1971 O-Pee-Chee Jerry Bradley #44 BC Lions Vintage CFL Football Card

Description

1971 O-Pee-Chee Jerry Bradley #44 BC Lions Vintage CFL Football Card This 1971 O-Pee-Chee CFL card features Jerry Bradley, the ball-hawking defensive halfback who patrolled the BC Lions secondary during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Card number 44 in the classic 132-card 1971 O-Pee-Chee set, it captures Bradley in his Lions number 12 jersey with the position listed as Defensive Halfback. Bradley played his college football at the University of California, where he earned second-team All-Pac-8 honors in 1966 before beginning his professional career. He broke into the CFL with the Toronto Argonauts in 1967 and came to the Lions in a trade during the 1968 season, quickly establishing himself as a playmaker in the BC secondary. Bradley enjoyed his finest season in 1969 when he was named a Western Conference All-Star after recording nine interceptions, which tied the Lions club record for most interceptions in a single season, a milestone noted on the back of this card. Over his CFL career he totaled 22 interceptions for 511 return yards, including a 66-yard return in 1968 and a 53-yard touchdown return in 1970, demonstrating his big-play ability. The back of the card also notes his selection to the Western Football Conference All-Star team in 1969 and carries a playful cartoon giving Bradley the nickname Thermometer, showing a figure holding a giant thermometer. The French translation reads Jerry est surnomme Thermometre, consistent with the bilingual O-Pee-Chee format. Listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 165 pounds, Bradley was a lean and agile defensive back who excelled at reading quarterbacks and jumping routes. The card front displays the signature red border design of the 1971 issue with the Lions mascot logo and team typography. The reverse is a genuine O-Pee-Chee bilingual back printed in Canada with both English and French text, the O-Pee-Chee copyright, and Printed in Canada attribution. It is not a puzzle back. This card is a great find for Lions fans and vintage CFL defensive back collectors, celebrating a player who once held a share of the franchise interception record. The card presents with corner wear at all four tips, most visibly at the top left and bottom left, and a small but noticeable orange print spot near the top border just above the player's name. This appears to be an original printing anomaly rather than subsequent damage. The red borders show minor edge handling but no significant chipping or ink loss. The photo image is otherwise clean with no creases, scratches, or staining, and the centering is fairly well-balanced with a slight shift toward the right. The reverse is unmarked with no writing, stamps, or paper loss, and the cartoon and bilingual text remain clear. A conservative raw grade estimate of EX 5 accounts for the corner wear and the small print spot, while the absence of creases or wrinkles supports the Excellent designation. Grade Estimate: EX 5