O-Pee-Chee reports that Harrison was voted the team’s most popular player by fans in 1968 and finished second in the CFL in receiving in both 1968 and 1969 with 67 and 68 catches respectively. Those numbers are especially meaningful for an end in a three-down league where import receivers had little margin for error. The reverse also lists WFC All-Star selections in 1967, 1968, 1969 and 1970, plus All-Canadian recognition in 1968, 1969 and 1970, making Harrison more than a common name for set builders. His Arizona State background adds another layer of interest for collectors who follow the pipeline of American college talent into Canadian stadiums, while his cheerful wave on the card front captures the fan-friendly charisma noted by his Most Popular Player award. For a Stampeders collector, this card preserves a productive favorite at the peak of his Calgary tenure. For a CFL enthusiast, it offers strong color, a clear photo, and the nostalgic cartoon-back design that makes O-Pee-Chee football cards so desirable. This is the standard Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual English and French card back, printed in Canada, not a puzzle back. The front has sharp registration and vibrant red color with only minor corner softness at the top-right and bottom-left tips, a clean top edge, and very light bottom-edge contact; the photo appears approximately 50/50 top to bottom and is only slightly toward the left, while the reverse is clean with no paper loss, heavy staining, creases, or writing. The card is well kept but still shows enough ordinary tip handling to stop short of the higher Excellent-Mint tier. A conservative EX 5 grade fits because the card displays strong color and relatively modest corner wear, but the softened tips and minor edge contact visible on the red border keep it below an EX-MT designation. It would make an attractive upgrade for a Calgary Stampeders team set, a 1970s CFL player run, or anyone searching for 1971 O-Pee-Chee Herman Harrison #124 Calgary Stampeders CFL. Grade Estimate: EX 5