The number of players in the league without helmets was dwindling, but Duguay continued to let his locks flow.
He had a pretty solid stint with the Rangers (even scored 40 goals one year), but in 1983, he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings.
O-Pee-Chee, in decided to abandon the 'Traded to...' or 'Now with...' text on the card front like they had been in years past and instead tried something different.
Something cutting edge.
1983/84 O-Pee-Chee
#121 Ron Duguay
#121 Ron Duguay
Not even close. What a terrible paint job. It could have been worse though. Imagine if the artist (and I use the term loosely) had to do the Wings' logo.
This was standard practice for OPC over the next 6-7 years. Take a closeup shot of a player and paint a jersey, helmet, even a mask on him.
Still, the rockstar perm was awesome.
This card got me thinking - what would Duguay look like without it?
Well, it was a year or two later when I started discovering cards pre-1980 (that's when I started collecting). I came across this beauty and was floored.
1978/79 O-Pee-Chee
#177 Ron Duguay
#177 Ron Duguay
Yes.......yes it's him (and might I add, on yet another perfectly off-centre cut OPC card).
What a great photo. Part of me thinks it's another person's hair painted on him.
Sadly, Ron Duguay's hair isn't as cool as it was back in the day.....unless your name is Martin Handzus.
If only he could let his locks flow free as well.
Ron Duguay, your hair and your painted on jersey can go straight....
PPPPPPFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!
TO THE BIKE SPOKES!!!!!!
With '83-84 as a possible exception (there was no Topps set), OPC never airbrushed a card, so far as I can tell. The airbrushed photos were all shots they inherited from the Topps set. Any card that was OPC-only (or where the trade happened too late for Topps to catch up) got the "Now with Team X" treatment.
ReplyDeleteIn their first couple of seasons, they did try this trick, but not airbrushing.
ReplyDeleteMore great info. I've always grouped OPC and Topps into one entity (when it came to hockey in the 80's).
ReplyDeleteI'll have to take a closer look at the discrepancies in design from year to year.
Great stuff! Thanks for sharing.
BTW....my favorite of all-time...
http://myhockeycardobsession.blogspot.com/2010/06/to-bike-spokes-rogie-vachon.html
Talk about body snatching.
That's a great one, too. 1968-69 and 1971-72 OPC each had a few.
ReplyDeleteTopps sets always came out first, usually a couple months ahead of OPC. That's why OPC could pick up on the waiver-wire deals, etc. If you see an airbrush job, it's a really safe bet that card is part of the Topps set.
I don't know whether Topps intended to do an '83-84 set and abandoned it, giving OPC some cards to work with, or whether OPC finally tried their hand at it. I suspect the former. '82-83 was the same - no Topps set, but there are a handful of airbrush jobs - see Pat Riggin for one.
I once read that the brush cut in his rookie card was done by the veteran players for rookie hazing.
ReplyDeleteThe older players were jealous of his locks - so they cut them off.
I cannot confirm the authenticity - but it is a reasonable explanation.
in the late 60s early 70s the opposite was true topps wouldnt bother with airbrushing or would have the player with the wrong team and opeechee would have the paint out making a collection of really awful cards.
ReplyDelete