Red Wings: Card Show Pickups (1970's)

Time for some cards that are older than me. Most of them more than a decade older than me. In the past I've never really been into the vintage cards, but now that I'm working on a team collection more actively, its kind of neat to see some of the older designs and players that came before I was born. These will be the oldest cards I've ever shown off here.

Up first is a good size lot from 1976-77 Topps/OPC. This one was my favorite of the group since it was the only goalie card with a good look at the old school gear. It features Jim Rutherford who played ten seasons with the Wings, with stops in Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, and Toronto in between. Detroit drafted him 10th overall in 1969.

Up next is Bill Lochead. He was drafted 9th overall by the Wings in 1974 and went on to play five seasons in Detroit followed by time in Colorado (Rockies) and New York (Rangers). 

This one features former defenseman Bryan Watson. He began is NHL career with Montreal in 1963-64 before ending up with the Red Wings for the 1965-66 season. He would bounce around a few teams after than and returned to the Wings in 1973-74.

Up next is Buster Harvey, who I had never heard of before seeing this card. Harvey was originally drafted by the Minnesota North Stars in 1970. He would only end up playing two seasons with the Wings between 1975 and 1977. 

Finally, an in-game action shot, something that seems to be fairly rare in this set. This one features Dan Maloney, who was originally drafted by the Blackhawks in 1970. He would play three seasons for the Red Wings between 1975 and 1978.

Up next we are back to the plain background photos with this one featuring Danny Grant. I didn't know this before now, but Grant won the Calder trophy with Minnesota in 1969. He also scored 50 goals in his first seasons with the Wings in 1974-75.

This one stands out from the group a bit with a different colored background. Hextall began his career with the Rangers, but spent most of it between Detroit and Minnesota. He is the uncle of former Flyers goaltender Ron Hextall.

Here's another one that stood out, but for a different reason. Gotta love the airbrush job that was done on this one. Ed Giacomin was with the Rangers his entire career until being waived and picked up by the Wings in October of 1975.

Up next is Michel Bergeron. He was drafted 63rd overall by the Wings in 1974 and went on to play parts of four seasons in Detroit. 

This one is kind of creepy looking if you ask me. The picture of Nick Libbet on this one was taken at exactly the wrong time.

Time for some great 70's hair. This one features Rick Lapointe who was drafted 5th overall by Detroit in 1975. He would only go on to play two seasons with the Red Wings.

Finally, another on-ice action shot, this time of former Wings captain Terry Harper. Gotta love the old school gear, especially the gloves. Things sure have changed a lot since then.

The last regular card from this set features Walt McKechnie, another name I had never heard before finding these cards. McKechnie played five seasons with the Red Wings between two stints, one from 74-77 and the other from 81-83.

Here is a pretty cool card. It's the team checklist from the same set and is definitely hard to miss with the green coloring of the ice. Not sure if this was done to the photo or if the rink was actually painted that way. 

Here is another one of Buster Harvey, this time from 1977-78 Topps/OPC. 

Here is the team card from the same set, this time without the green ice. 

I don't have very many cards from 1979-80 Topps/OPC, so this one of Dan Bolduc is a welcome addition to my collection.

This next one is from 1974-75 Topps/OPC and features former Wings center Henry Boucha. The head band is definitely an interesting look, isn't it?

Last but not least is one of the greatest hockey hairdos I have on cardboard. This one from 1975-96 Topps/OPC features former Wings defenseman Larry Giroux, who played four seasons with the Wings during the 1970's. 

Talk about a time warp, most of these came out more than decade before I was even born. I'd never even heard of some of these guys before. That said, these are still some pretty sweet cards to add to Wings collection. Kind of makes me want to go out and get some more old stuff like this just to get more of a variety in my collection.