For the 1971-72 series, O-Pee-Chee included two special cards for living legends of hockey that had called it a career after the 1970-71 season. One player was Montreal Canadiens hero, Jean Beliveau. The other was Gordie Howe. Ironically, Howe would come out of retirement three seasons later to lace up the skates for another seven years of professional hockey.
The 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee #262 is currently valued at $50 to $100 according to Beckett Hockey. Beliveau’s #263 is worth slightly lower at $40 to $80. The card was not duplicated in the 1971-72 Topps series, contributing to the value of the card.
Who was Gordie Howe? According to The Hockey News in their List of 100 Greatest Hockey Players of All-Time, Gordie is number three behind Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr. Gordie holds every record for longevity in hockey. When he finally did retire after the 1979-80 season, he was 52 years old. Chris Chelios retired after the 2009-10 season at the age of 48. Chelios is the closest any player has ever come to Howe.
Gordie played for the Detroit Red Wings from 1946-47 to 1970-71. He won four Stanley Cups, six Art Ross Trophies, six Hart Memorial Trophies and was an all-star 23 times. He played 26 NHL seasons with one last year as a member of the Hartford Whalers in 1979-80. He still is the player with the most regular season games played in a NHL career with 1767. Add in his games with the WHA and Howe has 2186. Add in playoff games with the two leagues and Gordie Howe played an amazing 2421 games.
Howe came out of retirement for the 1973-74 season so that he could play with his two sons on the Houston Aeros of the brand new World Hockey Association. Gordie played six of the seven years that the WHA existed. His first four seasons were with the Houston Aeros and his last two were with the New England Whalers. Gordie won the Gary L. Davidson Award in his first season as the WHA’s Most Valuable Player. The Award was renamed the Gordie Howe Trophy the following season. Howe’s Houston Aeros won the Avco Cup his first two years as the league’s playoff champion.
The 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee #262 is definitely a coveted possession for serious hockey card collectors. The only three cards valued higher in that series are the rookies cards of Ken Dryden, Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne.
Recent Gordie Howe eBay vintage hockey card auction results:
For more eBay auction results, check out the Vintage Hockey Cards Report eBay Price Guide.
| Howe, Gordie | 1954-55 | Parkhurst | 41 | 01-Jun-11 | $127.50 |
| Howe, Gordie | 1954-55 | Parkhurst | 41 | 11-Jun-11 | $85.00 |
| Howe, Gordie | 1960-61 | Parkhurst | 20 | 06-Jun-11 | $36.96 |
| Howe, Gordie | 1961-62 | Parkhurst | 20 | 06-Jun-11 | $33.02 |
| Howe, Gordie | 1970-71 | O-Pee-Chee | 29 | 20-Jun-11 | $31.99 |
| Howe, Gordie | 1969-70 | O-Pee-Chee | 193 | 07-Jun-11 | $27.00 |
| Howe, Gordie | 1970-71 | O-Pee-Chee | 238 | 20-Jun-11 | $21.00 |
| Howe, Gordie | 1971-72 | Topps | 70 | 15-Jun-11 | $19.01 |
| Howe, Gordie | 1970-71 | Topps | 29 | 14-Jun-11 | $11.00 |
| Howe, Gordie | 1971-72 | O-Pee-Chee | 262 | 13-Jun-11 | $9.77 |
| Howe, Gordie | 1966-67 | O-Pee-Chee | 121 | 19-Jun-11 | $7.55 |