CGC Cards Registry Featured Set: 1974-75 Topps Hockey
Posted on 1/8/2026
The 1970s was a time of transition for the NHL. Numerous changes reshaped the league, as it rapidly grew and added expansion teams on multiple occasions throughout the decade. The NHL blossomed from a small 6-team league (1942-1967) to a larger 21-team league by the 1979-1980 season through several expansions and the NHL-WHA merger. The 1970s ushered in a new era for the NHL, solidifying it as the dominant professional hockey league in the world.
During this period, new franchises joined the NHL, while others changed their names and relocated. Many of these changes were also reflected in the hockey cards that were released during the 1970s. Topps issued their first hockey set in 1954, which consisted of players from only four teams among the small 60-card set. As the league grew, so did Topps hockey sets.
Ahead of the 1974-75 NHL season, the league added two more franchises when the Washington Capitals and the Kansas City Scouts became the newest expansion teams. Not only were both new teams included the 1974-75 Topps Hockey set, but its 264-card checklist became the largest hockey set issued to date by the company. The expansive checklist features multiple NHL legends who would go on to become Hall of Famers, and it also includes a handful of important rookie cards.
As CGC revisits this vintage Topps hockey set, CGC Cards Registry set owner Todd Carte's top-ranked Carte's Cards set showcases several gems from the 1974-75 Topps set. The set owner compiled 11 of the most popular cards in the series, which include two Top Pops, helping the set owner earn the prestigious Best in Set Type distinction.
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| 1974-75 Topps #100 Bobby Orr graded CGC 4.5 Click images to enlarge. |
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The 1974-75 Topps Hockey set has some unique features within its checklist, starting with the league leaders in multiple categories from the previous season being highlighted in the first six cards of the set. Cards #209 through #215 recapped the previous year's postseason and cards #243 through #252 feature individual award winners of various NHL trophies. The set also highlights All-Star players, team leaders and two checklist cards while coaches returned to the set for the first time in almost a decade.
The base card designs feature a simple white border around each card but also includes a hockey stick as an inner left border that is combined with a colorful bottom border. This colorful bottom border showcases the player's name and team logo, with another white border just above that shows the team name. Each base card front features a player image, which is either an in-game action shot or a posed photo. The images mirror the decade, showing players with shaggy hair, sideburns and mustaches that help immediately identify that the set is rooted in the 1970s.
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| LEFT: 1974-75 Topps #155 Ken Dryden graded CGC 6.5 RIGHT: 1974-75 Topps #232 Guy Lafleur graded CGC 6 Click images to enlarge. |
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The vertical backs also have some unique features, including distinct sections with multiple colors helping differentiate each section. The top features a small circle in the left corner that contains the card number. The circle is within a larger orange section that highlights the player's name, team, position and more. Just below, a short biography is included on natural card stock for each player. Further down is an "NHL Playing Record" section on orange coloring that shares stats from the previous season along with lifetime totals. The backs are rounded out by a small cartoon at the bottom about the player that is placed inside an oval-shaped area that looks like a hockey puck.
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| LEFT: 1974-75 Topps #195 Denis Potvin Rookie Card graded CGC 5.5 RIGHT: 1974-75 Topps #180 Borje Salming Rookie Card graded CGC 5 Click images to enlarge. |
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The set showcases numerous NHL All-Stars who would go on to become Hall of Famers, with the set including more than 60 cards that feature Hall of Famers. Some of the player highlights include Bobby Orr, Stan Mikita, Serge Savard, Phil Esposito, Tony Esposito, Gil Perreault, Brad Park, Bernie Parent, Bobby Clarke, Ken Dryden, Guy Lafleur and several more. Coach card highlights include Scotty Bowman and Don Cherry, while key rookie cards include Denis Potvin, Borje Salming and Lanny McDonald.
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| LEFT: 1974-75 Topps #261 Scotty Bowman graded CGC 7 RIGHT: 1974-75 Topps #161 Don Cherry graded CGC 5.5 Click images to enlarge. |
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Although the 1974-75 Topps Hockey set isn't the most popular with collectors, it is still an integral piece of NHL history that showcases dozens of superstars from an important era of the game. While the checklist isn't particularly rare, it can be a challenge to track down cards from the set in Gem Mint condition.
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