1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Dallas Smith #135 In Action Boston Bruins

Description

1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Dallas Smith #135 In Action Boston Bruins Every great rover needs an anchor, and for Bobby Orr there was Dallas Smith, the quietly brilliant defender honored on this 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Dallas Smith #135 In Action Boston Bruins card as he wrestles Toronto Maple Leafs traffic in front of the Boston net. The front caption reads Boston vs. Toronto along the left border and the starburst simply says Boston Defense, which is fitting for a man whose game was built on positioning rather than headlines. Smith spent more than a decade in the black and gold and collected Stanley Cup rings in 1970 and 1972, the two championships that defined the Big Bad Bruins era, and his steadiness is precisely what allowed Orr to freelance into hockey history. The 1972 playoff summary cards in this very set make the point beautifully: the Game 3 recap credits Smith with the first assist on Bobby Orr's goal at Madison Square Garden, proof that the stay-at-home reputation undersold his contributions at both ends. The card back makes the same argument in period prose, calling him perhaps one of the most under-rated defensemen in the N. H. L. whose positioning is so sound that his ability is easy to overlook. For team builders and set hunters alike, the In Action cards are among the most evocative entries in the 340-card 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee checklist, and this Boston Defense entry pairs perfectly with the Orr, Esposito and Hodge action cards from the same series. The reverse is the Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back with the complete bio in both English and French above the O-Pee-Chee copyright line, not a puzzle back. all four corners show modest tip wear with slight whitening at the lower right tip where the starburst meets the border, a small amount of surface chipping runs along the upper right edge and the right edge near the star, the left and bottom edges remain smooth, and centering is near even left to right at about 55/45 with a slightly bottom-heavy 55/45 top to bottom balance. Neither face shows creases, wrinkles or indentations and the photo retains excellent contrast. Given only the gentle corner touches and the faint edge chipping, we conservatively assign a raw grade of EX-MT 6, refusing to deduct for the era's standard print specks alone. A sharp, underappreciated Bruin card. Grade Estimate: EX-MT 6