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Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Again With The Classics

Since I opened that awesome box of Panini Classics Signatures at the last show I went to, I've been drooling over the autograph checklist.  I can't say that I'm going to chase the entire thing but I am not ruling that out.  I may want to eventually put it all together or at least attempt it.

That's why I've been watching them on auction to see what is out there and how much it will cost me in the end.  Some "lesser" stars are going for a few bucks.  The "big" name guys are into double digits, some reaching into the $40-50 range.  The "huge" guys are pushing the hundred dollar mark.

With my new budget..."lesser" stars it is.

Here are a few new ones...


Long time Penguin GM, mastermind behind two Stanley Cups and former Golden Seal Craig Patrick as well as Dennis Hextall.  Hextall was also a former Golden Seal as well as a host of other teams.  He spent larger amounts of time as a North Star and Red Wing.  Ex-Flyer great Ron Hextall calls him Uncle Dennis (I don't know if he really calls him that).


Here we have two guys that accompany their signatures with jersey numbers, in case you can't read their writing.  Dave Babych was drafted in 1980, a draft class with the likes of Larry Murphy, Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri, and Denis Savard (the Pens took Mike Bullard).  He was one of the most consistently solid D-men ever but will most likely never go into the Hall like those other guys because, well, he never won a Cup and never could match the offensive prowess of his junior career.

Our other auto is of Guy Carbonneau who, unlike his partner there, won three Cups and another three Selke trophies.  Carbonneau isn't in the Hall either because "shut-down" guys don't get any respect and Guy was one of the best ever.  No one in the HOF voting community cares about the guys that stop the opposing scorers, block shots, kill penalties, and make the locker room a better place.  


Finally, we have Marty McSorley.  Ahhh, the love/hate relationship much of the NHL players and fans share for Mr. McSorley.  I guess Marty's popularity depends a lot on whether you are also a Gretzky fan.  After Semenko was done in Edmonton, McSorley became Wayne's bodyguard, following him to LA as well.  The guy has his name on two Cups, almost had a third, but is more known as #4 all-time on the NHL's PIM list.  It's that reputation that follows any conversation about McSorley.  That, and the fact he tried to decapitate Donald Brashear (don't worry, DB doesn't remember).  If Dino Ciccarelli can be convicted of assaulting a player on the ice and still make it into the HOF, why can't Marty?

4 comments:

  1. Could this be hockey's version of the 1997 Upper Deck Legends autographs?

    I'm too lazy to check the checklist so I'm just throwing it out there.

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    Replies
    1. Not quite. The '97 UD Legends football set is probably the best football set ever made. Classics Signatures is a very good set with a strong checklist but it is no where close to what Legends was/is.

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    2. Yeah, not having that Wayne guy kind of hurts. Still a damn good checklist though.

      Delete
  2. Here is the checklist in case you still wondering...

    1 Gordie Howe SSP
    2 Bobby Hull SSP
    3 Mike Bossy SSP
    4 Bill Barber
    5 Dave Taylor
    7 Gary Leeman
    9 Bryan Trottier SP
    10 Bobby Clarke SP
    11 Marcel Dionne
    12 Gilbert Perreault
    13 Russ Courtnall
    14 Eric Lindros SSP
    15 Clark Gillies
    16 Reggie Leach
    17 Charlie Simmer
    20 John LeClair
    22 Al Secord
    23 Errol Thompson
    25 Gordie Howe SSP
    26 Brian Mullen
    27 Geoff Courtnall
    28 Marian Stastny
    31 Denis Savard
    32 Darryl Sittler SSP
    35 Dale Hawerchuk
    36 Cliff Ronning
    37 Peter Stastny SP
    38 Ron Francis SSP
    40 Steve Larmer
    41 Lanny McDonald SSP
    43 Anders Hedberg
    44 Paul MacLean
    45 Trevor Linden
    46 Anton Stastny
    48 Al Iafrate
    50 Johnny Bower
    51 Stu Grimson
    55 Richard Brodeur
    58 Bobby Hull SSP
    59 Nick Kypreos
    60 Ron Hextall SP
    61 Igor Larionov SSP
    62 Luc Robitaille SSP
    65 Kirk Muller
    66 Stan Mikita SSP
    67 Dave Schultz
    68 Mario Lemieux SSP
    69 Brendan Shanahan SSP
    70 Joe Sakic SSP
    71 Steve Yzerman SSP
    73 Johnny Bucyk SP
    74 Bernie Nicholls
    75 Ed Belfour SSP
    78 Rod Gilbert SP
    80 Kevin Weekes
    81 Brian Leetch SP
    82 Darren Pang
    83 Marty McSorley
    85 Craig Berube
    86 Michel Goulet
    87 Bruce Shoebottom
    88 Bernie Federko
    89 Andy Moog
    90 Mark Messier SSP
    91 Neal Broten
    92 Kris Draper
    93 Doug Wilson
    94 Reggie Lemelin
    95 Jari Kurri SP
    96 Darryl Sydor
    97 Al MacInnis SP
    98 Adam Graves
    99 Denis Potvin SP
    100 Guy Lafleur SSP
    101 Dave Tippett 102 Pat Verbeek
    103 Guy Carbonneau
    104 Tony Esposito
    106 John Vanbiesbrouck
    107 Craig Patrick
    109 Phil Esposito SSP
    110 Brian Bellows
    112 Serge Savard
    114 Rick Middleton
    115 Rod Brind'Amour
    116 Curtis Joseph
    118 Gerry Cheevers
    119 Joe Mullen
    120 Stephane Matteau
    121 Craig Ramsay
    122 Dirk Graham
    123 Bill Clement
    124 Jeff Hackett
    125 Craig Hartsburg
    126 Olaf Kolzig
    127 Ken Morrow
    128 Tim Kerr
    131 Dennis Maruk
    134 Mike Richter
    135 Billy Smith
    136 Rod Langway
    137 Pierre Pilote
    139 Sean Burke
    140 Keith Primeau
    141 Pierre Turgeon
    142 Brad Park
    144 Harry Howell
    145 Ted Lindsay
    146 Dave Babych
    147 Dave Gagner
    148 Bill Gadsby
    149 Geoff Sanderson
    151 Rich Sutter
    152 Mike Gartner SP
    154 Yvan Cournoyer SP
    155 Duane Sutter
    156 Milt Schmidt
    157 Alex Delvecchio
    158 Rogie Vachon
    160 Andy Bathgate
    161 Dan Cloutier
    162 Ken Linseman
    163 Jean Pronovost
    164 Chris Chelios SP
    165 John Ogrodnick
    166 Mike Foligno
    168 Bob Gainey
    169 Dale Tallon
    170 Orest Kindrachuk
    171 Red Kelly
    173 Dennis Hextall
    175 Nick Fotiu
    176 Guy Hebert
    177 Mike Peca
    179 Brent Sutter
    180 Steve Shutt
    182 Darryl Sutter
    183 Ron Sutter
    186 Terry O'Reilly
    187 Mark Howe SP
    188 Joe Nieuwendyk SSP
    191 Bob Essensa
    192 Norm Ullman
    193 Rob Blake
    194 Ulf Samuelsson
    195 Kjell Samuelsson
    198 Scott Mellanby
    199 Ed Van Impe
    200 Laurie Boschman

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