1971 O-Pee-Chee Ted Gerela #32 1967 WFC Rookie of the Year BC Lions CFL Card

Description

1971 O-Pee-Chee Ted Gerela #32 1967 WFC Rookie of the Year BC Lions CFL Card Few positions in Canadian football capture the drama of a late season drive like the place kicker, and Ted Gerela was one of the most reliable between the posts in the league during the late 1960s. This 1971 O-Pee-Chee CFL card shows him in the dark BC Lions jersey, number 32 on his chest, in a confident close up portrait that collectors of kicker cards will instantly recognize. A specialist who could win a close game single handedly is exactly the kind of player that separates a good team from a championship team, and Gerela had that reputation in Vancouver. Issued for the 1971 CFL season by the Toronto based O-Pee-Chee Company, this set spans 132 cards across the nine franchises of the league, with the BC Lions block occupying the low 30s. The red bordered front design echoes the popular 1971 Topps football look, and the reverse is the classic Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back, carrying the biography in both English and French beneath the O-Pee-Chee trademark and a printed in Canada notice. There is no puzzle back here, because this is a Canadian O-Pee-Chee issue, and the bilingual layout is a signature that collectors look for when separating these cards from their American Topps cousins. The card back records Gerela's credentials in detail. A Canadian native standing 5 foot 10 and 205 pounds, he came to the Lions out of Washington State, where he had developed as a place kicker. The back rates him as one of the best place kickers in North America and notes that he was the team's top scorer in 1968 and again in 1970. His rookie year of 1967 earned him the WFC Rookie of the Year award, a remarkable honour for a specialist, and the set's cartoon panel adds a touch of charm by noting that Ted's brother tried out with the Eagles during the previous season. As the Lions pushed for Grey Cup honours through the decade, a kicker of Gerela's reputation was the difference between close games and blowouts. in the photos the card displays a small pale smudge or surface scuff at the lower left corner, light softening of the upper right corner, and modest edge wear along the bottom edge, with no chipping, no repair, and no writing visible on either side. The portrait is centred close to even, estimated around 50/50, and the red border retains its saturation across the face. Sleeve reflections in the listing images are not defects. With the corner wear and the single surface mark factored in, a conservative VG-EX 4 raw grade is the honest estimate, and the card could push to an EX 5 under a loupe. Collectors hunting the 1971 O-Pee-Chee Ted Gerela #32 1967 WFC Rookie of the Year BC Lions CFL Card should note that kicker cards from this era are among the most wanted for set breaks, making this a strong value pick. Grade Estimate: VG-EX 4