Basement find pulls vintage Morenz and Joliat cards!

It’s one of those typical stories of finding a lost treasure in an attic. This one came to my attention thanks to a small writeup, by Len Corben, in the North Shore Outlook.

A North Vancouver resident recently uncovered a box of hockey cards, from the 1930’s, in his/her basement. Though not in mint condition (there was evidence of them once being glued and trimmed), the unnamed person brought them to the Greater Vancouver Sports Memorabilia show to get some input.

One of the show exhibitors, renowned sports memorabilia auction house Classic Auctions had a chance to look at them. The cards were part of the 1933-34 O-Pee-Chee Hockey and World Wide Gum (WWG) Ice Kings sets.

Two notable cards from the WWG set (also known as V357 in the collector world) include the great Howie Morenz and Aurel Joliat. Another Joliat card graces the O-Pee-Chee (V304) cards.

Individually, the cards of the two Habs greats have book values of anywhere from $500 to $2000 dollars each in ExMt condition. Given the condition of the cards in the descriptions, they are probably valued at 15 to 40 percent of that. But at auction all that can change.

The group of 46 cards is now part of Classic’s Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction, which is highlighted by Paul Henderson’s game-winning jersey from the 1972 Summit Series. The lot of cards is currently selling at $400 and bidding ends on June 22.

Over the next couple weeks, I’ll be posting more links to Habs-related lots of interest at this auction.

Le Gros Bill receives another honour

Quebec Premier Jean Charest applauds after Habs legend Jean Beliveau receives the Grand Officer Medal of L'Ordre National du Québec. Photo: AP/The Canadian Press, Jacques Boissinot

Canadiens legend Jean Beliveau was added another honour to his resume of achievements.

The Hall of Famer received the medal of Grand Officer of the L'Ordre National du Québec (National Order of Quebec) on Wednesday.

The Order honours current or former Quebec residents for outstanding achievements in any field and is the highest award in Quebec. The ranking of Grand Officer is the highest for the award. Beliveau had been made a Chevalier(Knight) of the Order in 1998 and promoted to Officier (Officer) in 2006.

Beliveau is one of four Canadiens players to have received the Order. Henri Richard (officer/officier), Emile “Butch” Bouchard and Guy Lafleur (both Chevalier/Knight) are the others. Mario Lemieux is the only other NHL player to have received the Order.

A more detailed list of awards received by Jean Beliveau in his playing and post-playing career can be found in this YTHR June 2009 article.

Video Clips from the Habs Blackhawks ‘65 Final

Instead of doing a retrospective of Jacques Martin’s first calendar year as Montreal Canadiens head coach, I thought I’d throw up a couple YouTube Clips from the 1965 Stanley Cup Final.

The series would be a seven-game ordeal between Montreal and the Chicago Blackhawks.

I think these vids will be more entertaining than a best-of video montage of Martin’s pressers, don’t you?

Game Five (April 27): The Canadiens took the game with a 6-0 pasting of Chicago. Things got rough when John Ferguson and Eric Nesterenko had at it.

Game Seven (May 1): The Canadiens win the game 4-0 to claim a 13th Stanley Cup. This is the closing minutes of the game that includes the Cup presentation and the first ever Conn Smythe Trophy to Jean Beliveau.