Best Rookie Cards from the 1961-62 Parkhurst Hockey Card Game

Parkhurst’s 1961-62 set consists of 51 hockey cards of players from the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Detroit Red Wings. The highest value hockey cards in the set belong to Gordie Howe of the Red Wings and Dave Keon of the Maple Leafs, both valued at $250. A common card is worth $15, and the entire collection is worth $1,600. As with all hockey cards, the 1961-62 game featured statistics and information from the previous season.

The only significant rookie cards in the 1961-62 set belong to Dave Keon and Wayne Connelly. As mentioned, the Keon card is worth $250, while the Connelly card is worth much less than $20. Both Dave and Wayne hailed from the small community of Rouyn-Noranda in northern Quebec. Both became teammates with the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the World Hockey Association in 1975-76.

dave keon

1960-61 was Dave’s first year in the National Hockey League. With the Toronto Maple Leafs, he scored 20 goals and assisted on 25 for 45 points, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year.

Keon went on to play 1,296 regular season games in the NHL. That tally still ranks him 53rd all-time for most games played. However, Ray Whitney and Shane Doan are within striking distance and should overtake Dave and a host of other players before the end of the 2013-14 season.

During his NHL career, Keon scored 396 goals and assisted 590 for 986 points. He played an additional 92 games in the Stanley Cup playoffs, contributing another 68 points. From 1960-61 to 1974-75, Dave played for the Toronto Maple Leafs. After a four-year stint in the WHA, Keon returned to the NHL for three more years with the Hartford Whalers. He was captain of the Maple Leafs from 1969-70 to 1974-75 and captain of the Whalers in 1981-82.

In the World Hockey Association, Keon played a further 301 regular season games for the Fighting Saints, Indianapolis Racers and New England Whalers. After winning four Stanley Cup championships with the Maple Leafs, the closest Dave came to an Avco World Trophy win in the WHA was with the 1977-78 New England Whalers. The Whalers made it to the finals before being easily swept by the Winnipeg Jets.

Along with the Calder Trophy, Keon’s other personal accolades include consecutive Lady Byng Trophies in 1960-61 and 1961-62. He received the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 1966-67 when Toronto won its last Stanley Cup championship. In 1986, Dave Keon was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

wayne connelly

Number 44 in the 1961-62 Parkhurst set, Wayne Connelly’s rookie card, is an incorrect error card (EBU). On the front and back of the hockey card, Wayne’s last name is misspelled, Conolly. He was a promising prospect out of junior and should have been well known. In 1959-60 with Scotty Bowman trained at the Peterborough TPT, Wayne was awarded the Red Tilson Trophy as OHA MVP. He tied for first in the league with 48 goals and placed fourth in the race for the Eddie Powers Trophy with 82 points from 47 games.

Interestingly, he is shown as a member of the Montreal Canadiens. Connelly played only three games with Montreal in 1960-61, his only three games with the Habs. In 1961-62, he was a member of the Boston Bruins.

Connelly played in 543 regular season games in the NHL between 1960-61 and 1971-72, scoring 133 goals and totaling 307 points. However, it wasn’t until the 1967 expansion that he really became a regular. Wayne was taken under in the 1967 Expansion Draft, going in the seventh round to the Minnesota North Stars. In that inaugural season for the North Stars, Connelly scored 35 goals in 74 games and tied for fourth in the NHL with Norm Ullman and Phil Esposito.

Like Dave Keon, Wayne jumped into the WHA. He was a member of the Minnesota Fighting Saints in the rebel league’s inaugural season, 1972-73. Between that first year and 1976-77, Connelly played in 366 regular season games and totaled 329 points for the Fighting Saints, Cleveland Crusaders, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Cowboys.

In his second year in the WHA, 1973-74, Wayne had a career year of 42 goals and 53 assists for 95 points in 78 regular season games. He tied for fifth in the league in goals, tied for seventh in assists and tied Bobby Hull of the Winnipeg Jets for fourth in points.