1972 O-Pee-Chee CFL Charlie Turner #101 Three-Time Grey Cup Champion Edmonton Eskimos

Description

1972 O-Pee-Chee CFL Charlie Turner #101 Three-Time Grey Cup Champion Edmonton Eskimos The 1972 O-Pee-Chee CFL Charlie Turner #101 Three-Time Grey Cup Champion Edmonton Eskimos card captures a powerful offensive tackle near the beginning of the Edmonton chapter that would define his distinguished career. Turner's close portrait in the green and gold number 60 uniform is framed by an olive team panel and large black Eskimos lettering, creating a visually distinctive contrast with the Calgary cards elsewhere in the set. As part of O-Pee-Chee's 132-card 1972 CFL release, this is a true Canadian vintage issue with strong appeal to Edmonton collectors, offensive-line specialists and set builders. Turner entered professional football after playing for Ohio University and spending time with the Buffalo Bills. He joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats during the 1967 season and immediately became part of a Grey Cup championship team. After additional seasons in Hamilton, Turner was traded to Edmonton in 1971, the move noted on the back of this card. He then developed into one of the CFL's premier offensive linemen. Turner played 163 games over 12 seasons with Hamilton, Edmonton and Winnipeg. He earned five Western Division all-star selections and three CFL All-Star honours, and in 1975 he received both the DeMarco-Becket Memorial Trophy and the CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award. His blocking helped Edmonton win Grey Cups in 1975 and 1978, giving him three championships when combined with his 1967 Hamilton title. The 1978 victory also launched Edmonton's historic run of five consecutive Grey Cup wins, placing Turner at the foundation of one of Canadian sport's best-known dynasties. The card uses the Edmonton Eskimos team name exactly as printed on this original 1972 issue, preserving the historical identity of the collectible. The reverse is a Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual text back with English and French biography sections, not a puzzle back. It shows card number 101, his Ohio University background and a cartoon illustrating his trade from Hamilton. The front has appealing colour, a clean facial image and an apparently intact surface, with light corner softening, mild edge roughness and a few tiny white flecks around the perimeter. The upper margin is comparatively narrow and the lower margin wider, indicating a noticeable vertical centering shift, while side-to-side centering remains respectable. No obvious crease, major wrinkle, writing, pinhole, tear, wax stain or paper loss is visible in the photographs. The reverse exhibits uniform tan age toning, small corner touches and light rub along the blue outer frame, with the bilingual text and cartoon fully legible. Protective-sleeve reflections mean minute scratches or shallow pressure lines cannot be excluded. A conservative EX-MT 6 estimate reflects the crisp overall presentation and lack of a visible major defect while accounting for the centering, corner and edge wear. This card offers an attractive early Edmonton image of a three-time champion and award-winning blocker, making it an excellent fit for team history displays or a complete 1972 O-Pee-Chee CFL collection. Grade Estimate: EX-MT 6