The Lost Bossys: Baseball Edition Pt 3

  So awhile back I started doing the Topps/OPC baseball designs and I figure what better way to motivate myself than to feature Mike Bossy.  If you missed it, Part One is here, and Part Two is there.  Part Three took me a little longer due to two factors, one was moving, and the other was that I felt the 1987 Topps/OPC is a sacred design, reserved only for baseball.  1987 was the first baseball pack I ever opened.  So it felt weird putting a hockey player in the frame, but I did it.  And you know what, it works.  You could say the wood panelling represents the hockey stick.
  So the digital cardboard baseballification of Mike Bossy is complete.  I flipped flopped between OPC and Topps.  Some cards just look better as Topps due to the frame design, otherwise I went with OPC, or neither.  If I had to pick a favourite, I would go with either the 1983 or 1985.   Which design do you think goes best for hockey?

1985 OPC Baseball Mike Bossy

1986 OPC Baseball Mike Bossy

1987 OPC Baseball Mike Bossy

The Lost Bossys: Baseball Edition Pt 2

  The baseballification Mike Bossy's career in cards continues.  By this time, the Islanders Dynasty was in full swing and Bossy had solidified his place as the NHL's top sniper, who is not named Gretzky.
  The 1981 card was a bit of a pain since I had to swap out a baseball cap for a hockey helmet.  The 82 and 83 were fairly simply.  I switch to making them Topps cards since the Topps logo looks a lot better than the OPC in these sets.  I always loved the 1984 set but I couldn't find the right font for the team name so I actually cut and pasted each letter off other 1984 Topps cards, but then had to get them all the same colour.  Not the way I like to do it but the best font I could find would have cost $40.  I like making these cards but I am not up for buying fonts.
  Three more to go.

1981 OPC Mike Bossy

1982 Topps Mike Bossy

1983 Topps Mike Bossy

1984 Topps Mike Bossy

The Lost Mike Bossys: Baseball Edition Pt. 1

  What if Topps/OPC used their baseball designs for hockey?  I am not sure but it does give me an excuse to make some more cards of my favourite player, Mike Bossy.  I have the first three done, but hockeyizing the 1981 Topps gave some frustration switching the baseball cap into a hockey helmet that could have a position and team name on it.  So for now, just three Bossy on baseball designs.

1978 Topps Mike Bossy

1979 Topps Mike Bossy

1980 Topps Mike Bossy

Fan Requests 2: Mike Bossy 50 in 50

  Bossman22 suggested I do something to spotlight Mike Bossy's record tying 50 goals in 50 games.  Bossy was the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in 50 games.  The first was Maurice Richard, 36 years earlier in 1944-45.  Only three other players have accomplished the feat since, with Wayne Gretzky smashing the it the next season with 50 goals in 39 games, including 15 in the last five games!

  I did a four card subset for Bossy but struggled with deciding which template to go with.  First, I used the base card and switched the team name to 50 in 50.  I really like the design of the base card.  Although the 1981-82 OPC set had a Record Breakers subset.  So I tried that design as well.  I am a bit torn between the two, so I decided I will post both side-by-side and let you guys be the judge.

1981-82 OPC Mike Bossy 50 in 50

1981-82 OPC Mike Bossy 50 in 50

1981-82 OPC Mike Bossy 50 in 50

1981-82 OPC Mike Bossy 50 in 50

And then I went with a suggestion of using the Super Action subset for the 50th goal.  I cheated on the font for the "SUPER ACTION".  Usually I find the correct, or close enough, font but I wasn't able to match it up with a (free) font from the internet.  So I used the Paint Bucket and then touched up the stray pixels the best my patience could.  Can you find the puck in the picture?  Took me a while.

1981-82 OPC Super Action Mike Bossy

Fan Requests

  Okay, maybe I am exaggerating by saying fan requests, but on my Lost Page: 85-86 OPC, Mike said if he could add a card to the 85-86 set, it would be Petri Skirko.  Petri led the Canucks in points in his sophomore season and had four straight season of 30+ goals.  His rookie card was in the 86-87 OPC set, which was a very peculiar picture.  He's not even looking at the camera.  For the card I made below there is an fairly big issue.  The Canucks had the Flying V jerseys until the 1984-85 season, so this picture is from sometime after the set was actually released.  I originally had the perfect picture for the card but things didn't quit look right.  First off was the helmet on Petri was different than anything else he had worn and next was the mask on the goalie in background.  Turns out I almost posted  Lars Molin as Petri Skriko card.  So the card below is a bit of a cheat.  I actually believe, based on the patch on the hip, this picture is from the 1986-87 season.  I could not find a suitable picture of Skriko in a Flying V jersey.  Mike also suggested a Todd Bergen and Mats Thelin.  The Bergen will posted as a Lost Rookie in the upcoming weeks.  Thelin is in the queue for a Lost Rookie.

1985-86 OPC Petri Skriko (RC)

  Bossman22 commented on a few posts, basically any post that had Mike Bossy and wanted more Mike Bossy.  Since the Islanders and Bossy were my favourites as a child, I actually had one in the queue already.  Been working on a few more Bossy's to celebrate his 50 in 50 accomplishment but can't quite decide on the frame.

1989-90 OPC Mike Bossy

  If you have a player you would like to see in a 80s set, or another set I have already posted, comment below.  If it inspires me, it will likely show up on the blog at a later date.

The Lost Mike Bossy's: 90-91

  Mike Bossy was a gifted goal scorer, who retired early due to back issues.  He played 10 seasons in the NHL and scored 50+ goals in his first nine seasons.  He was the second player in history to score 50 goals in 50 games.  Bossy retired after scoring 573 goals in 752 games.  He holds the NHL career record for average .76 goals per game.  In his final NHL season, 1986-87, Bossy had 29 goals and 56 points in 41 games before missing two week due to his back injury.  He would only score 9 goals and 19 points in his final 22 regular season games.
  If Bossy had been able to play a few more seasons, could he had challenged Gordie Howe's 801 career goals?  If he could have played 6 more seasons and average 40 goals a year, he would have done it.  Granted, if all players had perfect health for their full careers, I am pretty sure the record book would look very different.
  Assuming Bossy's back held up until the junk era, here's his 1990-91 base cards.

90-91 Bowman Mike Bossy

90-91 OPC Mike Bossy

90-91 OPC Premier Mike Bossy

90-91 Pro Set Mike Bossy

90-91 Score Mike Bossy

90-91 Upper Deck Mike Bossy

88-89 OPC Legends; Mike Bossy

  Stealing from today's OPC to go with what I stole from yesteryear's OPC, the set will include Legend cards. I am just not labeling them as any different. They'd be short-printed ofcourse, if they were ever printed.  We'll throw them after the regular base and the first one, Mike Bossy, will be card #91.
  Mike Bossy is one of the best goal scorers in NHL history.  Only the second player to score 50 goals in 50 games, the first rookie to score 50 goals, career leader in goals-per-game and a 1st ballot Hall of Famer.  He scored 50 goals in every season he played except for his last season, when a back injury caused him to retire.  Bossy was my favourite player when I was a child and he gets the honor of being the first Legend to be included in this set.

#91 Mike Bossy

Don't know Bossy?  Watch and be educated.