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Jean Ratelle: Tops in 1961-62 Topps

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jean ratelle rookie hockey card 1961-62 toppsA pair of New York Rangers were at the head of the 1961-62 Topps rookie card class. Jean Ratelle, along with teammate Rod Gilbert, provide the second and third highest valued cards in the set. The Jean Ratelle rookie card appears as number 60 in the set and is valued at $150. Only Bobby Hull is valued higher, at $300. The 1961-62 Topps set consists of 66 cards and a full set is valued at $1500.
Ratelle played his junior hockey with the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters. In 1959-60, he placed third in the OHA with 86 points. In 1960-61, he finished second with 101. In both cases, he was directly behind Gilbert, also of Guelph.

Jean played in the NHL from 1960-61 (just three games as a call-up from the Biltmores) to 1980-81. He was a member of the New York Rangers until a trade sent him, Brad Park and Joe Zanussi to the Boston Bruins for Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais midway through the 1975-76 season.


Jean Ratelle Collection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Seven times during his NHL career, Ratelle finished among the top ten in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. His highest position was fourth, achieved twice. In 1967-68, he was fourth with 78 points and in 1971-72 he was fourth with 106 points. In that 1971-72 season, he had the potential of taking the Art Ross but injuries limited him to just 63 games. The Rangers finished 3rd, 4th and 5th that season with Vic Hadfield and Rod Gilbert placing just behind Jean.


Ratelle crossed the 100 point line just one other time in his career. In his 1975-76 season, split between the Rangers and Bruins, Ratelle totalled 105. He never reached the 50 goal plateau, topping out at 46 in 1971-72.

Never a Stanley Cup champion, Ratelle was on teams that made the finals on three occasions. His Rangers fell to the mighty 1972 Boston Bruins in six games. As a Bruin, Jean was disappointed by the Montreal Canadiens in consecutive seasons, 1976-77 and 1977-78.

In 1985, Jean Ratelle was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame along with Gerry Cheevers and Bert Olmstead. He finished his career with 1,267 points over 1,281 regular season games. His point total still places him 35th in the NHL all-time.

 

Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM
1958-59 Guelph Biltmores OHA 54 20 31 51 11
1959-60 Guelph Biltmores OHA 48 39 47 86 15
1959-60 Trois Rivieres Lions EPHL 3 3 5 8 0
1960-61 Guelph Royals OHA 47 40 61 101 0
1960-61 New York Rangers NHL 3 2 1 3 0
1961-62 New York Rangers NHL 31 4 8 12 4
1961-62 Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers EPHL 32 10 29 39 8
1962-63 Baltimore Clippers AHL 20 11 8 19 0
1962-63 New York Rangers NHL 48 11 9 20 8
1963-64 Baltimore Clippers AHL 57 20 26 46 2
1963-64 New York Rangers NHL 15 0 7 7 6
1964-65 Baltimore Clippers AHL 8 9 4 13 6
1964-65 New York Rangers NHL 54 14 21 35 14
1965-66 New York Rangers NHL 67 21 30 51 10
1966-67 New York Rangers NHL 41 6 5 11 4
1967-68 New York Rangers NHL 74 32 46 78 18
1968-69 New York Rangers NHL 75 32 46 78 26
1969-70 New York Rangers NHL 75 32 42 74 28
1970-71 New York Rangers NHL 78 26 46 72 14
1971-72 New York Rangers NHL 63 46 63 109 4
1972-73 New York Rangers NHL 78 41 53 94 12
1973-74 New York Rangers NHL 68 28 39 67 16
1974-75 New York Rangers NHL 79 36 55 91 26
1975-76 New York Rangers NHL 13 5 10 15 2
1975-76 Boston Bruins NHL 67 31 59 90 16
1976-77 Boston Bruins NHL 78 33 61 94 22
1977-78 Boston Bruins NHL 80 25 59 84 10
1978-79 Boston Bruins NHL 80 27 45 72 12
1979-80 Boston Bruins NHL 67 28 45 73 8
1980-81 Boston Bruins NHL 47 11 26 37 16
NHL Totals 1281 491 776 1267 276


 

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