The 1959-60 Topps NHL hockey card set consists of 66 cards featuring players from the four U.S. based teams: Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins. The collection lacks any significant rookie cards and “In Action” cards are sprinkled throughout.
The top valued hockey cards in the 1959-60 set belong to the usual suspects. Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks leads the way with his second year card. Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings follows not far behind in value. Other important cards belong to Terry Sawchuk of the Red Wings, Glenn Hall of the Blackhawks and Eddie Shack of the New York Rangers.
1959-60 Topps NHL Checklist
(Video below checklist)
| Number | Player |
| 1 | Eric Nesterenko |
| 2 | Pierre Pilote |
| 3 | Elmer Vasko |
| 4 | Pete Goegan |
| 5 | Lou Fontinato |
| 6 | Ted Lindsay |
| 7 | Leo Labine |
| 8 | Alex Delvecchio |
| 9 | Don McKenney |
| 10 | Earl Ingarfield |
| 11 | Don Simmons |
| 12 | Glen Skov |
| 13 | Tod Sloan |
| 14 | Vic Stasiuk |
| 15 | Lorne “Gump” Worsley |
| 16 | Andy Hebenton |
| 17 | Dean Prentice |
| 18 | Action Picture |
| 19 | Fleming Mackell |
| 20 | Harry Howell |
| 21 | Larry Popein |
| 22 | Len Lunde |
| 23 | Johnny Bucyk |
| 24 | Jean-Guy Gendron |
| 25 | Barry Cullen |
| 26 | Leo Boivin |
| 27 | Warren Godfrey |
| 28 | Action Picture |
| 29 | Fern Flaman |
| 30 | Jack Evans |
| 31 | John Hanna |
| 32 | Glenn Hall |
| 33 | Murray Balfour RC |
| 34 | Andy Bathgate |
| 35 | Al Arbour |
| 36 | Jim Morrison |
| 37 | Nick Mickoski |
| 38 | Jerry Toppazzini |
| 39 | Bob Armstrong |
| 40 | Charlie Burns |
| 41 | Billy McNeill |
| 42 | Terry Sawchuk |
| 43 | Dollard St. Laurent |
| 44 | Marcel Pronovost |
| 45 | Norm Ullman |
| 46 | Camille Henry |
| 47 | Bobby Hull |
| 48 | Jack Evans [Action Picture] |
| 49 | Lou Marcon RC |
| 50 | Earl Balfour |
| 51 | Jim Bartlett |
| 52 | Forbes Kennedy |
| 53 | John Hanna [Action Picture] |
| 54 | Harry Howell [Action Picture] |
| 55 | Brian Cullen |
| 56 | Bronco Horvath |
| 57 | Eddie Shack |
| 58 | Doug Mohns |
| 59 | George “Red” Sullivan |
| 60 | Fleming Mackell [Action Picture] |
| 61 | Ed Litzenberger |
| 62 | Bill Gadsby |
| 63 | Gordie Howe |
| 64 | Claude LaForge |
| 65 | Leonard “Red” Kelly |
| 66 | Ron Murphy |
1959-60 NHL Season
1959-60 certainly marked the end of an era in the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens won their fifth of five consecutive Stanley Cup championships. The Habs did it in style, taking only eight games. Montreal swept the Chicago Blackhawks in the opening round and then swept the Toronto Maple Leafs in the final. Each series ended with a shutout victory.
The legendary Maurice Richard played his final NHL game on April 14, 1960. That was game four of the final series and was played at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens. The Rocket assisted on Montreal’s third goal scored by brother Henri Richard. That goal was scored on Toronto goalie Johnny Bower. Jacques Plante turned away 30 shots in the 4-0 shutout win.
The Canadiens didn’t dominate the individual awards the way they dominated the regular season and playoffs. Doug Harvey won the Norris and Jacques Plante was handed the Vezina. However, it was Bobby Hull winning the Art Ross Trophy and Gordie Howe taking home the Hart Trophy as most valuable player.
Hull won the Art Ross by the slimmest of margins. He finished just a single point ahead of Bronco Horvath with Horvath played two less games. The two ended up tied in the goal scoring department with 39 each. For the Golden Jet, it was his first of three career Art Ross wins.
Interestingly, Horvath was the more consistent scorer. Hull had four hat tricks in 1959-60 while Bronco spread out his offense with no three goal games. Bobby was the only player in 1959-60 to score four goals in a game. In a February 21, 1960 7-5 home win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, Bobby scored his 30th, 31st, 32nd and 33rd goals of the season. He added an assist on a Murray Balfour goal for a five point night. Johnny Bower was in the Toronto nets and faced 42 shots.
1959-60 NHL Standings
| Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
| Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 40 | 18 | 12 | 92 | 255 | 178 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 35 | 26 | 9 | 79 | 199 | 195 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 70 | 28 | 29 | 13 | 69 | 191 | 180 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 26 | 29 | 15 | 67 | 186 | 197 |
| Boston Bruins | 70 | 28 | 34 | 8 | 64 | 220 | 241 |
| New York Rangers | 70 | 17 | 38 | 15 | 49 | 187 | 247 |
1959-60 NHL Scoring Leaders
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Bobby Hull | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 39 | 42 | 81 |
| Bronco Horvath | Boston Bruins | 68 | 39 | 41 | 80 |
| Jean Beliveau | Montreal Canadiens | 60 | 34 | 40 | 74 |
| Andy Bathgate | New York Rangers | 70 | 26 | 48 | 74 |
| Henri Richard | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 30 | 43 | 73 |
| Gordie Howe | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 28 | 45 | 73 |
| Bernie Geoffrion | Montreal Canadiens | 59 | 30 | 41 | 71 |
| Don McKenney | Boston Bruins | 70 | 20 | 49 | 69 |
| Vic Stasiuk | Boston Bruins | 69 | 29 | 39 | 68 |
| Dean Prentice | New York Rangers | 70 | 32 | 34 | 66 |