1973-74 O-Pee-Chee Gilles Villemure #119 Dark Back New York Rangers (EX 5)

Add a touch of New York Rangers royalty to your personal collection with this magnificent 1973-74 O-Pee-Chee Gilles Villemure card featuring the scarce dark back variant. During the early 1970s, Villemure formed one half of the most formidable goaltending tandems in the entire National Hockey League alongside legendary Hall of Famer Ed Giacomin. This beautifully preserved card captures Villemure in his classic white, blue, and red diagonal-script Rangers jersey, showcasing a timeless look from the golden era of Madison Square Garden hockey. The bold red outer borders create a spectacular frame that makes this card pop inside any display binder or graded slab.

Gilles Villemure was a dominant force between the pipes, taking home the Vezina Trophy in 1971 for his exceptional play with the Blueshirts. Over his career, he participated in three consecutive NHL All-Star Games and finished his journey with an incredibly low career goals-against average of 2.81 along with 32 regular-season shutouts. The reverse of the card includes the distinctive bilingual cartoon biographical box highlighting his accomplishments in both English and French, printed on the tougher dark grey paper stock variant. It is a quintessential target for vintage hockey collectors, team historians, and variant completionists alike.

Condition Report:
This card is a highly presentable mid-grade vintage item that firmly justifies a raw grade estimate of EX 5. The corners display light, uniform touches of wear and mild rounding at the tips, but they maintain solid structural integrity with no creasing or dog-earing. The centering leans moderately towards the right edge on the front, which is highly common for O-Pee-Chee production runs from 1973. The deep red borders contain light factory rough-cut edge wear but are free of any major surface abrasions or ink loss. The dark gray back variant text remains highly legible, clean, and completely unmarred by writing or wax stains. Make sure to double-check the physical label to confirm this information when inspecting your card.
EX 5