I don’t think I’m overly conceited when I say I know a lot about the history of the National Hockey League. If there was a pro NHL hockey trivia circuit, I might not be Gretzky but I’m sure I’d at least be Steve Yzerman. My thirst for hockey knowledge started as a child and I didn’t do much of my learning from books. No, it was from the back of hockey cards.
Hockey cards are more than a pretty piece of cardboard. They provide a history of the game that simply cannot be found in books. Each card throughout the history of the hobby provides at least one concrete fact that can never be erased.
Let’s take a look at the backs of four cards from the 1954-55 Topps set. This was the first time Topps ventured into the hockey card market and they, quite frankly, showed up Parkhurst, real good. The fronts were classy with an attractive design and the backs provided detailed information on each player plus a trivial general factoid about the game in general.
(Original text from the back of the card is in red italics)
Bob Chrystal – New York Rangers (card #2)
“Hustle” should be the middle name for Bob, who came up out of Cleveland’s organization. The Rangers bought him in 1953-54. He is a good puck carrier who split his rookie year between defense and a wing position. His biggest thrill happened in the spring of 53 when his sudden-death goal in the final game enabled Cleveland to take the American League Title.
Chrystal did score the winning goal for the Cleveland Barons in the 1952-53 Calder Cup finals against the Pittsburgh Hornets. The series went the full seven games with the home team winning each game. Three games were decided in overtime, including game seven. Bob’s goal in overtime of game seven was the only goal of the game with the Barons winning 1-0 to capture the championship. Despite being on the losing end, the Hornets outscored Cleveland on the series, 15-13.
Chrystal played in the National Hockey League for just the 1953-54 and 1954-55 seasons. His entire NHL career was spent with the New York Rangers.
Chrystal’s card was a bit of a double bonus with this little tidbit:
The Iron Man Record in the NHL is held by Murray Murdoch of the New York Rangers. He played in 508 consecutive games in eleven seasons.
It’s true, Murray Murdoch played in the NHL for eleven seasons from 1926-27 to 1936-37 and did not miss a single game over that time. His entire career was spent with the Rangers. In the first five years, each team in the NHL played 44 games. In the final six years of Murdoch’s career, the schedule was bumped up to 48 games.
The current record is owned by Doug Jarvis. Jarvis played every game over a 12 year span when each team in the NHL played an 80 game schedule. Doug’s streak ended at 964 games.
Red Sullivan – Chicago Blackhawks (card #42)
After five years with Boston and its farm at Hershey, “Red” was bought last summer by Chicago as part of a reconstruction move. His 119 points had just set a new American Hockey League individual Scoring Record. He was also voted the loop’s Most Valuable Player. Proving his two-way ability, he also does an effective job as a penalty-killer. “Red” is rated a top prospect.
Sullivan did set the AHL record with 119 points in 1953-54 with the Hershey Bears. The 1954-55 Topps #42 card is therefore an uncorrected error card (UER) as it states at the bottom that he had just 116 points.
Sullivan broke the previous record set by Carl Liscombe of the Providence Reds by one point. Liscombe posted 118 points during the 1947-48 season. Red’s record would remain intact until 1982-83. Ross Yates of the Binghamton Whalers totalled 125. The current record sits at 138 points, set by Don Biggs of the Binghamton Rangers in 1992-93.
Red Sullivan played in the National Hockey League from 1949-50 to 1960-61. He appeared in 556 regular season games with the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers.
Ivan Irwin – New York Rangers (card #44)
The only American-born player in the National Hockey League, “Ivan the Terrible” is one of the roughest and most colorful defensemen in the Game. After playing a year with Vancouver, a Montreal farm team, he was traded to the Blueshirts at the beginning of the 1953-54 season. His hard-checking and balding head reminds fans of the great Ranger defenseman, Ching Johnson.
Irwin was born in the United States, true. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. However, Ivan was raised in Toronto, Ontario. He played a total of 155 NHL regular season games between 1952-53 and 1957-58 with the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers. Ironically, he played for neither Chicago or Toronto.
Ed Sandford – Boston Bruins (card #48)
From the general factoid, unrelated to Ed Sandford:
$1,000 goes to the winner of each individual National Hockey League Trophy at the end of the season. Six trophies are awarded each season.
The award winners in 1953-54:
Art Ross Trophy – Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
Calder Trophy – Camille Henry, New York Rangers
Hart Trophy – Al Rollins, Chicago Blackhawks
Norris Trophy – Red Kelly, Detroit Red Wings
Lady Byng Trophy – Red Kelly, Detroit Red Wings
Vezina Trophy – Harry Lumley, Toronto Maple Leafs
Allowing for inflation, the $1,000 in 1954 is equal to $8,700 in 2014. Red Kelly was the big winner with two trophies to his name.