A Cardboard Resurgence: 1951-52 Parkhurst Hockey Cards Making A Mark on My Collection

​​Old School Cool

If you've taken a stroll over to my Vintage Collection page here on the site, you may have noticed another addition to my vintage goalie collection with a card from the 1951-52 Parkhurst set.

​While there may be older cards that vintage collectors may gravitate to instead, the iconic 1951 Parkhurst set stands alone. If it were not for this set being released, hockey cards may not exist in the format we see today.

​But before we get into all that, let's talk about Chuck.

Claude “Chuck” Rayner, born in 1920, was a Canadian-born goaltender for the NHL’s New York/Brooklyn Americans & New York Rangers from 1941-1953. He also played for the Royal Canadian Navy during World War ll.

Over the course of his playing days, Rayner was an avid puck-playing goalie. He even tried on multiple occasions to score a goal by joining the offensive rush with his team. While he never ended up with a goal credited to his name, I am sure this made for some great entertainment for the fans as the watched him "go for goal" as a goalie. 

​During his career with the Rangers, Rayner won the Hart Trophy in 1950 for being the league most valuable player (MVP), along with being named a NHL All-Star in 1949, 1950, 1951.

​After finishing his career with a NHL record of 138 wins, 202 losses and 77 ties, Rayner was the 2nd goalie in NHL history to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame with a losing win-loss record during his career. Rayner was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973 alongside fellow NHL alumni Tommy Smith and Doug Harvey.
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Chuck Rayner played with the Brooklyn Americans in the franchises final NHL season in 1941-42.

Chuck Rayner played the majority of his NHL career with the New York Rangers between 1945-1953.

1951-52 Parkhurst Hockey Cards

Chuck Rayner rookie card from the 1951-52 Parkhurst Hockey Card Set (Graded PSA 1).

​The card you’re looking at is from the 1951-52 Parkhurst gum set, which is arguably the first “mainstream” or modern set of hockey cards and was released with (you guessed it!) sticks of bubble gum. These miniature cards were loaded into small, foldable, pack-like boxes, paving the way for the hockey card packs we see in the industry today.

This was the first set of hockey cards produced since the start of World War ll in the post-war era, sparking the return and eventual continuation of hockey cards in Canada for the foreseeable future.

Due to the time lapse, the majority of the players in this set made their very first appearance on cardboard, making these cards from 1951 their official "rookie card", even though they had made their NHL debut years prior. Aside from Chuck Rayner, the 1951-52 Parkhurst set holds notable rookie cards of: Terry Sawchuk, Gordie Howe, Bernie Geoffrion, Doug Harvey and Maurice Richard.

Prior to this set being released in 1951, card production was intentionally halted in 1939 due to Canada's early and voluntary involvement in the war efforts.

I hope you enjoy this small piece of hobby & hockey history. ​

Happy Collecting, 

- Aaron / creasecollector
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Original pack of 1951-52 Parkhurst "Parkies" Hockey Cards (Front)

Original pack of 1951-52 Parkhurst "Parkies" Hockey Cards (Back/Inside)

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Chuck Rayner of the New York Rangers (colourized).

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