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writehooksI was 22 and working as a sportswriter on Vancouver Island. When the OPC hockey cards were released in the fall, all the buzz was about the four "new" teams the NHL had absorbed from the World Hockey Association: the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Quebec Nordiques and Hartford Whalers. Collectors were chasing the logo cards of the new clubs, but me and buddy decided to concentrate on card No. 18, a skinny 18-year-old in Edmonton named Wayne Gretzky. By December, through trades (mostly for the logo cards) and buying (no more than $5 for absolutely pristine examples), we had accumulated FIFTEEN 9-pocket sheets of nrmt-mt OPC Gretzky rookies. We took a bunch to a show in Seattle in January and sold exacly three for the grand total of $70 (the best one went for $30, the other two $20 apiece). Still, we figured we'd struck gold, and at the next show, a two-day spring gathering in Vancouver, we sold another 40 of the cards for an average of $40 each.
That original stash of 135 rookie cards was completely gone by 1981, and I think the most we ever got for a single card was about $100. I also recall taking three Gretzkys to the first national convention at the L.A. Marriott. I sold two within 10 minutes of walking into that friendly little show, and traded the other one for a complete set of World Football League media guides and pennants. I thought that was a hell of a deal...