1969-70 O-Pee-Chee 102 Bill Flett Hockey Card (Front)
1969-70 O-Pee-Chee 102 Bill Flett Hockey Card (Back)
1969-70 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist
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Card Notes
“Cowboy” Bill Flett was groomed as one of the Kings’ first super-stars, and he came through in spades. He has a good, strong shot, and doesn’t shy away from heavy contact. Has ambition to score 30 goals and win Stanley Cup.
En Français
“Cowboy” Bill Flett fut élevé au rang de super-vedette chez les Wings et a fait honneur à son titre. Il possède un lancer juste et puissant, et n’a pas peur de foncer dans la mêlée. Son ambition est de compter trente buts et de remporter la Coupe Stanley.
Details
First off, there is a slight ERROR on the back of this 1969-70 O-Pee-Chee Bill Flett hockey card. The English info snippet is great but in the French version, they refer to the Wings grooming him to be a super-star and not the Kings.
After toiling in the minors for three years playing on five different teams in four different leagues, Flett was taken by Los Angeles in the 18th round of the 1967 NHL Expansion, 103rd overall, out of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. It turned out to be a steal with Bill leading the Kings in their inaugural season with 26 goals.
Of those 26 goals, six were scored over just two games against the Detroit Red Wings. Flett recorded the first hat trick in L.A. Kings history on November 5, 1967 at Detroit Olympia. In a 6-4 win, Bill scored his 4th, 5th and 6th goals of the 1967-68 NHL season on Wings goalie Roger Crozier. He accounted for nine of the 41 shots put on Crozier in the game.
Later in the year, on February 1, 1968, he did it again. The Kings walked into Olympia and came out with an 8-6 win. On this night, Flett again scored three and also assisted on a Real Lemieux goal for a four point game.
His performance in 1967-68 got him a few looks for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. Bill finished fourth in voting behind winner Derek Sanderson (Boston Bruins), runner-up Jacques Lemaire (Montreal Canadiens) and Doug Favell (Philadelphia Flyers).
As for ambitions stated on the back of the card, Flett came through. He was a 43 goal scorer in 1972-73 with the Flyers, a number that could have been higher had he not missed nine games. The following year, he helped Philadelphia to their first Stanley Cup championship.
Between 1967-68 and 1979-80, Bill Flett played 689 regular season and 52 playoff games in the National Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Atlanta Flames and Edmonton Oilers. He also played three years in the WHA with the Oilers, appearing in 195 regular season and 15 playoff games.