An updated and more detailed article on this player is available here: Harry Watson
On Wednesday, April 17, 2013, the Harry Watson 1954-55 Parkhurst number 17 hockey card will be listed on eBay for the incredible opening bid price of just $.01. That’s one cent! The Harry Watson card will be included in a group of ten cards of decent value being put up for auction on that date for that same low starting bid price. Check out the ten cards to be auctioned.
The images shown in this article are high-def scans of the actual card being auctioned. Click on the images for a larger and better look to judge for yourself the condition of the card.
Sometime on the evening of Wednesday, April 17, 2013, this hockey card will available to bid on at eBay – It will be available here: eBay Hockey Cards– there are always hockey cards up for auction here – check ’em out!
The Card
The 1954-55 Parkhurst number 17 hockey card, featuring Harry Watson, is valued by Beckett at up to $40. The Watson card is one of 100 in the set. The complete collection is worth $4000 with a common card coming in at $25. The set is highlighted by Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings ($600), the rookie card of Johnny Bower ($400) and Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard of the Montreal Canadiens ($400).
The Player
Harry Watson played in the National Hockey League from 1941-42 to 1956-57. He missed the 1943-44 and 1944-45 seasons while serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force at the height of World War II. He entered the league in 1941-42 with the Brooklyn Americans. It would be his only year with the Americans and the last year of the team’s existence.
Over his NHL career, Harry played 809 regular season games, scoring 236 goals and assisting on 207 for 443 points. He played an additional 62 games in the playoffs, contributing 25 points. His name is on the Stanley Cup five times, once as a member of the Detroit Red Wings in 1942-43 and the other four with the Toronto Maple Leafs (1946-47, 1947-48, 1948-49 and 1950-51).
In 1948-49, along with winning his third straight Stanley Cup championship with the Maple Leafs, Watson finished second in the NHL with 26 goals, two behind the leader, Sid Abel of the Detroit Red Wings. He also went penalty free during the regular season and took just one minor penalty in nine playoff games. However, it was Bill Quackenbush, a defenseman with the Detroit Red Wings, that took home the Lady Byng Trophy. Quackenbush also went penalty free during the regular season, a great feat for a blue liner. Bill also stayed out of the box in eleven playoff games.
The Coach
In 1957-58, a year after spending his final season in the NHL with the Chicago Black Hawks, Watson acted as player / head coach of the Buffalo Bisons in the American Hockey League. The Bisons did miserably, finishing last in the six team league, eleven points behind the fifth place Rochester Americans.
The following year, Harry moved across the Niagara River to coach the St. Catherines Teepees, a major junior team in the Ontario Hockey Association (now the Ontario Hockey League). In 1958-59, Watson had a stellar lineup on the ice that included future NHL stars Stan Mikita, Vic Hadfield, Chico Maki and Pat Stapleton.
The Teepees finished first overall in the seven team OHA, 21 points ahead of the second place Peterborough TPT’s (Petes) over the 54 game regular season schedule. St. Catherines was upset in the semi-finals by Toronto St. Michael’s. Toronto finished fourth during the regular sesaon, 32 points behind the Teepees. It was Peterborough that went on to win the Robertson Cup as OHA playoff champs.
Watson’s coaching career went on hiatus until 1962-63 when he took over the reigns of the Windsor Bulldogs in the OHA Senior league. The Bulldogs finished first in the six team OHA. They were led offensively by Erwin Grosse who finished the regular season with 102 points in 46 games, the most in the league. Grosse was just two years removed from playing for the Clinton Comets of the Eastern Hockey League.
The Bulldogs won the OHA championship with a four games to two victory over the Chatham Maroons in the final series. Windsor then went on to defeat the Moncton Hawks in the Eastern Canada Allen Cup playoffs. Once again, the Bulldogs came out victorious to earn a showdown with the Winnipeg Maroons for the Allen Cup. The Allen Cup finals were held in Windsor and the Bulldogs took the series four games to one.
Harry Watson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1994. He passed away in 2002 at the age of 79.
Articles on other cards being auctioned:
Bobby Clarke 1970-71 Dad’s Cookies 15
Philadelphia Flyers team leaders 1974-75 Topps 154
Darryl Sittler 1976-77 Topps 207