Card number 2 of 51 in the 1961-62 Parkhurst hockey card set
belongs to Frank Mahovlich of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Book value for the
Mahovlich card is $80, making it of equal value with Henri Richard and Jean
Beliveau from the same season. This is a far cry from the $500 book value of
the 1957-58 Parkhurst Frank Mahovlich rookie card, a treasure for all vintage hockey cards
collectors.
The back of the card celebrates Mahovlich’s 1960-61 season
with the Maple Leafs. Frank scored 48 goals and assisted on 36 for 84 points while
playing the full 70 game regular season schedule. He led Toronto in goals and
points. His goal total was second in the National Hockey League, behind Bernie
Geoffrion of the Montreal Canadiens. Bernie became the second player to ever
score 50 goals in a NHL season with exactly 50. Mahovlich’s 84 points placed
him third behind Geoffrion and Jean Beliveau.
Frank Mahovlich – Playing Career
Frank played parts of four seasons in the OHA Junior A with
Toronto St. Michael’s from 1953-54 to 1956-57. In his final year, he was
awarded the Red Tilson Trophy as league MVP. Over 49 regular season games with
St. Michael’s, Mahovlich scored 52 goals and assisted on 36 for 88 points. He
placed first in the league for goals, tied for seventh in assists and third in
the race for the Eddie Powers Trophy behind Bill
Sweeney and Eddie
Shack, both of the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters.
The following year, Mahovlich was the 1957-58 recipient of
the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. On a last place Toronto Maple
Leafs team, Frank managed to score 20 goals and total 36 points over 67 games.
Frank played in the NHL until 1973-74, also appearing with
the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens. He played 1,181 regular season
NHL games, scoring 533 goals and assisting on 570 for 1,103 points. Mahovlich
also played in 137 playoff games, scoring 51 goals and assisting on 67 for 118
points. He was a member of six Stanley Cup champions, four with Toronto and two
with Montreal.
His personal high for goals came in 1968-69 with the Red
Wings. Frank scored 49 goals over 76 games and tied for second in the league
with Phil
Esposito of the Boston Bruins, nine goals behind Bobby Hull of the Chicago
Blackhawks.
Mahovlich jumped to the World Hockey Association for the
1974-75 season and stayed for four years before retiring from the games. His
first two years were with the Toronto Toros before moving with the franchise to
Birmingham and playing two more years with the Birmingham Bulls. Over his WHA
career, Frank scored 89 goals and assisted on 143 for 232 points over 237
games. He appeared in just nine playoff games, adding five points.
Frank Mahovlich – Honours and Accolades
Frank played for Canada at the 1972 Summit Series against
the Soviet Union. He then played for Canada again on an all-WHA team at the
1974 Summit Series. He appeared in six games at each of the showdowns.
Mahovlich was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1981.
Nine years later, Frank was honoured by the Canada Sports Hall of Fame. In
2001, the Toronto Maple Leafs honoured his number 27.
No comments:
Post a Comment