List of O-Pee-Chee Sports Cards Sets

In 1965, the O-Pee-Chee produced a licensed version of the American Topps set of that year, but it only issued cards 1- 283, instead of the full 598 card Topps set. They continued to produce smaller versions of the Topps sets for the rest of the decade. The primary difference with the O-Pee-Chee sets is the 'Printed in Canada' statement on the reverse. The copyright line shows T.C.G, and did so until 1972 when it changed to O.P.C. The 1969 O-Pee-Chee set included the company's logo on the reverse and used a dark red ink as opposed to the pink ink on the Topps cards.

In the 1970s, O-Pee-Chee produced a licensed version of the American Topps sets throughout the decade. The Canadian printed O-Pee-Chee cards tended to be printed on lighter grey cardstock and often included traded lines on the front of the cards. In 1970, due to Canadian law, the cards were modified to include both French and English text in which case T.C.G was replaced by O.P.C. in the copyright line. The first four series of the 1971 set(1-523) featured French and English card backs, while the 5th and 6th series reverted to the English-only back of their Topps counterpart. The 1971 set also had several cards unique to the Canadian issue, including cards with trade lines on the front, and extra Expo player cards that resulted in the O Pee Chee set substituting Ron Hunt for Topps' #161 Coin Checklist,Claude Raymond for Topps' #202 Reds Celebrate, and Rusty Staub for Topps' White Sox Team Card. In 1977 different photos were used on some of the cards. Other variations include yellow backs in 1971 and 1974 rather than green used by Topps. From 1973 until 1975, the amount of cards in both the Topps and O-Pee-Chee sets were identical in size.

Baseball

Early issues

1937 OPC V300 40 cards Size: 2-5/8 X 2-15/16 The players in the set were all from the American League. The information on the back was in both English and French. The cards were foldable to create a stand-up of the black and white action photo which was in front of a ballpark setting.
1960 OPC Tattoos This set was just like its Topps relative and was identifiable by its wrapper.

1960s

Year Set Type Quantity Size (in.)
1965 O-Pee-Chee Base 283 2.5 × 3.5 
1966 O-Pee-Chee Base 196 2.5 × 3.5 
1967 O-Pee-Chee Base 196 2.5 × 3.5 
1968 O-Pee-Chee Base 196 2.5 × 3.5 
Posters Insert 32 2.5 × 3.5 
1969 O-Pee-Chee Base 218 2.5 × 3.5 
Deckle Edge Insert 24 2.25 × 3.25 

1970s

Year Set Type Quantity Size(in.)
1970 OPC Base 546 2.5 × 3.5 
1971 OPC Base 752 2.5 × 3.5 
1972 OPC Base 525 2.5 × 3.5 
1973 OPC Base 660 2.5 × 3.5 
Blue Team Checklists Insert 24 2.5 × 3.5 
1974 OPC Base 660 2.5 × 3.5 
Red Team Checklists Insert 24 2.5 × 3.5 
1975 OPC Base 660 2.5 × 3.5 
1976 OPC Base 660 2.5 × 3.5 
1977 OPC Base 264 2.5 × 3.5 
1978 OPC Base 242 2.5 × 3.5 
1979 OPC Base 264 2.5 × 3.5 

1980s

Year/Set/Quantity/Size

1990

Base set

In 1990 O-Pee-Chee printed a set virtually identical to the 792 card Topps set complete with the Topps logo. The only differences between the two are the bilingual reverse sides and the copyright line. The majority of the cards were printed on grey cardstock, similar to that used by Topps for its American issue. The less abundant variation are cards printed on a thinner white cardstock. The latter cards tend to command a premium, as they were distributed at about a 1:5 ratio compared to the former ones. Subsets include Nolan Ryan Salute, Record Breakers, Turn Back The Clock, All-Stars, First Draft Picks, Checklists, and Manager cards. Size: 2½ × 3½ in.[1] For the third straight year, O-Pee-Chee printed a 792 card set virtually identical to the year's Topps set. Unlike the previous two years, the Topps branding was not present and was replaced by an O-Pee-Chee logo on the cards. One significant difference was the Canadian set did not include All Star cards. In their stead were a Gary Carter tribute subset and cards of players who did not appear in the American set including a rookie card of Moisés Alou.The set was available for purchase in individual packages or as a complete factory set. It also marked the final year for the company producing a baseball set of the same basic design as the Topps set. Size: 2½ × 3½ in. Canadianized versions of the Topps Wax Box Cards were also produced. The cards were printed one per box on the bottom of the wax pack boxes. The four different box bottoms feature the four division winning teams and have highlights on the back in English and French. Size: 5 × 7 in. when individually cut out. The Premier set totals 198 cards and was issued in wax packs or factory sets. The cards feature English/French text and color player photos on front and back. Size: 2½ × 3½ in. The "Box Bottom" cards were featured 4 to a box on the bottom of the wax pack boxes of cards of which there were 4 different boxes for a total of 16 cards. They resemble the base cards except for having a career milestones on the back instead of full statistics. The set is lettered A-P rather than numbered. Size: 2½ × 3½ in. when individually cut out.[1]

Football (Canadian)

1960s

O-Pee-Chee began marketing CFL cards in 1958 with the Topps Company. While cards produced from 1958 to 1960 were printed by Topps in the United States, they were printed by O-Pee-Chee in Canada (with stops and starts) from 1961 to 1972.

1970s

Standard size is 2½ × 3½ in.

Ice Hockey

Early Issues

1933-34 OPC V304A (48) B/W player photo on colored field of stars. The player's name was in a rectangle on the bottom of the front. The star fields were in either red, blue, orange, or green. The biography on the backs are in English and French. Size: 2-5/16 X 3-9/16 inches.
1933-34 OPC V304B The remaining 24 cards continued in numbering from series A.
1935-36 OPC V304C (24) This series continues its numbering from series B but measure 2-3/8 X 2-7/8 inches. The front design also differed from the prvious two series in that it had cartoon style hockey players on either side of the B/W player photo. The different color fields of the background were either green, orange, maroon, or yellow.
1936-37 OPC V304D (36) The D series continued the numbering from the C series but measure 2-3/8 X 2-15/16 inches. This set had no colored background but were foldable in order to make a stand-up.
1937-38 OPC V304E (48) This set is the fifth in the numerical series. The cards featured a serrated border which came in blue or purple. The player photo is B/W and partnered with a facsimile autograph and a small cartoon style silhouette of a hockey player. The player biography on the back is English and French. Size: 2-3/8 X 2-7/8 inches.
1939-40 OPC V301-1 (100) Issued one per cello pack these blank backed cards were numbered on the front in the lower right corner. The player photo was B/W below which was the player's name, team, and position. Size: 5 X 7 inches.
1940-41 OPC V301-2 (50) This set continued in numbering from series 1 and was nearly the same except for being sepia in color.

1960s

O-Pee-Chee formally began marketing NHL cards in 1958 with the Topps Company. While cards produced from 1957-58 to 1960-61 were printed by Topps in the United States, they were printed by O-Pee-Chee in Canada 1961-62 onwards.

References

  1. 1 2 Beckett, Dr. James et al. (2002). "Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide". Beckett Publications-Dallas, Texas ISBN 1-930692-17-X
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