In 1969, six people entered the Hockey Hall of Fame, four players and two builders. Of the four players, three were a long time coming and one had been retired as a player for just two years. The rookie hockey cards of all are fairly rare and rather expensive.
The four Hockey Hall of Fame player inductees in 1969:
- Sid Abel – Detroit Red Wings / Chicago Black Hawks
- Bryan Hextall – New York Rangers
- Roy Worters – New York Americans
- Red Kelly – Detroit Red Wings / Toronto Maple Leafs
Sid Abel
Sid Abel was the captain of the Detroit Red Wings for several years and three Stanley Cups. Abel played over 600 regular season and nearly 100 playoff games during a National Hockey League career that spanned from 1938-39 to 1953-54. Most of his time was spent with the Red Wings, with exception to 42 games over his final two NHL seasons played in a Chicago Black Hawks jersey. Sid was captain of the Red Wings from 1942-43 to 1951-52. The team won the Stanley Cup in 1943, 1950 and 1952.
In 1948-49, Detroit finished first overall in the six team NHL but were swept by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup finals. Abel was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s MVP. He led the league with 28 goals while playing in all of Detroit’s 60 games. His 54 points tied him for third in the NHL with teammate Ted Lindsay.
The following year, the league moved to a 70 game schedule and the Red Wings were once again regular season champions. This time, the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup with a seven game victory over the New York Rangers. Abel had his highest offensive performance of his career with 34 goals and 69 points. His goal total was third behind Maurice Richard of the Montreal Canadiens and fellow Red Wing Gordie Howe. He was second in points, sandwiched between teammates Ted Lindsay and Gordie Howe.
The Sid Abel rookie card appears in the 1939-40 O-Pee-Chee V301-1 series as number 68. The first Abel hockey card is valued by Beckett Hockey Monthly at $400.
Bryan Hextall Sr.
Bryan Hextall Sr. played 449 regular season games in the National Hockey League between 1936-37 and 1947-48, all with the New York Rangers. He totalled 362 points over his career, playing on some pretty bad Rangers teams. In 1941-42, Hextall led the league with 56 points in 48 games. He would have no hardware to show for it, however, as the Art Ross Trophy wasn’t awarded until 1947-48.
The Bryan Hextall rookie card appears in the same series as the Sid Abel rookie card. 1939-40 O-Pee-Chee V301-1 number 86 is valued at $80, the least expensive of the four 1969 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees.
Roy Worters
Known as ‘The Shrimp’ for good reason, Roy Worters stood just 5’3″ and weighed in at 135 lbs. Worters played between the pipes for the New York Americans from 1928-29 to 1936-37, appearing in one game with the Montreal Canadiens during the 1929-30 season. Roy was the first goaltender to ever win the Hart Memorial Trophy as National Hockey League MVP. He won the award in 1928-29 and was the first of only two New York Americans to win. He was the third goalie to win the Vezina Trophy, taking the award in 1930-31.
The Roy Worters rookie card appears in the 1933-34 O-Pee-Chee V304A series as card number 45. The O-Pee-Chee card is valued at $400. The same year, Ice Kings produced their V357 series and number 11 is also considered a Roy Worters rookie card. The Ice Kings card is valued slightly lower than the O-Pee-Chee at $350.
Red Kelly
Red Kelly had just come off helping the Toronto Maple Leafs win their last Stanley Cup championship in 1966-67 when he was called to The Hall in 1969. Kelly played over 1,300 NHL games between 1947-48 and 1966-67. Red began his career with the Detroit Red Wings and moved over to the Maple Leafs during the 1959-50 season. He was part of four Stanley Cup winning teams in each Detroit and Toronto. His eight Stanley Cup rings are the most by a player that never played for the Montreal Canadiens.
The Red Kelly rookie card appears in the famous 1951-52 Parkhurst series as number 55. The series housed mostly rookie cards as it was the first mainstream hockey card series in over a decade. The Red Kelly hockey card is valued at $300.