1971 O-Pee-Chee Terry Swarn #48 Edmonton Eskimos

Description

1971 O-Pee-Chee Terry Swarn #48 Edmonton Eskimos Bring home a classic piece of early seventies Canadian football with this 1971 O-Pee-Chee Terry Swarn #48 Edmonton Eskimos card, a vibrant red bordered issue that captures the grit and excitement of the CFL just before Edmonton became a dynasty. The 1971 O-Pee-Chee Canadian Football League set is one of the most collected vintage sets ever printed in Canada, with 132 cards featuring bold red fronts, team logos, and colorful player portraits shot at Clarke Stadium and across the league. This was an era when the Eskimos were building toward greatness, mixing tough American imports with Canadian heart, and every card tells that story. Terry Swarn embodies that speed driven style. A Colorado State University running back import listed at 6 foot 3 and 210 pounds, Swarn was famous for his track speed, noted right on the back of this card as doing the 40 yards in 4.5 seconds. In 1970 he finished second on the Eskimos in pass receiving behind only Hall of Famer Herm Harrison, catching 61 passes for 739 yards and 5 touchdowns, proving he was far more than a traditional runner. He had been a fifth round draft choice of the San Diego Chargers, bringing legitimate NFL pedigree to Edmonton at a time when the CFL was attracting top American talent with its wide open field and passing friendly rules. For fans who remember the early Commonwealth Stadium days, Swarn was electric out of the backfield and a key weapon during a competitive Western Conference run. This card is a perfect fit for Eskimos team collectors, Colorado State alumni, and anyone chasing the complete 1971 O-Pee-Chee set in its original Canadian form. This is a Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back with English and French text, pink cartoon trivia bubble, O-Pee-Chee and Printed in Canada at the bottom. Front centering is about 60/40 left to right and 55/45 top to bottom, with strong color saturation on the green jersey and blue sky background. Corners show light softening on the top left and bottom right, with the top right and bottom left remaining fairly sharp for the issue. The red border shows only minimal edge chipping along the right side, which is very common for this set due to the dark border. The back has clean tan stock with light age toning, no creases, no wrinkles, no pen marks, and the cartoon and stats are fully legible. Based on the slight corner wear and centering, we conservatively assess it as EX 5, an attractive mid grade example that presents much better than many red border cards from 1971. The 1971 O-Pee-Chee Terry Swarn #48 Edmonton Eskimos remains a desirable low population common with great eye appeal for vintage CFL enthusiasts. Grade Estimate: EX 5