The 1961-62 Parkhurst NHL hockey card set consists of 51 cards featuring players from the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens. Topps covered the other three teams in the league: Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers.
The highlight of the 1961-62 Parkhurst set is the number 5 card, the Dave Keon rookie card. Other important hockey cards in the set include those of Tim Horton, Eddie Shack, Gordie Howe, Terry Sawchuk and Jacques Plante.
This set is quite error-free. The one documented uncorrected error appears on the number 44 card. This is the rookie card for Wayne Connelly of the Montreal Canadiens. On both the front and back of the card, Wayne’s last name is misspelt Conolly.
Not an error, but certainly an oddity. Andre Pronovost is included in the set as a member of the Montreal Canadiens. However, Pronovost was traded rather early into the 1960-61 National Hockey League season to the Boston Bruins. Andre can also be found in the 1961-62 Topps set as a member of the Bruins.
Another oddity can be found when looking at the cards of Len Lunde and Al Johnson, both of the Detroit Red Wings. Their heads are their own but they seem to share the same body. The body in question has jersey number 20, a number that Lunde wore. So, it has to be assumed that Johnson’s head has been cut and pasted onto Lunde…
1961-62 Parkhurst NHL Checklist
1961-62 Parkhurst NHL Complete Collection [Video]
1961-62 NHL Season
1961-62 saw the Montreal Canadiens dominate during the regular season but come up short in the playoffs. Montreal finished in first with 98 points, 13 more than the second place Toronto Maple Leafs. Yet, the Habs fell in the first round to the third seed Chicago Blackhawks, a team that finished 23 points behind.
The New York Rangers finished fourth and took the final playoff spot. The Detroit Red Wings ended up four points behind the Rangers and out of post season contention. This was significant with the Red Wings not appearing in the post season for just the fourth time in team history and just the second time since 1937-38.
Toronto beat the Rangers in the first round and followed that up by a series win over the Blackhawks in the final to capture the Stanley Cup. Each of the three playoff series’ were decided in six games.
Though tied with Andy Bathgate of the Rangers with 84 points, Bobby Hull of the Blackhawks was awarded the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading scorer. The Hart Trophy and Vezina Trophy went to Jacques Plante of the Canadiens. Bobby Rousseau of the Habs took home the Calder Trophy as top rookie. Doug Harvey won the Norris as best defenseman, this time as a member of the New York Rangers. Dave Keon from Toronto rounded out the individual awards by winning the Lady Byng Trophy.
1961-62 NHL Standings
| Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
| Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 42 | 14 | 14 | 98 | 259 | 166 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 37 | 22 | 11 | 85 | 232 | 180 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 70 | 31 | 26 | 13 | 75 | 217 | 186 |
| New York Rangers | 70 | 26 | 32 | 12 | 64 | 195 | 207 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 23 | 33 | 14 | 60 | 184 | 219 |
| Boston Bruins | 70 | 15 | 47 | 8 | 38 | 177 | 306 |
1961-62 NHL Scoring Leaders
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
| Bobby Hull | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 50 | 34 | 84 | 35 |
| Andy Bathgate | New York Rangers | 70 | 28 | 56 | 84 | 44 |
| Gordie Howe | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 33 | 44 | 77 | 54 |
| Stan Mikita | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 25 | 52 | 77 | 97 |
| Frank Mahovlich | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 33 | 38 | 71 | 87 |
| Alex Delvecchio | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 26 | 43 | 69 | 18 |
| Ralph Backstrom | Montreal Canadiens | 66 | 27 | 38 | 65 | 29 |
| Norm Ullman | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 26 | 38 | 64 | 54 |
| Bill Hay | Chicago Back Hawks | 60 | 11 | 52 | 63 | 34 |
| Claude Provost | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 33 | 29 | 62 | 22 |