Pelle Lindbergh was a star goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers and had just established himself as a superstar on the rise with an amazing 1984-85 campaign that saw him the Vezina Trophy and take the Philadelphia Flyers all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. While he and his teammates succumbed to the Edmonton Oilers team that was recently ranked as the Greatest in NHL History via a public poll, there was so much hope that the Flyers would be back to challenge for that Silver Bowl once again in 1985-86.
For those watching early that year, it seemed like that was going to be exactly the case. After their first 13 games, the team was 11-2-0 thanks to the sensational tandem of Lindbergh and Bob Froese. In fact, after the Swedish sensation earned a 6-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on November 7, 1985, they had won nine in a row (a streak that ultimately extended to 13 games). Nobody could have dreamed of it at the time, but that proved to be his last appearance.
During the early hours of November 10, an intoxicated Lindbergh was behind the wheel of his Porsche 930 Turbo that crashed into the wall in front of an elementary school in Somerdale, New Jersey. Two passengers inside were injured, but the 26-year-old's state was critical. A day later, he passed away and the Flyers (and their fans) were devastated. I was definitely one of those kids.
Since Topps was already deep into production of its 1985-86 set, it was too late to update his card to reflect this tragedy. However, O-Pee-Chee's traditional January release date gave Canadian kids an instantly-coveted piece of cardboard thanks to a black memorial banner added just above his name. The beautiful photo on the card also helped create a lasting tribute that is still fondly looked upon to this day.
Oh, and so much love for that mask - late era Jacques Plante model much like Lindbergh's goalie coach and mentor, Bernie Parent.
THOUGHTS FROM FROESE
Back in 2015, I spoke with Froese for an article I wrote in a special magazine entitled Hockey's Greatest Goalies and he spoke about the impact Lindbergh's death had on the team.
"It was, for lack of a better term, devastating," Froese said. "He had done these amazing things and we had Iron Mike (Keenan) as our coach and we had done these tests and we were supposed to be the best-conditioned team. We were a young team. We all thought we were supermen. We lived that way on and off the ice and no one ever thought of death. The finality of death was just overwhelming and so I would say that the games were our release. To get to play was a time where we could forget, believe it or not. He was a fantastic and well-loved guy on the team. It wasn't like he was over in the corner, he was a huge rock in that team."
Froese also spoke very highly of his crease partner and reflected upon meeting him for the first time.
"We were in the minors. I was in the IHL and we met in training camp," recalled Froese. "He was the second round draft pick and he was a little Bernie (Parent) and Bernie is still a pretty big deal in Philadelphia. He was not a real boisterous guy or anything like that. Quiet, but he was fun.
"Naturally, there's competition and everybody's trying to size each other up, no matter if you're a defenseman or a centerman. Goalies are even moreso because there's only two positions on the team and everyone is trying for that. I think some people tried to portray that we had one, and don't get me wrong, we had a mutual respect for each other. I guess you could say that he was the quarterhorse or the thoroughbred and I was more the Clydesdale. We understood that about each other. He was very superstitious and I wasn't. He was extremely gifted and more temperamental where I wasn't. It was a real difference in personalities, so we realized early that we were going to be up against each other. I realized from the get-go that he was more gifted than I, but I knew what I had going for me was more of a (Bobby) Clarke mentality that was appreciated in Philadelphia."
MODERN HOBBY RESURGENCE
As the years went by, there was simply no new cardboard of Lindbergh to collect - until a friend of mine named Fabio Del Rio made it happen. During the 2001-02 season, he was working at In The Game (also commonly called Be A Player during those days) and was working on the first Between The Pipes set. Like me, he had been seriously impacted by Lindbergh's death and he found a way to include the late legend in that product. By the time I was working for the company, Dr. Brian Price had acquired some of Lindbergh's game-used equipment and I was able to get it into cards for the 2004-05 In The Game Franchises USA East release.
Instantly in demand from collectors, these memorabilia cards sold quite well on the secondary market and he was a fixture on checklists from that point forward. Upper Deck has also included him in a few occasional releases and have cut up a pair of his game-used socks for them.
Packs of 1985-86 O-Pee-Chee (and Topps) featured a special insert set inside for the first time in years and in addition to team logo stickers, there were also 12 All-Stars from the previous season. Since Lindbergh easily earned a spot on the First All-Star Team, collectors got a good look at him without his mask on. This was the only year that O-Pee-Chee included this feature, but Topps carried it forward to the 1989-90 campaign.
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