Hockey cards have had a lot of changes over the years. From the time they used to be on cigarette packages to today´s hockey hobby boxes, cards have seen a stark evolution. Back in the day of Parkies (Parkhurst brand cards) and cigarette backs, players were photographed not on the ice, but in stationary poses, mostly headshots. In today´s market, players are photographed in game action on the ice in several kinds of situations. That is just one of the many changes we´ve seen in the hockey card market.
Notwithstanding the older cards from pre-1970, hockey cards really hit mainstream when Topps and O-Pee-Chee teamed up in the late 1960´s. Back then, cards were produced cheaply and sold cheaply mainly because they were marketed as trading cards for children. Even the packs that contained the cards (affectionately known as wax packs because they had a waxy feel to them) had pieces of gum in them for kids to chew. We all remember that gum. The cards themselves had a rather plain and rough cut look. The photography was not the clearest and a lot of times the cards were off centered. They had semi-glossy fronts and rather plain darker backs. Each card would have the player´s bio stats, hockey stats and a little blurb about the player.
It wasn´t until the early 1990´s that cards started to change. We all remember the hockey card fad (yes, it was a short lived fad) of the early 1990´s when the market exploded with new companies and new types of cards. Cards were becoming more aesthetically pleasing with higher gloss (on front and back) better photography, and sharper more centered cuts. The hockey card revolution had begun. Unfortunately we all know that the market busted during this time and people had become disgusted with over production and lost value. The newer more pleasing to the eye cards was just the beginning of the hockey card market revamp.
If you fast forward past the ugliness of the early 1990´s to today´s market, we see a lot of changes still to hockey cards. We still see the newer more glossy cards on better quality materials then we saw in the pre-1990 surge. The difference nowadays is the different types of cards you can get. Quality is ever improving in terms of photography and print materials. Cards now appear on types of plastic as well as cardboard in some cases. Other types of materials are becoming popular as well. We also see different aspects of the hockey world being incorporated into cards. Things such as autographs, game used materials, or both are now appears on new specially designed cards. With the more pleasing look, better quality control, lower production, and added “hits” such as autos and jerseys, we see a new resurgence in the hockey card market. Even different dimensions of collecting have evolved, such as hobby and retail versions of boxes. Hockey hobby boxes being for the more seasoned collector while retail versions being more for the younger eager collector.
Hockey cards are an ever evolving beast. We are not done seeing changes in the types of cards we see. Quality will keep getting better and value is a constant these days. The market has come a long way from the bubble gum cards we collected as kids, to the hard driven value market that we see today.
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