Collector's Corner #6: One Collector's Hometown Pride Sparks Maple Leafs Collection (Borje Salming)

As you can probably guess from speaking with me for any amount of time, I'm a huge Toronto Maple Leafs fan. Born and raised out side of Toronto,my hand was pretty much forced into what team you're going to be cheering for. As far as cards go, while I have gone a different direction in my own PC and do not hoard Leafs cards, I always do enjoy seeing team/player collectors who do focus on the Maple Leafs.

This next collector featured here fits that bill perfectly. 

Whether you're a Leafs fan or not, I think you'll really appreciate his next collection. I'm super stoked to feature on this blog due to satisfy my inner crazy Leafs fan.

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Upper Deck Ultimate Premium Patches - Borje Salming 12/25.

Introduction

I’m going to date myself here, but I started collecting O-Pee-Chee hockey cards back in 1979-80 (Gretzky’s rookie year!) when I was still in elementary school. Unlike other kids who played “topsies” or “scrambles” with their cards, I
was very much into sorting and storing my cards, except when I needed to make some trades during recess (“got ‘em, got ‘em, got ’em, got ‘em, NEED ‘EM!)

I did the sticker albums for a while as well but the cards were always my first love. I completed the set every year and then by my late teens / early 20’s, the market started to saturate with companies and sets like Pro Set, Upper Deck, Bowman, Score, Parkhurst etc. entering the fray. Being a completest, I did my best to keep up with buying everything that came out but it soon became overwhelming (and expensive!) so I left the game all together.

Fast forward 20 years (2013-14 to be exact) and I recall being in a Toys ‘R Us store when I stumbled upon a display of various hockey cards. I picked up a box (what I now know is called a “Blaster” box) of Artifacts and thought “what the heck – let’s see what cards look like these days.” To my amazement, one of the packs contained a card with a piece of a player’s jersey. I remember being blown away that a card could actually contain a piece of memorabilia or autograph. I was instantly hooked once again!

​What/Who Do You Collect?

I ​try to build the master sets of O-Pee-Chee and Upper Deck S1/S2 every year. When I say master set, I really mean my own version of “master set” which essentially means every card except the really short-printed and/or numbered
cards (i.e. Blank Backs, High Gloss etc.) In the case of these cards, I just focus on the players in a Leafs uniform.

​Outside of these 2 sets, I also collect cards of my favourite Leafs players: Sundin, Clark, Gilmour to name a few. ​But my biggest collection, by far, is that of former Leafs defensemen Borje Salming.

​Why Did You Start Collecting The Player/Set/Team?

As I got more and more familiar with how the hobby had evolved in my absence, I soon realized that it only made sense to set up some realistic collecting goals. So I decided to continue to build the master sets of O-Pee-Chee and Upper Deck S1/S2 initially for nostalgic reasons but ultimately because they’re just fun sets to build. I then thought about trying to concentrate on maybe a couple of players from my favourite team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

My main focus soon became Borje Salming and it’s because of an incident that occurred when I was a child. Salming suffered a serious eye injury during a game and wound up in hospital as a result. With the help of my dad, I wrote him a “get-well” letter and to my amazement, I received a reply! Looking at it now, I realize it was a generic letter with a signature either photocopied or auto penned but as a little kid, I didn’t know any better and you just don’t forget those
things.

​And now, I believe I have the largest Salming card collection out there.

​What’s Your Favourite Card or Item(s)?

I have several favourites which I’ve included pictures of but one of my proudest achievements comes from the recent Chronology release by Upper Deck.

There is a subset called “Letterman” which is a series of manufactured letters of various players last names. Ideally, the concept is to try and collect enough of the letters to completely spell out that player’s name. Not an easy task, especially considering each letter is limited to only a certain number.

​I was thrilled when I learned Salming was part of this subset and made it a goal to spell out his entire nameplate. Unfortunately, I became aware that his cards were a redemption and only #’d to 15 each thus, there was no way to guarantee which letters I was going to get when they were mailed out. Nonetheless, my goal was to try and collect 7 redemption cards and then hope for the best. It took a while but after many online breaks, searches on eBay, forums and local card shows, I finally accumulated 7 redemption cards.

​After submitting the redemption codes, I wrote an email to Upper Deck expressing my hope that they would be able to send me 1 of each letter in Salming’s name as opposed to say 3 letter “S”’s and 4 letter “G”’s. To my surprise, they came through and sent the complete nameplate!

​What's On Your Current Wantlist? Are there any ‘White Whales’ you’d like to add one day?

Obviously, any cards I don’t already own would naturally be on my want list. One of the bigger white whales on my list would be:

2016-17 President's Choice Blue & White Centennial Assigned Seats Auto Relics Grey
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I only need the grey coloured swatch to complete this cool rainbow. Any nameplate letters, especially non-manufactured ones, would be high on my list also. And while I already have at least 1 card each of 2013-14 Panini’s Prime Colors (Logo, Number and Patch), I’d definitely like to add more and that goes for any other large patch or stick
pieces.

Contact: How can other collector's reach you?

I can be reached at:

Email: [email protected]
Sportscardforum: leafer70
Hobby Insider: leafer70
Flickr Link: https://flic.kr/s/aHskZwsEDJ

Being from the Greater Toronto Area, I also attend many of the local card shows so I’m always willing to meet and/or make deals in person with other collectors.

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Now for some sweet Maple Leafs goodies!

If you want to get in contact with me about getting ​YOUR COLLECTION featured on my blog, feel free to leave a comment on this post below, fill out a contact form on my Contact Page, or send me an email at [email protected] and we will be in touch very soon. :)

​Happy Collecting,

​- Crease

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