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tvp2003 · 05-19-2020, 09:27 PM

There is an article in the Athletic about the top 25 sports cards of all time. While only two hockey cards made the list (Bobby Orr’s rookie card at #23, and Wayne Gretzky’s rookie card at #10), I thought it would be interesting to look back on the top Calgary Flames cards of all time (and no, Rasmus Andersson’s Young Guns Rookie is not one of them lol). The good news if you’re a current collector is that none of these cards are particularly expensive to acquire

Obviously your top 10 may differ slightly, but here's mine. Only two caveats for my list: they must be from their time with the Calgary Flames (ie no Lanny McDonald rookie card since he was with the Leafs at the time), and I’m not necessarily interested in ultra “rare” and/or valuable insert cards (don’t get me started on those -- I grew up in the days where packs were $0.35 and you got a stick of crappy pink gum in each one). Feel free to add your own thoughts/cards!

10. Lanny McDonald 1983/84 OPC #74. Can’t have a top 10 Flames list without Lanny, so we’ll start here. This card celebrates his team leading 66 goal season, which still stands as a Flames record.

9. Joe Mullen 1986/87 OPC #44 - I always liked the design of this set — clean and bold. This is also Mullen’s first Flames card, and he was a key member of both the 1986 and 1989 Flames teams that went to the Finals.

8. Joel Otto 1990/91 Upper Deck #141 - From the inaugural Upper Deck hockey set, how could you forget Otto’s card with him blowing a big pink bubble? It’s our equivalent to Carl Yazstremski with the big sideburns.

7. Mike Vernon 1987/88 OPC #215 - This was my holy grail as a young card collector. My only gripe is that on the back of the card, it is missing his hometown and birthdate. As a kid, I happily fixed that by writing it in myself

6. Miikka Kiprusoff 2012/13 Upper Deck #22 - There were a couple of options here but I went with this one showing classic Kipper doing the splits to make the save. Extra points for wearing the Flames retro uniform as well.

5. Jarome Iginla 2003/04 Upper Deck #29 - There have been some “interesting” Iggy cards over the years, including one with him playing ping pong, and another where he’s sitting in jeans by the bench holding a skate. I think my favourite would have to be his 2003/04 Upper Deck card. Iggy in his prime, unleashing a wicked slap shot. And I’m guessing the photo was taken at the All-star game as he’s not wearing a helmet (of course, we all know Iggy sans helmet was just the cheat code for pure domination).

4. Theo Fleury 1991-92 Upper Deck #245 - Great photo of the diminutive Theo hopping over the boards and onto the ice. It is reminiscent of a famous Dave Elston cartoon that depicts Fleury using a ladder to “change on the fly”. HM to Theo’s 1989/90 OPC rookie card (I remember thinking his hair looked perfect on this card) and his 1990/91 Upper Deck card (nice shot of him in mid air trying to throw a bodycheck against the boards).

3. Joe Nieuwendyk 1988/89 OPC #16 - Nieuwy’s OPC rookie card. With 51 goals in each of his first two seasons, he set a standard that no other Flame has ever come close to matching.

2. Johnny Gaudreau 2014/15 Upper Deck #211 - Johnny’s Young Guns rookie card. Definitely lived up to the hype starting in his very first NHL season.

1. Al MacInnis 1985-86 OPC #237 - Chopper’s OPC rookie card. A Hall of Famer and key contributor in the 1989 Stanley Cup Finals, which earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy. Also probably the most valuable Flames card from the 1980's.

05-19-2020, 09:27 PM	#1
tvp2003 Franchise Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Exp:	Top 10 Calgary Flames hockey cards There is an article in the Athletic about the top 25 sports cards of all time. While only two hockey cards made the list (Bobby Orr’s rookie card at #23, and Wayne Gretzky’s rookie card at #10), I thought it would be interesting to look back on the top Calgary Flames cards of all time (and no, Rasmus Andersson’s Young Guns Rookie is not one of them lol). The good news if you’re a current collector is that none of these cards are particularly expensive to acquire Obviously your top 10 may differ slightly, but here's mine. Only two caveats for my list: they must be from their time with the Calgary Flames (ie no Lanny McDonald rookie card since he was with the Leafs at the time), and I’m not necessarily interested in ultra “rare” and/or valuable insert cards (don’t get me started on those -- I grew up in the days where packs were $0.35 and you got a stick of crappy pink gum in each one). Feel free to add your own thoughts/cards! 10. Lanny McDonald 1983/84 OPC #74. Can’t have a top 10 Flames list without Lanny, so we’ll start here. This card celebrates his team leading 66 goal season, which still stands as a Flames record. 9. Joe Mullen 1986/87 OPC #44 - I always liked the design of this set — clean and bold. This is also Mullen’s first Flames card, and he was a key member of both the 1986 and 1989 Flames teams that went to the Finals. 8. Joel Otto 1990/91 Upper Deck #141 - From the inaugural Upper Deck hockey set, how could you forget Otto’s card with him blowing a big pink bubble? It’s our equivalent to Carl Yazstremski with the big sideburns. 7. Mike Vernon 1987/88 OPC #215 - This was my holy grail as a young card collector. My only gripe is that on the back of the card, it is missing his hometown and birthdate. As a kid, I happily fixed that by writing it in myself 6. Miikka Kiprusoff 2012/13 Upper Deck #22 - There were a couple of options here but I went with this one showing classic Kipper doing the splits to make the save. Extra points for wearing the Flames retro uniform as well. 5. Jarome Iginla 2003/04 Upper Deck #29 - There have been some “interesting” Iggy cards over the years, including one with him playing ping pong, and another where he’s sitting in jeans by the bench holding a skate. I think my favourite would have to be his 2003/04 Upper Deck card. Iggy in his prime, unleashing a wicked slap shot. And I’m guessing the photo was taken at the All-star game as he’s not wearing a helmet (of course, we all know Iggy sans helmet was just the cheat code for pure domination). 4. Theo Fleury 1991-92 Upper Deck #245 - Great photo of the diminutive Theo hopping over the boards and onto the ice. It is reminiscent of a famous Dave Elston cartoon that depicts Fleury using a ladder to “change on the fly”. HM to Theo’s 1989/90 OPC rookie card (I remember thinking his hair looked perfect on this card) and his 1990/91 Upper Deck card (nice shot of him in mid air trying to throw a bodycheck against the boards). 3. Joe Nieuwendyk 1988/89 OPC #16 - Nieuwy’s OPC rookie card. With 51 goals in each of his first two seasons, he set a standard that no other Flame has ever come close to matching. 2. Johnny Gaudreau 2014/15 Upper Deck #211 - Johnny’s Young Guns rookie card. Definitely lived up to the hype starting in his very first NHL season. 1. Al MacInnis 1985-86 OPC #237 - Chopper’s OPC rookie card. A Hall of Famer and key contributor in the 1989 Stanley Cup Finals, which earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy. Also probably the most valuable Flames card from the 1980's.