2014 COMC purchases: hockey heaven

Just a day after celebrating Independence day I'm going with a theme that's decidedly Canadian:  hockey!  Over my last few COMC purchases I scored some cards for both my hockey player PCs, plus a few hits while I was at it too:

Red Berenson 1971-72 Topps

Red Berenson 1972-73 Topps

Red Berenson 1973-74 Topps

Red Berenson 1975-76 Topps

Red Berenson 1976-77 Topps

Red Berenson 1977-78 Topps

Red Berenson 1978-79 Topps

These first seven Berenson cards are Topps versions for which I already own the OPC versions, all of which you can see in Red's album.  Of the bunch, I don't yet have Topps copies of '69-70, '70-71, and '74-75.  The new Topps cards are pretty much identical to the OPCs with the exception of the '73-74 card which has a yellow border as opposed to the red (appropriate!) of the OPC.

Red Berenson 1994 Parkhurst Tall Boys

"Tall Boys" is apt when describing this oversized card from '94 Parkhurst.  The set was apparently made as a "what if" as the manufacturer didn't produce hockey cards in '64-65.

Red Berenson 1995-96 Parkhurst '66-67

And similarly, this set was a hypothetical for what could have been a '66-67 set, this time with Red on the New York Rangers.

A page's worth of cards (if you could fit that Tall Boy into a standard page!) gives me a new total of 21/55 of Red's cards, meaning 50% isn't that far off.

Shawn Hunwick 2012-13 O-Pee-Chee RC

I mentioned OPC earlier, and now I have a much more modern card to show off in the form of this Hunwick RC, which is my fifth rookie of the former walk-on goalie.  Who doesn't love his cards that feature his UM mask and pads while playing in Columbus?  This pickup finally gets his PC into double digits, meaning I own 10 of his 71 issues.

Brendan Morrison 2002-03 BAP Signature Series auto

This autograph of my favorite Wolverine position player was the most expensive of my hockey hits this time around, but it still set me back just $2.50, and it happens to be one of my favorite BAP designs.  I now have seven B-Mo autographs just from that brand alone!  Morrison's 21 hits in the hockey PC still place him second behind leader Marty Turco's 24.

Aaron Palushaj 2011-12 Panini Elite Rookie Autographs auto

This Palushaj autograph, my third hit of him, was the next most expensive at a hair over $2, but after seeing that insanely pretty blue border and autograph, I just couldn't resist.  Elite indeed.

Jeff Tambellini 2008-09 Be A Player Signatures auto

A measly $1.21 was all it took for me to land my fifth hit and third autograph of former star winger Jeff Tambellini, shown here with the second of his three NHL employers, the New York Islanders.

Aaron Ward 1997-98 Pinnacle Be A Player auto

Finally, I happily plunked down $1.50 for one of my favorite types of cards:  a Wolverine/Red Wing!  The three-time Cup-winner (two with the Wings) has a really nice signature as seen here on another nice example of a quality BAP design.  This is my first certified autograph of Ward, with the other hit in my collection being this IP auto that came with a plaque I bought years ago.

That's it for hockey this time around, but I still have a few more posts covering the rest of my baseball and football pickups, so watch for those soon!