Early League - Early Cards

Although the NHL did not yet exist, in only their second season, the National Hockey Association was highlighted as 36 players were featured on the first major set of hockey cards issued with cigarettes. This league directly preceded the NHL from 1909 through 1917. During the league's second season in 1910-11, the cards appeared and offer a glimpse into what was still an evolving game.

The Design

1910 C56 Hockey cards measure 1 1/2" by 2 5/8" and feature a lithographed player picture with a white border. The player's last name and team appear in the border area below the picture, while a card number appears in the upper left corner. Backs feature a "Hockey Series" design with two crossed hockey sticks and a puck, followed by the player's name, team and a history of his past teams.

Although there is no advertisement on the cards, it is generally accepted that they were produced and issued by Imperial Tobacco. There are 36 cards in the complete set, which is considered to be slightly more scarce than the C55 set.

The Keys

The 1910 C56 Hockey features a bevy of Hall of Famers. These early hockey legends are:  Frank Patrick, Percy Lesueur, Art Ross (two cards in the set), Fred "Cyclone" Taylor, Lester Patrick, Paddy Moran, Ernest Johnson, Bruce Ridpath and Newsy Lalonde.  That's 9 players (10 cards) out of the 36 subjects that are in the Hockey Hall of Fame. How's that for a loaded set?  

Condition Sensitive

As of Jan 1, 2019, there have been nearly 2,800 C56 cards graded in the PSA Population Report. A solitary exapmple has been awarded the grade PSA 9 with ZERO PSA 10 examples. In fact, combined, there are less than 100 cards that have even been graded PSA 7 or better.

The Checklist

1 Frank Patrick
2 Percy Lesueur
3 Gordon Roberts
4 Barney Holden
5 P. Glass
6 Edgar Dey
7 Marty Walsh
8 Art Ross
9 Angus Campbell
10 H.M. Hyland
11 Herb Clark
12 Art Ross
13 Ed Decary
14 Tom Dunderdale
15 Fred "Cyclone" Taylor
16 Jos. Cattarinich
17 Bruce Stuart
18 Nick Bawlf19 J. Jones
20 Ernest Russell
21 Jack Laviollette
22 Riley Hern
23 Didier Pitre
24 Skinner Poulin
25 Art Bernier
26 Lester Patrick
27 Fred Lake
28 Paddy Moran
29 Chad Toms
30 Ernie "Moose" Johnson
31 Horace Gaul
32 Harold McNamara
33 Jack Marshall
34 Bruce Ridpath
35 J. Marshall
36 Edward "Newsy" LaLonde

Here's a C56 Hockey Card Collection We Purchased in 2017

• The Ottawa Ontario C56 Hockey Collection
  

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