1972 O-Pee-Chee CFL Dan Dever #76 Base Set Ottawa Rough Riders CFL

Description

1972 O-Pee-Chee CFL Dan Dever #76 Base Set Ottawa Rough Riders CFL Every great defence needs a hitter who sets the emotional temperature of the game, and the back of this 1972 O-Pee-Chee CFL Dan Dever #76 Base Set Ottawa Rough Riders CFL card makes it clear that Dashing Dan was exactly that kind of player for the Rough Riders. The front shows Dever in the dark Ottawa jersey with orange and white sleeve stripes and the number 30 across his chest, framed by the deep red ROUGH RIDERS border of the Ottawa block. The reverse is the classic Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back, printed in blue and green ink on grey cardboard stock with the text carried in both French and English, identifying it plainly as a Canadian bilingual back and not a puzzle back. The back lists him at six feet and 200 pounds, describes him as a non import out of Wake Forest University, explains that he came into his own as a linebacker in 1970, ranks him among the outstanding hitters in the East, and credits his will to win and his tackling ability with pressing everyone around him, which is a remarkable compliment to find on a piece of Canadian cardboard. Dever is also a lovely illustration of the import ratio era, because as a Canadian linebacker he was exactly the kind of homegrown starter that CFL rules were designed to develop, and he earned his place on merit in one of the most feared defensive units in the country. He shared that Ottawa defence with the likes of Jerry Campbell, and the unit's reputation as Capital Punishment was built on the idea that opposing offences would pay a physical price for every yard. The 1972 O-Pee-Chee set that carried his card was 132 cards deep, with 13 players from each of the nine CFL clubs, 14 Pro Action cards and a checklist at 132, and it proved to be the final CFL football set the London, Ontario company would ever produce, which means every example that survives in this condition is a genuine piece of the last great vintage CFL run. the photo area shows a white notch cut at its left edge, a printing characteristic of this card in the set rather than damage, and the corners remain square with only light softening at the top left. There is a small green print fleck at the left midway down the card, the surface is glossy with no creases or wrinkles, centering is near 50/50 with the image sitting slightly left of dead centre, and the reverse is clean, evenly centred and free of writing or staining. A conservative grade assessment places this card at the EX-MT 6 level, with the light top left corner softening and the small green print fleck being the only real deductions, and the crisp photo, unmarked surface and clean reverse keeping it above the EX 5 range and making it an easy addition to an Ottawa team set or a Canadian football collection. Grade Estimate: EX-MT 6