The 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee hockey card series featured 52 cards from number 290 to 341 that were not NHL cards. The World Hockey Association was in it’s first year of existence and with stars like Bobby Hull, Gerry Cheevers, Bernie Parent and Derek Sanderson taken from the NHL, it looked like the league might be around for awhile. Although the first WHA series that was completely seperate from the NHL didn’t come out until 1974-75, O-Pee-Chee added on these 50+ additional cards at the end of the 1972-73 series.
Check out 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee WHA hockey cards on eBay!
Other than checkist number 334B, there are only three cards from the WHA portion of the 1972-73 series that are rated by Beckett Hockey Monthly
Of course, number 336 of Bobby Hull is the top card. Hull’s 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee card is worth up to $60. The card shows him as a Winnipeg Jet but isn’t the only Bobby Hull card in the set. Hull is also included as an All-Star playing for the Chicago Black Hawks on card number 228. That card is worth $30. Not quite the value of his 1958-59 Topps rookie card ($3000), the 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee card is the most valuable hockey card of Bobby Hull as a WHA player.
At half the value of the Bobby Hull card, number 340 with Gerry Cheevers of the Cleveland Crusaders on the front is the next most valuable of this group of cards. Cheevers was the top goalie in the WHA in that inaugural season and continuted on with the Cleveland Crusaders until returning to the Boston Bruins part of the way through the 1975-76 season.
Gerry Pinder?!
The third and last rated card from the group belongs to none other than Gerry Pinder. The number 341 card of Pinder as a Cleveland Crusader is worth $20. The great Gerry Pinder played 223 regular season NHL games over three campaigns then followed that up with 353 in the WHA. Pinder began his NHL career with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1969-70. After two seasons in Chicago, he played one more in the NHL with the California Golden Seals before escaping to the WHA. After four seasons with the Crusaders, he played a half season with the San Diego Mariners then five games with the Edmonton Oilers in 1977-78 before hanging up the skates.
Pinder appeared in only five different sets of O-Pee-Chee hockey cards. Every card including his 1970-71 rookie card is considered a common card, except for the 1972-73 card. We would have to assume that it’s a case of scarcity. Gerry does appear in the 1973-74 Quaker Oats WHA set, as well.