IN THE GAME ANNOUNCES THE COMEBACK STORY OF THE YEAR: THE LEGENDARY PARKHURST BRAND RETURNS!

Hockey card enthusiasts know that the 1951-52 Parkhurst set of 100 cards was the first mainstream hockey card set of the modern era. One of the most coveted sets in the hobby, it includes the rookie cards of Gordie Howe (Mr. Hockey®), Maurice Richard, Terry Sawchuk, Doug Harvey and Bernie Geoffrion. Now, 50 years later, Parkhurst hockey cards are back and the lineup lives up to the slogan, "Past meets present in future."

"As a lifelong collector, Parkhurst has always held a special place in my heart," says Dr. Brian H. Price, President of In the Game. "They were the cards I collected when I was a kid and I'm especially excited about bringing them back today. It's a great new set with all of today's biggest names but I was also determined to pay tribute to the heritage of the brand. Seeing some of the all-time great players on these all-time great hockey card designs was very nostalgic."

Let's begin with a 300-card base set printed on gleaming foilboard. Top-notch action photography is set against a background paying tribute to the Parkhurst hockey card heritage. Not only are all of today's premier NHL stars in the set, there is also a fabulous selection of the top rookies from 2001-02. Dynamic young faces such as Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk and Dany Heatley, Kristian Huselius of the Panthers, Krys Kolanos of Phoenix, the Rangers' Dan Blackburn and San Jose's Jeff Jillson are all a part of the new Parkhurst. There are 50 rookies in all (#251-300) and each is short-printed and sequentially numbered to 500.

The game's top stars represent today, and superior printing technology and an impressive array of rookies represents the future, but what about the past?

Well, where should we begin? How about a nifty 150-card set of Parkhurst Reprints. If you've always admired the original Parkhurst cards from the 1950s and 60s but could never afford them, here's the perfect opportunity to do some catching up. Many of the most memorable Parkhurst cards ever produced have been reprinted and included as inserts in this product. Richard, Béliveau, Plante, Sawchuk, Mahovlich, Mr. Hockey... they are all there.

As is the custom with any Be A Player product, there is a vast array of memorabilia cards available. Just like the 2001-02 Memorabilia Series, Parkhurst will contain one memorabilia card per box. And as in the Memorabilia Series, every memorabilia card found in Parkhurst will have a stated print run of under 100 cards. In fact, most of the memorabilia cards will be produced in quantities much lower than 100.

There are a total of 327 different memorabilia cards in Parkhurst distributed across 12 different insert sets. One of those sets is the Autograph Series and it is sweet. It consists of 40 different players and utilizes an attractive retro-style design guaranteed to stand out. Yes, Mr. Hockey® has signed some of these along with other legends like Jean Béliveau, Phil Esposito, Mike Bossy, Frank Mahovlich, and Guy Lafleur.

If you were impressed by the 500-Goal Scorers insert set in the Memorabilia Series, then you'll appreciate its return in Parkhurst. This 27-card effort features a new design and a piece of game-worn jersey from an elite group of NHL snipers.

Another stunning insert set is the Vintage Memorabilia series of 30 cards. These are reprints of classic original Parkhurst cards such as the 1951-52 Terry Sawchuk and the 1955-56 Tim Horton card along with a piece of their game-used memorabilia including jerseys, number patches and emblems, pants, and gloves.

Teammates Triple Jersey cards is an 18-piece set with a focus on today's top trios and a piece of game-worn jersey from each. Look for cards combining Steve Yzerman with Brendan Shanahan and Niklas Lidstrom or Patrick Roy with Peter Forsberg and Milan Hejduk.

Another 22-card set called NHL Milestones celebrates some of the most significant career achievements that took place in 2000-01. Feats such as Jaromir Jagr's 1,000th point and Curtis Joseph's 300th victory are commemorated on cards adorned with a piece of their game-worn jersey.

NHL Heroes is a unique 16-card set placing a current star together with a retired great who they look up to and identify with. It is an innovative concept enhanced by the fact there are pieces of game-used jersey from each player on every card.

You'll also find an excellent selection of today's top names in the 60-card Game-Used Jersey set. Equally impressive is a 70-card Game-Used Stick series with a sprinkling of retired greats just to keep things interesting. These two sets are topped off by a 20-card Game-Used Stick and Jersey set which provides the best of both worlds.

Let's not forget the World Class Game-Used Jersey series of eight cards either. This set features a top player from eight different hockey-crazy nations along with a piece of a jersey worn in the World Championships. There are two parallel versions of this series, one featuring a piece of emblem from the jersey, and the other coming with a piece of jersey number.

There are also partial parallel versions of the base set. You will find Silver versions of the first 100 players sequentially numbered to 500 and Gold versions of the first 100 players sequentially numbered to 50.

Did we tell you about the enlarged autographed Parkhurst redemptions? A few lucky collectors will find a redemption card entitling them (for a small handling fee) to a personally autographed 8 x 10 enlargement of a Parkhurst card featuring Maurice Richard, Bernie Geoffrion, or Jean Béliveau. What a great way to punctuate your Parkhurst collection!

Finally, the popular He Shoots He Scores cards have been inserted once again. These extra-thick cards serve three purposes. First, one is found in every pack to act as a decoy and to help prevent pack searching for the memorabilia cards. Second, each He Shoots He Scores card comes with a point value. Once you accumulate enough points, you can redeem them for a unique He Shoots He Scores Jersey card incorporating the 1955-56 Parkhurst design and numbered out of a mere 20. There are 40 different cards featuring top names from the past and present. Third, you can simply complete the 20-card set because each one features an NHL star.

"Obviously I like every brand we produce," says Price, "but the new Parkhurst is especially near and dear to me. It has everything ­ a sharp looking base card with short-printed rookies, we pay tribute to all the great Parkhurst sets from decades ago, there's a phenomenal selection of memorabilia cards inserted at a rate of one per box... this one will be tough to beat. I can't wait for collectors to see it."

Each pack of 2001-02 Parkhurst holds five cards plus one decoy or memorabilia card. There are 24 packs per box. Parkhurst was issued on December 5, 2001.