Parkhurst Retro: Who should make Heritage cards?

Think about it! What was the first mainstream hockey card set of the post-WWII era? It was Parkhurst and their 100-card effort from 1951-52.

Which company issued rookie cards for hockey legends such as Gordie Howe, Maurice Richard, Terry Sawchuk, Tim Horton, Jean Beliveau, and Jacques Plante throughout the 1950s? Again, it was Parkhurst.

For a dozen years, from 1951-52 through 1963-64 (with the exception of 1956-57), Parkhurst issued an annual set of hockey cards that has remained special to all collectors. Most of the sets concentrated on three NHL teams, Toronto, Montreal, and Detroit, making Parkhurst cards especially significant for fans of these teams.

Parkhurst cards were always exciting to a youngster from a newly-built suburb, Downsview, just north of Toronto. While growing up, he collected pop bottles around the local housing construction sites, washed the mud off them in his parent's garage, and then turned them in at the corner variety store to buy packs of Parkhurst hockey cards. They contained images of his beloved Maple Leafs. Frank Mahovlich, Johnny Bower, Tim Horton, and Dave Keon were all big personal favorites.

"I walked out with two cheeks full of gum and a handful of cards," he recalls. "Unfortunately, I left a garbage can full of wrappers which I now wish I had kept."

If you haven't already guessed, the youngster in question is Dr. Brian H. Price, President of In the Game, Inc. That's the company that produces several different brands of hockey cards under the "Be A Player" banner and as of 2001-02, it is the company that has re-introduced Parkhurst hockey cards in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first-ever Parkhurst set.

"When Parkhurst was launched with the 1951-52 set, hockey card collecting was born," says Price. "Of course there were several sets issued prior to the war but Parkhurst's wide distribution brought hockey card collecting into the mainstream. When something is the first to gain widespread popularity, it is often the first to maintain its long-term collectability."

His contention remains irrefutable. According to the April, 2003 issue of Beckett Hockey Collector, the 1951-52 Parkhurst set is by far the most valuable of all post WWII mainstream sets with a catalogue value of $12,000 (U.S. funds) in Near Mint condition. Key singles include the Gordie Howe rookie card (#66, $3,000); the Maurice Richard rookie card (#4, $1,600); and the Terry Sawchuk rookie card (#61, $1,200). Even the common cards book at $50 each.

Price is the proud owner of a complete run of original Parkhurst cards. Some come from the collecting days of his youth but it wasn't until many years later that he was actually able to complete all his sets.

"In 1992, I began the process of putting together a complete run of Parkhurst cards," he recalls. "I had some of the key cards from my earlier collecting days. I had a Howe rookie and a Keon rookie, a Sawchuk rookie and some other great cards but I wanted the complete sets. It took two years and a lot of help from some great dealers across North America, but I finished a complete run in 1994."

To say that Parkhurst hockey cards made a big impression on Price is a vast understatement. To paraphrase a famous line from a television ad campaign of years ago, "he was so impressed, he bought the company".

"After accomplishing everything I wanted to accomplish in the dental profession and in the healthcare business," explains Price, "I wanted to focus my energies on something else that I felt passionate about and that was collecting. I knew that people still cherished the Parkhurst name and I knew they would embrace it again. I acquired the Parkhurst trade name and then began the long process of developing and manufacturing hockey cards."

One gaping hole existed in the original run of Parkhurst cards. Remember when we mentioned how there was no 1956-57 Parkhurst set? It was simply too much to bear for Price.

Compelled by a mandate that combined both his dental and collecting backgrounds, and a credo that "all gaps must be filled", Price created the set that never was, the 1956-57 Parkhurst edition. The product was issued during the 1993-94 hockey season and was billed as "The Missing Link." Collectors swarmed all over it and the product sold out quickly. Today, it remains the set that links past and present collectors.

In addition to the modern era Parkhurst sets issued this year and last, Price and his team at In the Game have been working on an extra-special project he is certain will seize the attention of both young and old collectors. The new set of cards, entitled Parkhurst Retro is slated for release in April, 2003.

"We've never done anything like Parkhurst Retro before," says Price. "Given the fact that Śretro-style' card designs have recently become popular with collectors, this concept will really strike a chord in the hobby. You can't underestimate the appeal of the Parkhurst name. It was the first, and for many of us it remains the best."

Last season, In the Game conducted a poll with collectors on their website at www.baptradingcards.com. Samples of every original Parkhurst base card design were presented and collectors were asked to choose their favorite. The 1951-52 design prevailed. Based on that input, the new Parkhurst Retro set will feature today's top NHLers on a 1951-52 Parkhurst design. The cards will be produced on basic cardboard stock with no modern printing technologies like foil-stamping or UV coating compromising the sanctity of the original.

"The 1951-52 Parkhurst set has always been instantly recognizable," says Price, "not only because it was the first mainstream hockey set, but also because of the unique design. You can't refer to it as sophisticated, but it certainly has a charm that has withstood the test of time. These cards will immediately stand out from the crowd and be instantly recognizable and that means a great deal in today's competitive card market."

While the original 1951-52 Parkhurst hockey cards were produced in a smaller size (1-3/4" by 2-1/2"), the new Parkhurst Retro base cards will be printed in the standard 2-1/2" by 3-1/2" size preferred by today's collector. However, purists will be pleased to find a parallel version of the base set will be available in the original smaller size, thus offering the best of both worlds. The parallel set will be easy to build with one card found in each pack.

Parkhurst Retro will also incorporate a number of impressive insert programs, including the memorabilia cards that have earned In the Game a great reputation. The card designs will pay tribute to the designs from the past and draw on the rich heritage of the Parkhurst name. All inserts are certain to add value and collectibility, factors that remain critical to dealers and hobbyists alike.

"I get excited about all of our new products," says Price, "but I've got a feeling that Parkhurst Retro is going to be something special. It's a product that has a lot going for it and there is no denying the respect the Parkhurst name continues to command".

"I can't wait to see the collectors reaction to an insert set entitled "Mario Lemieux-Back In Time. It is a 15-card memorabilia insert set featuring Mario Lemieux on each of the original Parkhurst designs." Price adds, "They are nicest cards I think I have ever made.

"No collectible can instantly take me back like a Parkhurst card. They represent the modern day history of trading cards. They stand for true collecting because these are the cards I began collecting when I was seven years old. Parkhurst cards are still the most coveted cards today.

"Ask yourself, who should be making a Retro or Heritage series if not Parkhurst?"