Philadelphia Flyers: Topps Hockey Card Mystery Revealed

The 1970's Philadelphia Flyers were one of the most controversial sports teams of all time. My elementary school friends, cousins, and I followed the players by watching their games through the antennas that were connected to our TV sets, by playing street hockey, and by collecting trading cards. No pack of Topps hockey cards that I ever opened was as memorable as the one that my buddies gave me in 1978. 

Chickenpox

No kid likes when those alien invaders, known as chickenpox, grotesquely pop out to announce their presence all over your body. Of course, you can't go to school when you get them because they are contagious. That was particularly bad because the entire foundation of our social lives was focused on school. Almost all of my friends were there, recess was incredible, and some of the cute girls in my class even found me to be very entertaining. What more could anyone want?

The pack

I missed six straight days of school because of chickenpox. That was highly unusual for me, as I rarely missed a day at 'work' back then. I loved the building that was within walking distance in my neighborhood and all of the people who were in it. That feeling deepened as the years passed.  

My friends Kevin and Ed brought assignments to my house at the end of each of those sick days, which was very cool. One day they also delivered a single pack of hockey cards with my homework. They told me that our other friends: Rick, Keith, Eddie, and Dave pooled some of their allowance money to buy it for me. 

Along with some other cards, there were six Flyers' cards in that pack, including Bernie Parent, Reggie Leach, Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber, Jimmy Watson, and Andre "Moose" Dupont.

The back of the pack's wrapper appeared to have been opened and resealed. So, I knew that my friends had actually bought multiple packs of cards and then created a specially loaded one just for me. Those six cards are nearing four decades old now. Whenever I take them out, I can see the faces of my hockey heroes and, most importantly, feel the friendship of my old school friends once more.

(I hold all copyrights to this article which originally appeared on Yahoo's Voices platform in 2011.)