Today’s Card Thoughts post is about 1993 O-Pee-Chee Premier. It got me wondering where “O-Pee-Chee” came from. Without looking anything up, I guessed a couple of things. First, it was probably an Native American name. Second, it was probably some kind of candy company like other brands. I was right on both accounts, but it was interesting to learn more about it.
The O-Pee-Chee company was originally a candy company which made, you guessed it, chewing gum. It was started in 1911 by brothers John and Duncan McDermid (they went by JK and DH). They started the company after working for another gum company. The name O-Pee-Chee was actually the name of a summer cottage one of the brothers had in Ontario.
But where did the O-Pee-Chee name come from. Well it’s a Native American word belonging to the Ojibwe and it means “the robin.” The Ojibwe were from what is southern Canada surrounding the Great Lakes and they have the fifth-largest population among Native American people.
O-Pee-Chee is found in the epic poem The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I think it’s also found in another book by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft that Longfellow used as a source for his work.
So there you go, a little hit of background on a word meaning “the robin” and the name of a card company. Let’s check out some packs why don’t we.
Stars, Eh
Much like the 1993 Fleer Series 1 I opened recently, these cards are pretty straight up and business like. Maybe even more in some ways. They have team colors but only slightly. That comes in where the OPC logo is and a tiny strip at the top of the cards. Just like the 1993 Fleer, there isn’t much “design” to them. These were some good ones to see in the packs though.
Some other pretty good dudes I found like Donnie Baseball. For some reason I just dug that card. It almost seems like he’s squeezing down to get into the picture. And Tony, well, he passed away recently and I this card obviously reminded me of his short time with the Mets.
As for Mike Hampton, I remember him as a Met and a Rockie, but for some reason I had completely forgotten that he was a Mariner. As we look at the back you can see they dedicate a lot to logos, the set name, and obviously the picture. I like the picture as a portrait on the back like Mike has especially when there’s action on the front.
Canadian Rockies
Since this was the season the Rockies started, I figured I would pick a few of my favorites out. Oddly enough, I already picked out Larry Walker even if he is in an Expos uniform. Castilla and the Big Cat were obvious a big part of how they became the Blake Street Bombers. Of course, the atmosphere has a lot to do with that to.
As for Eric Young and Charlie Hayes, they’ve both signed TTM for me. That puts them in a special place for me.
A Few Snowbirds
The Marlins were new that year too. I almost forgot about Walt Weiss as a Marlin. But I’m not sure how I could forget about anyone in these uniforms. Can you say “Loud”? I do remember Benny as a part of the Fish though.
Jeff Conine is Mr. Marlin is he? Not to be confused with Marlins Man. I really wish I knew if he signs TTM. I’m not sure he does though. I love the Bryan Harvey because he’s another guys who’ll sign TTM.
What’s that aboot?
These pictures don’t do it justice, although I don’t really want to do it justice. Every card of these had damage. But what was completely odd was that they were always in the middle of a pack and they always were in about the same place on the card. I’m guess a bunch of thing coming off the line were bad and they were always damaged in the same sport before they were cut.
It was a bit of a Twilight Zone / Groundhog Day situation as I was opening packs.
Pulled These Out of My Toque
If you haven’t guess yet all my headings are an attempt at Canadian words and phrases, I might be running out of steam.
I like these inserts and I thing they would have been pretty good as the main cards. Of course there is a gold version like a lot of sets back then (and now), but I like the others too.
From A to Zed
Yeah see, I told you I was running out of steam.
I’ve been showing the cards I pull out for TTMs lately, but this time I figured I would show another thing I do. I can’t remember if I’ve said this before or not though. I like to keep about five packs from each thing I open. Not five every time, but I like to have five packs on hand if at all possible. I don’t know what I’m saving them for though.
I liked checking out the cards, but it was a little repetitive after a few packs. The collation wasn’t great and there aren’t a ton of cards in the set so the doubles kind of pile up a bit. And the inserts from back then are really stretched thin which makes you think how dime-a-dozen they seem to be sometimes these days. But, while being stuck around the house, there’s not much better than opening packs.
For more about 1993 O-Pee-Chee, check out BaseballCardPedia.com.