1974-75 O-Pee-Chee WHA

The 1974-75 O-Pee-Chee WHA set consists of 66 hockey cards. This was the first set by the collectibles producer dedicated inclusively to the World Hockey Association. The 1972-73 NHL collection featured WHA players at the end of the set. There was also a Quaker Oats set previous to that for the 1973-74 season.

The gem of the 1974-75 WHA set is card number 1 featuring the Howe family from the Houston Aeros. Oddly, this card is the only card in the set of either Gordie, Mark or Marty Howe. The league’s pinnacle players did not have individual cards of their own. This card is considered the rookie card for both Mark Howe and Marty Howe.

Because it was a new league with many European players and guys who were lifetime minor leaguers, many of the 66 cards were rookie cards. Significant RCs include Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg of the Winnipeg Jets, Gilles Gratton of the Toronto Toros and Real Cloutier of the Quebec Nordiques.

The most valuable cards in the set, after the Howe card, belong to Gerry Cheevers (Cleveland Crusaders), Frank Mahovlich (Toronto Toros), Bobby Hull (Winnipeg Jets) and Jacques Plante (Edmonton Oilers).

1974-75 O-Pee-Chee WHA Hockey Cards

Number	Player
1	The Howes
2	Bruce MacGregor
3	Wayne Dillon RC
4	Ulf Nilsson RC
5	Serge Bernier
6	Bryan Campbell
7	Rosaire Paiement
8	Tom Webster
9	Gerry Pinder
10	Mike Walton
11	Norm Beaudin
12	Bob Whitlock RC
13	Wayne Rivers
14	Gerry Odrowski
15	Ron Climie
16	Tom Simpson RC
17	Anders Hedberg RC
18	J.C. Tremblay
19	Mike Pelyk
20	Dave Dryden
21	Ron Ward
22	Larry Lund RC
23	Ron Buchanan RC
24	Pat Hickey RC
25	Danny Lawson RC
26	Bob Guindon RC
27	Gene Peacosh RC
28	Fran Huck
29	Al Hamilton
30	Gerry Cheevers
31	Heikki Riihiranta RC
32	Don Burgess RC
33	John French RC
34	Jim Wiste RC
35	Pat Stapleton
36	Jean-Paul LeBlanc RC
37	Mike Antonovich RC
38	Joe Daley
39	Ross Perkins RC
40	Frank Mahovlich
41	Rejean Houle
42	Ron Chipperfield RC
43	Marc Tardif
44	Murray Keogan RC
45	Wayne Carleton
46	Andre Gaudette RC
47	Ralph Backstrom
48	Don McLeod RC
49	Vaclav Nedomansky RC
50	Bobby Hull
51	Ed “Rusty” Patenaude RC
52	Michel Parizeau
53	Checklist
54	Wayne Connelly
55	Gary Veneruzzo
56	Dennis Sobchuk RC
57	Paul Henderson
58	Andy Brown RC
59	Poul Popiel
60	Andre Lacroix
61	Gary Jarrett
62	Claude St. Sauveur RC
63	Real Cloutier RC
64	Jacques Plante
65	Gilles Gratton RC
66	Lars-Erik Sjoberg RC

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1974-75 WHA Final Standings

Canadian Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Quebec Nordiques	78	46	32	0	92	331	299	1132
Toronto Toros	78	43	33	2	88	349	304	883
Winnipeg Jets	78	38	35	5	81	322	293	869
Vancouver Blazers	78	37	39	2	76	256	270	1075
Edmonton Oilers	78	36	38	4	76	279	279	896
Eastern Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
New England Whalers	78	43	30	5	91	274	279	867
Cleveland Crusaders	78	35	40	3	73	236	258	1273
Chicago Cougars	78	30	47	1	61	261	312	1086
Indianapolis Racers	78	18	57	3	39	216	338	970
Western Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Houston Aeros	78	53	25	0	106	369	247	1257
San Diego Mariners	78	43	31	4	90	326	268	1058
Minnesota Fighting Saints	78	42	33	3	87	308	279	1233
Phoenix Roadrunners	78	39	31	8	86	300	265	1388
Stags / Blades	78	21	53	4	46	205	341	1104

1974-75 WHA Scoring Leaders

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Andre Lacroix	San Diego Mariners	78	41	106	147
Bobby Hull	Winnipeg Jets	78	77	65	142
Serge Bernier	Quebec Nordiques	76	54	68	122
Ulf Nilsson	Winnipeg Jets	78	26	94	120
Larry Lund	Houston Aeros	78	33	75	108
Wayne Rivers	San Diego Mariners	78	54	53	107
Anders Hedberg	Winnipeg Jets	65	53	47	100
Gordie Howe	Houston Aeros	75	34	65	99
Wayne Dillon	Toronto Toros	77	29	66	95
Mike Walton	Minnesota Fighting Saints	75	48	45	93

1974-75 WHA Season

1974-75 was the third season of existence for the rebel league known as the World Hockey Association. The WHA added two teams, upping the number to 14 from 12 in 1973-74. The league moved to a three division format with the Canadian Division containing five teams, the Eastern Division with four and the Western with five. Previously, there were two divisions of six team.

The Houston Aeros, with the help of Gordie Howe and his two sons, Mark and Marty, finished first overall with 106 points. The Indianapolis Racers were on the opposite end of the spectrum, finishing last overall with just 18 wins and 39 points.

The Aeros would lose just one game in the opening round of the playoffs against the Cleveland Crusaders before sweeping their way to the Avco World Trophy championship. In the semi-final, the San Diego Mariners were their victim. In the final, it was the Quebec Nordiques that fell in four games. Ron Grahame, Houston goaltender, was named the most valuable player in the playoffs.

Andre Lacroix of the Mariners won the Bill Hunter Trophy as the WHA’s top scorer, leading the way with 147 points. Bobby Hull, aided by his incredible 77 goal performance for the Winnipeg Jets, was named MVP, taking the Gary L. Davidson Award.

1974-75 WHA All-Stars

The 1974-75 World Hockey Association All-Stars include three legends of the game that ended up in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull would remain in the WHA until the bitter end. For Gerry Cheevers, it was his third year with the Cleveland Crusaders. The following year, 1975-76, he would start the year in Ohio but would be back between the pipes for the Boston Bruins midway through the season.

Position	First Team	Second Team
Centre	Andre Lacroix, San Diego	Serge Bernier, Quebec
Right Wing	Gordie Howe, Houston	Anders Hedberg, Winnipeg
Left Wing	Bobby Hull, Winnipeg	Marc Tardif, Quebec
Defence	J. C. Tremblay, Quebec	Poul Popiel, Houston
Defence	Kevin Morrison, San Diego	Barry Long, Edmonton
Goaltender	Ron Grahame, Houston	Gerry Cheevers, Cleveland