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1952-53 Parkhurst NHL Most Valuable Rookie Hockey Cards

For the 1951-52 National Hockey League season, Parkhurst reintroduced hockey cards to North America after more than a decade without them. For the next two years, Parkhurst would be the only producer on the market before Topps appeared in 1954-55. 1952-53 was an excellent sophomore set for the company with design enhancements, along with stats and information on the back instead of being blank like the year before.

105 hockey cards make up the 1952-53 game and the book value of an entire collection is set at $ 7,000. The first card in the set turns out to be the most valuable, belonging to Maurice Richard of the Montreal Canadiens with a book value of around $ 1,200.

Tim Horton – Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs’ Tim Horton is the subject of the most valuable rookie card. Tim Horton’s rookie card appears as number 58 on set and is valued at up to $ 700. This makes this hockey card the second most valuable in the series behind Richard’s. Prior to 1952-53, Tim played just five NHL games with the Maple Leafs during the previous two seasons. 1952-53 was his first regular season with the club, appearing in all 70 regular season games.

Horton was a regular in the NHL until his death during the 1973-74 season, and also played for the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabers during his career. He was a multi-time all-star player, a member of four Stanley Cup winning teams with Toronto, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977.

Dickie Moore – Montreal Canadians

Dickie Moore and George Armstrong’s 1952-53 Parkhurst rookie hockey cards are valued at $ 250. Moore played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1951-52 to 1962-63. He returned for a season with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1964-65 and played 27 games for the St. Louis Blues in his inaugural season, 1967-68. The man who would lead the NHL in scoring twice, he played just 18 games for the Canadiens in 1952-53 after appearing in his first 33 with the club the year before. In fact, it wouldn’t be until 1954-55 before Moore was a Habs regular.

Dickie won five Stanley Cups as a member of the Canadiens. He was honored with the Art Ross Trophy in consecutive seasons as the NHL leader in scoring, 1957-58 and 1958-59. In 1958-59, Moore recorded 96 points while appearing in all 70 regular-season games for Montreal, a National Hockey League record that stood until 1965-66 when Bobby Hull eclipsed him by one point. Dickie was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974 and his number 12 was retired by Montreal in 2005.

George Armstrong – Toronto Maple Leafs

George Armstrong still stands today as the Toronto Maple Leafs’ career leader in regular season games played. He played 1,188 games in the NHL between 1951-52 and 1970-71, all with Toronto. He was team captain for eleven of those seasons and the team won the Stanley Cup championship four times. George Armstrong was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975.

Bob Hassard – Toronto Maple Leafs

The fourth most valuable rookie card of the 1952-53 Parkhurst team belongs to Bob Hassard of the Toronto Maple Leafs. This hockey card is worth $ 125, not because of Bob’s NHL stardom, but because of the scarcity. Hassard’s rookie card was 105 of the 105 cards in the set, and often the last card in older sets is highly valued, despite the player appearing on the front.

1952-53 was Bob’s only full NHL season, playing all 70 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Between 1949-50 and 1954-55, Hassard played a total of 126 games for Toronto and the Chicago Black Hawks between 1949-50 and 1954-55. Only two hockey cards featuring Bob were produced, the 1952-53 rookie card and a Parkhurst set card from 1953-54.

Toronto and Parkhurst had reason to be optimistic about Hassard. In 1951-52, with his AHL affiliate, the Pittsburgh Hornets, Hassard led the team with 64 points in 67 regular season games. The King Clancy coached the Hornets and won the Calder Cup championship, defeating the Providence Reds in the final. Bob also helped the Hornets win another Calder Cup championship in 1954-55 when Howie Meeker’s coaching club eliminated the Buffalo Bisons in the final.

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