Letting Canada come to me

 

Over recent years, I've often seen online people joking, or being serious, about moving to Canada, due to various reasons related to the government or politics.

 

I have no desire to move to Canada, even the thought of one day when I retire moving elsewhere within the state sounds overwhelming. Besides, the most desirable time to move to Canada would have been when I was a youngster, during the '70s and '80s, when O-Pee-Chee issued its very best baseball cards on store shelves and counter tops throughout that massive country.

 

I would have loved to open OPC packs, say in 1979. But not if Topps packs weren't also available, then I'd just be pining to live in the U.S.

 

No, the easiest way to experience Canada for me, outside of Tim Horton's, is letting the country come to me by obtaining those OPC cards.

 

Recently I landed a few extras from Bo of Baseball Cards Come to Life! He had just what I'm looking for.

 

It was just six cards and three of them were from 1982. I've been a little slow to come around on the greatness of the differences in 1980s OPC, concentrating on the 1970s, but most of the '80s ones are just as great with the color swapping and the FRENCH ON THE FRONT.

These two are probably the biggest gets ... well, maybe one other one beats these out.

I hope you know what I mean by the "color swaps" but just in case some newbie is reading my blog (what are the chances of that?), I will demonstrate with a visual.

The Topps card is green-and-purple, the OPC card is pink-and-orange. The top "hockey stick" on the Topps card is blank, the OPC card hockey stick features the position in English. The Topps card has a Topps cut-out logo. The OPC card has semi-circle background for the OPC logo.

 

I can't forget to mention the transaction words stamped onto the photo. (Later in the decade, OPC stamped the transaction but didn't update the graphic colors and teams. That's too bad).

I could see the differences in OPC cards contrasted with Topps cards hundreds upon hundreds of times and I will still get a shot of adrenaline every time I see them. Always fascinating. 

1979 OPC is another one of the greats thanks to the color swapping. Everyone knows the Greg Gross card in the set gets a red Cubs ribbon -- except in O-Pee-Chee!!! Also, don't forget the ragged borders.

The king of all O-Pee-Chee sets is the 1977 set and I've made the most progress with this one. This Jesse Jefferson card is another one of the Blue Jays variations in the set, everyone's first real look at the Blue Jays in their actual uniforms instead of the airbrushed weirdness in Topps' set.

Final card is a great one. There isn't a lot of opportunity for me to pick up playing days Oscar Gamble cards that I don't already own. So even though this card comes with no difference on the front, it's probably the peak card of the lot.

Many thanks to Bo. I've got the return cards set aside but it's March so who knows when I'll get to sending them (I've got six straight work days ahead of me, plus various life issues). But I did get a few envelopes out the door Monday so I'm not totally slacking.