1972 O-Pee-Chee Ed Williams #107 Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Description

1972 O-Pee-Chee Ed Williams #107 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Promise and projection sell vintage football cards as much as production does, and this early-1970s Blue Bombers single carries both, making any hunt for a 1972 O-Pee-Chee Ed Williams #107 Winnipeg Blue Bombers card a chance to own the moment a club publicly anointed a young runner as a future all-star. The 1972 O-Pee-Chee CFL set, printed by O-Pee-Chee of London, Ontario as a 132-card tour of the league, presents its Winnipeg players beneath the bright yellow team banner, and Williams's portrait shows him in the royal blue jersey with the white numeral 22 against the leafy outdoor backdrop typical of the Bombers photos in this issue. The horizontal reverse pairs the green stats box and cartoon with twin English and French narrative columns, the signature of the Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back. The back text praises Williams as a man with good size and speed who adds strength to the backfield, and boldly predicts he will be an all-star this year, while the French panel echoes the sentiment, calling him a robust and rapid runner who reinforces the corps of ball carriers this season. Born in West Virginia and carried on the import side of the roster, Williams represented the kind of American talent the CFL recruited to balance its domestic stars, and his card sits in the lower run of the Blue Bombers team block where condition-sensitive collectors focus when completing the Winnipeg set. For collectors of prairie football history, this single pairs naturally with the Strong, Critchlow, and Paul Williams cards from the same sheet, offering a cohesive raw group from one original collection. corners show slight wear at the bottom right with faint whitening against the yellow border, edges exhibit minor chipping along the right side, and centering measures approximately 55/45 left to right and 55/45 top to bottom, a well-balanced placement for the issue. The reverse shows light even toning on the tan stock with no stains, creases, wrinkles, or print marks visible in the photos, and the front gloss survives intact with only minimal handling shine. The card is a Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back, not a puzzle back, with both language panels crisp and legible. Weighing the light corner touch against the tidy centering and clean surfaces, a conservative raw grade of EX 5 fairly represents this example in today's raw market. Grade Estimate: EX 5