Official SCF Review: 2009/10 ITG 1972 The Year In Hockey

[Enigma]

First and foremost, I'd like to thank our sponsors at In The Game for providing us with this box.



18 packs per box
9 cards per pack
Current Retail Price: 84.99 - 94.99

CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS: (insert ratios are based on the entire production run and are not guaranteed in any individual box or case)
- 1 Authentic Game-Used Memorabilia Card Per 18 Packs!
- 1 Autograph Card Per 6 Packs!
- 1 Non-Memorabilia Insert Card In Every 8 Packs!

WHERE WERE YOU IN '72?

In The Game celebrates 1972 - The Year In Hockey! Taking you back to a year that hockey fans and hockey card collectors will never forget. This is the year that collectors selected in a poll carried out earlier this year by In The Game.

The 200-base card set including two retro checklist cards features players from the National Hockey League, the World Hockey Association and the Summit Series. Part of the base card set is a ten-card subset featuring the MVPs from each game of that legendary series and the tournament MVPs from each country. The 200-base card set takes collectors back to good old days when they would open their wax packs and shout: "Got'em, Need'em, Got'em, Got'em."

The checklist of Authentic Autograph Cards is outstanding as In The Game found players from around the world to sign cards for this product. Yes, the autographs are hard-signed!

1972 The Year In Hockey product is even more exciting with the addition of Cut Signature Cards commemorating 1972 The Year in Sports, Music, Television, Movies and Politics. Were you around when the top television show was All In The Family, the top movie was The Godfather, Pierre Elliot Trudeau was the Prime Minister, Sammy Davis Jr. sang The Candyman and Mark Spitz won seven gold medals at the Olympics?

1972 - The Year In Hockey is loaded with Authentic Game-Used Memorabilia Cards both unsigned and signed versions!

There will be 45 different Authentic Game-Used Jersey Cards, 45 different Authentic Game-Used Number Cards and 45 Authentic Game-Used Emblem Cards. Each card will have a silver, gold and black version. The different versions will be clearly marked by the foil stamp on the card to ensure that collectors know which version they have pulled.

There will also be silver, gold and black Autographed Authentic Game-Used Memorabilia Cards. These cards will also be clearly marked by the foil stamp on the cards.


PRODUCT INFORMATION

Base Cards
200 Base Card set that includes two retro checklist cards!

Autograph Cards
Over 150 Autographs to collect featuring players from the NHL, WHA and Summit Series! There is one Authentic Autograph card in every 8 packs!

Non-Memorabilia Inserts
There are 5 different Non-Memorabilia Insert sets to collect including Greatest Moments, Masked Men, Coaches, Forever Linked and Rookies! There is one Non-Memorabilia Insert card in every 8 packs!

Game-used Memorabilia Cards
There is one Authentic Game-Used Memorabilia Card in every 18 packs!

He Shoots - He Scores
Collectors who accumulate 200 He Shoots - He Scores points will have the opportunity to redeem for unique and limited Game-Used Memorabilia cards that are not available in packs!

WHAT WE PULLED

VIDEO



Base (137/200) - 68.5%
Dupes - 0
Blank Backs (2) - Ken Hodge, Gerry Pinder (Only 72 copies of each exist)
He Shoots He Scores Point Cards (17)











Coaches (1) - Al Arbour
Great Moments of 1972 (1) - Bobby Hull Signs With Jets



Forever Linked Phil Esposito 1-color/ Alexander Yakushev 2-color Dual Jersey
Andre Lacroix Autograph
Rod Seiling Autograph
Ted Hampson Autograph



Final Ratings (Out of 5):
Base set: 4.25/5
Fun: 4/5
Overall design: 4.5/5
Value: 4.5/5
Re-buy: 4.25/5

Overall: 21.5/25 (86%)

In The Game begins the 2009/10 hockey season in an innovative way. 1972 The Year In Hockey is the finished product of a brainchild that started months ago. A few months back, In The Game ran a poll on their site in regards to creating a set dedicated to a specific year. Out of the years you could vote for (which included 1980), 1972 received the most votes. And now, In The Game honors their card collecting public with 1972 The Year In Hockey.

The base cards are simplistic in design, but that's not a bad thing. The player photos are encapsulated in an ellipse with their team name at the top and the year, name and position at the bottom. The team name and year is done in a bubble design which is eye-catching and will appeal to a younger generation. The card backs are done in one of four colors. There is a quick tidbit about the player as well. Cards 151-189 are used to showcase the individual players from the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the USSR. Cards 190-198 feature information from each game as well as the MVP from each team. The set closes with two checklists.

The He Shoots He Scores program can be found in this release. As hockey collectors know, the HSHS program is normally found in Heroes & Prospects and Between The Pipes. The idea behind the redemption program is to acquire a certain amount of points (for this release, it is 200) and send them in to In The Game. In return, you will receive a limited edition card (usually numbered to 20) that revolves around this set. The cards will be memorabilia, auto, or both in nature. To enhance the 1972 theme, each HSHS card has a small tidbit about an event that occurred during the month printed on it.

There are five insert sets in this release, but you will only find two cards total in each box on average. This allows them to be some great chase sets. The Forever Linked series is wonderful as it features two players that through some sort of event will always be paired together throughout hockey history. As Between The Pipes fans can tell you, Masked Men is dedicated to the goalies of the league. Coaches and Rookies are quite obvious. Finally, Great Moments Of 1972 features important events of the year and encapsulates the featured person with the TV screen background.

The heart of this release is the Autograph and Memorabilia program. On average, each box will yield three autographs and 1 memorabilia card. And the huge plus is the autographs are hard signed. No need for worrying about tacky or misplaced stickers nor incomplete autographs due to the signers running out of room. With three versions of each card, collectors will have fun running down the cards of their favorite players.

All in all, 1972 The Year In Hockey delivers with a bang. Allowing consumers and fans to decide on a product shows how In The Game listens to the collectors. This is a great way to start the hockey collecting season. For the price point, this release scores a hat trick. With four autographs or memorabilia cards (with the autographs hard signed), the set may be about 1972, but 2009 may be remembered as The Year In Hockey for collectors.

Once again, I'd like to thank our wonderful sponsors at In The Game for giving us the opportunity to open and review this release. For more information on this product or others, check ITG out today at www.itgtradingcards.com.

[spuds1961]

Nice stuff,thanks in the game,and as always great review Tony

[quiet-things]

Thanks ITG for the box! The set is really interesting and some of the cards look real great. Good to see you didn't any dupes, and that GU card looks really nice

[Crater_Satori]

Great review Tony. That looks like a pretty nice box. Thanks to ITG for supplying this to us

[JKC]

Nice break and review! Thanks ITG for providing this!

Darin

[Inferno]

Great review and video Tony, thanks ITG for providing the box!

PS: Those "Forever Linked" dual jersey cards are limited to 10 copies each, nice pull!

[Pheebs888]

Great review, thanks for providing the box ITG!

[DunkingDurant35]

Looks pretty good!

[etmill01]

Thanks ITG for the box..Great review Tony...Ed

[garnett_21]

Nice break and review! I don't know alot about hockey products, but this seems like a good product, with 4 hits and a fairly low price tag. Thanks, In The Game!