1972 O-Pee-Chee CFL Brad Upshaw #24 Montreal Alouettes EX 4

Description

1972 O-Pee-Chee CFL Brad Upshaw #24 Montreal Alouettes EX 4 Celebrate homegrown Quebec talent with this 1972 O-Pee-Chee CFL Brad Upshaw #24 Montreal Alouettes card, which shows the versatile wide receiver in a three point stance wearing the green number 33 jersey against a stadium background under the bold ALOUETTES banner. Brad Upshaw was a product of the local Montreal junior football ranks and a graduate of the Alouettes' Scholarship Evaluation Camp program, an initiative the club used in the early 1970s to develop Canadian players and satisfy the non-import roster requirements that shape the CFL to this day. Listed on the bilingual back at six feet and 180 pounds as a non-import Canadian, Upshaw is described as a versatile athlete capable of performing as a wide receiver, and the cartoon panel on the reverse shows a multi-sport figure with the caption A Versatile Athlete, echoed in French on the same panel. He joined a Montreal roster that was only two seasons removed from its stunning 1970 Grey Cup victory and that was building toward the powerhouse teams of the mid 1970s under Marv Levy. Cards like this one from the 132-card 1972 O-Pee-Chee CFL set, printed in Canada with the O. P. C. marking and bilingual English and French text, are the only mainstream trading cards ever produced for many CFL players, which makes them treasured items for family members, local football historians, and Alouettes fans. this copy shows moderate handling wear. The front displays rounding on all four corners with the upper left corner noticeably worn and slightly frayed, visible chipping to the blue border along the left and top edges, and some light surface scuffing in the dark background area near the top of the photo. Centering is shifted toward the left with a wider right border. The back is clean with legible text, no writing, no stains, and light to moderate corner wear that matches the front, and I did not detect any creases or wrinkles in either scan. Given the more pronounced corner wear compared to the other Alouettes cards in this group, I am conservatively estimating this raw card at EX 4.  An affordable and scarce single for anyone chasing the complete 1972 O-Pee-Chee CFL set or building a collection of Montreal Alouettes Canadian talent. Grade Estimate: EX 4