John Tonelli stars in Why I Oughta!!!!!!!!!(Or how Doogie Howser's buddy's learned to play hockey.)

John Tonelli won 4 Stanley Cups with the Islanders.  He scored 836 points in 13 NHL seasons. He is well remembered by teammates, fans, and opponets for his tenacity and his ability to come up big in clutch situations.  But the first thought that comes to my mind when I think of John Tonelli is this card (technically a Blackhawks card) from 1991-92 Stadium Club, in which he reminds me of the pissed off old man down the street who keeps all the baseballs that go in his yard. DAMN KIDS!!!! He shouted, shaking his fist in anger and frustration.

Also, for some reason, this card always reminds me of guy who played Doogie Howser's buddy Vinnie in Doogie Howser MD.

Sorry, John. You were a fine player, and I'm sure a nice guy, but these images come to my brain when I hear or see your name.  Blame it on the Topps photographers.

Pack Breaks: ITG 1972 The Year In Hockey

1972 The Year In Hockey is a pretty unique little set that came out this year from In the Game. There are all kinds of nice little subsets and special cards. With the odds of getting an auto about 1 in every 6 packs, there's a pretty good chance of landing a nice card.

Unfortunately, that also means the price is pretty steep, at my local shop they're $6 a pack. I told the clerk I would like 3 packs, and when he informed me they're was only 5 left, he gave me a deal that I would get 5 packs for the price of 4. Deal! Odds are I should get a auto in the bunch, and hopefully some old-school Blackhawks for my collection.


The very first card in the first pack I opened was The Golden Jet himself, Bobby Hull.

I forgot that this set contains players and teams from the WHA, Bobby was a member of the Winnipeg Jets in 1972, the Blackhawks let the most famous player in franchise history walk to another league for a million dollars.  Still a sore subject with my father.

Down to the last pack, still nothing, until......

Ken Hodge auto, not bad. Key component of some good Boston Bruin teams, he played on the same line as Phil Esposito, and speaking of Phil, his brother was in the same pack......

I couldn't believe it. Not only did I score 2 autos in the same pack, but one was f'n Tony O! Needless to say, I'm very satisfied with my purchase today.

The joys of E-Bay

Purchased this beauty for the decent price of $9.99. I hope these two remain linemates for years to come!

Trading Deadline: Going, Going, .........

 

Well, the NHL trade deadline came and went, and the Blackhawks made no significant moves.  Rumnors were abound that the club was shopping Tomas Vokoun of the Florida Panthers, but apparently the asking price was too high.

Both Huet and Antti Niemi have flashes of brilliance, but are so incosistent at times that often I have to the TV off during key moments in close games. Hopefully they will get more confident when playoff time approaches. I miss the days of Eddie Belfour.

Player Spotlight: Keith Magnuson

Today, I would like put a spotlight on, so to speak, Blackhawks fan favorite Keith Magnuson.

Maggie was the teams enforcer during the 70's. He would never back down from a fight, even if that meant him gettimg pummelled on the ice. It happened alot, Keith lost more fights than he won, for sure. Maggie actually took boxing lessons in the off-season to improve his fighting abilities. I'm not sure if that helped or not, because I'm sure he has a losing record in hockey fights.

In his rookie year (69/70), Keith led the NHL with 213 penalty minutes, the following year he had a walloping 291, which at the time was a NHL record. He retired in 1980 with 14 goals, 125 assists, a +170, with 1,442 penalty minutes.

Keith was always beloved by the fans of Chicago, who respected the little redhead's courage and tenacity on the ice. Even after Maggie's disastrous run as head coach, he always remained a favorite.

Unfortunatley, Keith's life was cut short. On December 15, 2003, Magnuson was killed in a car accident in Vaughn, Ontario. Former NHL player Rob Ramage was behind the wheel, and survived . Ramage would later be found guilty of vehicular manslaughter, although the story about that sad night never seems to end.

On November 12, 2008, the Blackhawks retired Keith's #3 sweater, along with hall of fame defenseman Pierre Pilote, in a wonderful ceremony that didn't leave a dry eye in the house.

Incomplete Keith Magnuson Checklist: (with cards I have striked out)

Major Sets

1970-71 #151 O-Pee-Chee RC
1971-72 #69 O-Pee-Chee
1971-72 #69 Topps
1972-73 #71 O-Pee-Chee
1972-73 #87 Topps
1973-74 #151 O-Pee-Chee
1973-74 #44 Topps
1974-75 #75 O-Pee-Chee - NHL
1974-75 #75 Topps
1975-76 #176 O-Pee-Chee - NHL
1975-76 #176 Topps
1976-77 #125 O-Pee-Chee - NHL
1976-77 #125 Topps
1977-78 #89 O-Pee-Chee
1977-78 #89 Topps
1978-79 #34 O-Pee-Chee
1978-79 #34 Topps
2001-02 #54 Topps Archives
2002-03 #26 Fleer Throwbacks
2003-04 #55 Original Six Chicago Blackhawks (Alumni)

Major Insert Sets
2002-03 #9 Topps - Rookie Reprints

NHL small/food sets
1970-71 #73 Dad's Cookies
Team Sets
1970-71 #7 Chicago Blackhawks - Postcards [NHL]

09/10 Victory

I recently purchased a box of 2009/10 Upper Deck Victory, and wile I didn't get a big breaks, I did a pretty good job in the Blackhawks department.

