Larry Hillman 1961-62 Parkhurst #14

1960-61 was Larry Hillman's first season with the Toronto Maple Leafs after stints with the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins. He played nearly a full season on the blue line in 1960-61 but in 1961-62, Hillman played just five games for the Maple Leafs.

Larry would rise again with the Maple Leafs but not without time spent in the minors. He saw playoff action with four Stanley Cup championship teams over his career, also winning a Calder Cup in the American Hockey League and an Avco World Trophy championship in the World Hockey Assocation.

Larry Hillman - 1961-62 Parkhurst 14

Appearing on his first Parkhurst card, the stats showed he played 62 regular season games in 1960-61 for the Maple Leafs, scoring three and setting up ten for 13 points. Larry appeared in all Toronto's five Stanley Cup playoff games that season. It was his first year with the Maple Leafs, appearing in just two games with the Boston Bruins in 1959-60.

In 1961-62, Hillman played just five regular season games with Toronto. He was not around for the playoffs with Toronto taking the Stanley Cup for the first of three consecutive seasons. Larry did play 26 games in the AHL with the Rochester Americans.

Larry Hillman – Junior and Minor Pro

Hillman played three years of major junior in the OHA between 1952-53 and 1954-55. His first year was spent with the original Windsor Spitfires. He moved with the franchise to Hamilton the following season and spent his final two years with the Hamilton Tiger Cubs. The franchise exists today as the Erie Otters.

Larry saw his first pro action during his final year of junior. In 1954-55, Hillman was called up to the Detroit Red Wings for seven regular season games. He also appeared in three playoff games with the Red Wings winning the Stanley Cup over the Montreal Canadiens in the finals.

1959-60 was an outstanding year for Hillman. Playing the full 70 game AHL schedule for the Providence Reds, Larry scored 12 and assisted on 31 for 43 points. He was the recipient of the Eddie Shore Award as the league's top defenseman. His 159 penalty minutes placed him sixth in the league.

Dropped back down to the minors for the 1964-65 season, Larry and the Rochester Americans made the most of it. The Amerks met the Hershey Bears in the Calder Cup finals and came out victorious.

Larry Hillman – NHL and WHA

Between 1954-55 and 1972-73, Hillman played in 791 regular season National Hockey League games. Over that time, he scored 36 and assisted on 196 for 232 points while sitting a squeeky clean (for a defenseman) 579 minutes in the penalty box. He also played 74 games in the Stanley Cup playoffs, adding eleven points. Along with the Red Wings, Bruins and Maple Leafs, Hillman also played for the Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and Buffalo Sabres.

His three playoff games with Detroit in 1954-55 got Hillman his first Stanley Cup. He saw action with the champion Maple Leafs in 1963-64 and again in 1966-67. In 1968-69, Larry played a single playoff game for the Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens.

After the 1972-73 season, Hillman jumped to the WHA. He played in the Rebel League for three years from 1973-74 to 1975-76. His first two years were spent with the Cleveland Crusaders and his final year was with the Winnipeg Jets. Larry played 192 regular season games in the WHA, scoring six and assisting on 49 for 55 points. He played another 17 in the playoffs, adding six points.

With the 1975-76 Jets, he helped the team to an Avco World Trophy win over the Houston Aeros in the finals. As head coach of the Jets in 1977-78, Hillman would once again hoist the cup as Winnipeg took out the New England Whalers in the finals.

Larry Keenan 1961-62 Parkhurst #13

Parkhurst may have jumped the gun in 1961-62 when they released their hockey card set with Larry Keenan included. Keenan came into 1961-62 with no National Hockey League experience and ended the season with two games as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs under his belt. He would never play with the Maple Leafs again and would not play another NHL game until 1967-68.

Larry Keenan – 1961-62 Parkhurst #13

The Larry Keenan rookie card is valued as a common card. His second NHL hockey card did not appear until the 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee set as a member of the St. Louis Blues. In 1961-62, Keenan played two games with the Maple Leafs, his first two in the National Hockey League and his only two with Toronto. That year, Larry played 57 games in the American Hockey League with the Rochester Americans. This was his first pro hockey after four years in the OHA with Toronto St. Michael’s.

Larry Keenan – Junior

Keenan played with Toronto St. Michael’s for four years from 1957-58 to 1960-61. It all came together for Larry and the Majors in his final year. In 1960-61, Keenan scored 31 and assisted on 38 for 69 points over 48 regular season games. He was second in the team in goals and points, while leading the team in assists.

St. Michael’s was solid in net with Gerry Cheevers and Dave Dryden sharing duties. In the Robertson Cup playoffs, Keenan put up incredible numbers with 24 goals and 13 assists for 37 points over 20 games. The Majors beat out the St. Catherines Teepees in the opening round before taking out the Hamilton Red Wings in the semi-finals. St. Michael’s met up with the Guelph Royals in the finals and took the championship.

The Majors then advanced to the Eastern Canada Memorial Cup finals and easily took out the Moncton Beavers. In the Memorial Cup finals, St. Michael’s met up with the Edmonton Oil Kings and took the series in six games to be crowned major junior hockey champions of Canada.

Larry Keenan – NHL

Despite the large gap between his first two NHL games in 1961-62 and his third game in 1967-68, Keenan managed to get into 233 regular season games in the league. Over that time, he scored 38 goals and assisted on 64 for 102 points. Larry also played an impressive 46 games in the Stanley Cup playoffs, scoring 15 and assisting on 16 for 31 points. All those playoff games came with the St. Louis Blues in their first three years of existence. In each of those seasons between 1967-68 and 1969-70, the Blues reached the Stanley Cup finals.

Keenan was picked up by St. Louis in the 14^th round of the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft, 84^th overall. He played in the NHL until 1971-72, also appearing with the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers.

Larry Keenan – Minor Pro 

Larry’s minor league career was much lengthier than his NHL career. Between 1961-62 and 1973-74, Keenan played in the AHL, WHL and CHL. Most of his success came in the WHL with the Victoria Maple Leafs in 1964-65 and 1965-66.

In 1964-65, Victoria placed fourth in the six team league but reached the finals against the first place Portland Buckaroos. Portland won the championship in five games. Keenan tied for fourth in the WHL with 35 goals, three behind leader Willie O’Ree of the Los Angeles Blades.

The following year, Victoria finished second with Portland once again finishing atop the WHL. The two teams once again met in the finals. This time, the Maple Leafs came out on top with the series going the full seven games. In fact, all three playoff series in 1965-66 went the full seven games.