Always nice to get a Kaner.

Marty, although he's currently with the Minnesota Wild.

Khabby, now with Edmonton, although he soon might be playing for the Arizona Penal League (for those not in the know, he was recently busted for DUI, and it doesn't look like he'll get off like Chelios.)

D-Man Brian Campbell, of whom many Hawks fans have a love/hate relationship with,

VERSTEEG!

Sweet! Antti Niemi rookie card! It looks like it's pretty much a sure thing that Niemi is now the #1 netminder in Chicago. Although he can be very inconsistent as times, I think he is a solid goalie.

Patrick Sharp Game Breakers. I love the looks of these inserts, especially the foil Indian Head. I must say, this card is pretty "sharp!" Get it? Sharp? See, cause the card looks sharp and his name is.....nevermind.

Toews!!!!! Also known as the Man Crush!!! I love this guy, by far my favorite current Hawk.  Cindy Crysby may be getting all the love and attention from Canada (also known as America's Hat), for his game winning goal in the gold medal game, but Toews was, in my opinion, Canada's best player throughout the tournament. This is a nice looking card, but then again, what Toews card doesn't look good?

How 'bout this one?

Two Man Crush cards!!!! This, like the Sharp Game Breaker, is a beautiful card.

2009/10 Victory Blackhawks Checklist (Ones I have struck out)

2009-10 Upper Deck Victory #41 Patrick Kane
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory #42 Nikolai Khabibulin
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory #43 Martin Havlat
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory #44 Jonathan Toews
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory #45 Patrick Sharp
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory #46 Brian Campbell
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory #47 Kris Versteeg
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory #241 Antti Niemi RC
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Black #41 Patrick Kane 
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Black #42 Nikolai Khabibulin 
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Black #43 Martin Havlat
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Black #44 Jonathan Toews 
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Black #45 Patrick Sharp
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Black #46 Brian Campbell 
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Black #47 Kris Versteeg
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Black #241 Antti Niemi 
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Game Breakers #GB2 Patrick Sharp
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Game Breakers #GB18 Patrick Kane
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Game Breakers #GB44 Jonathan Toews 
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Gold #41 Patrick Kane
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Gold #42 Nikolai Khabibulin
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Gold #43 Martin Havlat
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Gold #43 Martin Havlat 
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Gold #44 Jonathan Toews 
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Gold #45 Patrick Sharp 
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Gold #46 Brian Campbell 
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Gold #47 Kris Versteeg 
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Gold #241 Antti Niemi 
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Oversize Cards #OS9 Patrick Kane 
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Oversize Cards #OS10 Jonathan Toews 
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Stars of the Game #SG10 Patrick Kane
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Stars of the Game #SG32 Jonathan Toews 


Overall, not a bad box. Till next time!

Welcome

I've been a diehard Chicago Blackhawks fan my entire life. I started collecting baseball and hockey cards as a youngin' in the late 80's.  After a few years of crazy obsession, my love of the hobby waned when the mid 90's came about.  There were many reasons for this, I suppose. Both my teams (Hawks and White Sox), were terrible, so I wasn't paying as much attention to the sports as I used to. Other reasons, like becoming a teenager and all that encompasses that part of life, also played a big role.  The biggest reason was that the hobby generally sucked at this point in time. So one day I just stopped collecting and it seemed like that part of life was over.

Things changed big time in 2005 when my beloved White Sox finally won the World Series after an 88 year drought.  I bought the special World Series card box that Topps put out, and the addiction was reborn!

I originally planned to only collect baseball, and more specifically, White Sox cards.  I didn't feel like spending the time, energy, and more importantly, cash, on collecting multi-sport stuff.

But like what happened to the White Sox, something womderful has happened, the Blackhawks, my favorite sports team of them all, are relevant again.

A few years ago, ESPN magazine put a list together, ranking all the major US sports franchises from top to bottom, and the Blackhawks were picked dead last.

Imagine that, an original 6 NHL team, in a vibrant sports crazy city like Chicago, a team that Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Tony Esposito, Glenn Hall, and other all time greats wore the Indian sweater for.  A team with the best logo BAR NONE. That team was picked as the worst framchise in sports. Worse than the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Detroit Lions, even worse the the LA Clippers!!!!

ESPN did have a valid point, however. The owner of the team, "Dollar" Bill Wirtz, was one of the cheapest owners in sports, and hr refused to spend any money to get good players.  His biggest mistake was refusing to allow Hawk home games to be televised, losing a bunch of fans in the process.

It all changed when the old man died.  His son, Rocky Wirtz, took over the team, and things haven't been this good for Chicago hockey in forever.  Home games are on TV.  Money is spent on players. The Blackhawks have one of the most exciting teams in the entire NHL.  Life is good.

With a renewed passion for the Indian, I broke my rule and began to buy hockey cards again.  The collection is still small at the present time, but hopefully I will stick with it.  I plan on sticking mostly to Blackhawks cards, but I'm not going to limit myself.  I have a few projects going that I will get to at a later post.  If anyone out there (if there is anyone out there) has some Hawk card they wouldn't mind parting with, let me know, we'll see if we can work out a trade or something.

Thanks and GO HAWKS!