10 Career-Defining Mike Bossy Hockey Cards
Who is the greatest all-time goal scorer? Wayne Gretzky holds the career mark with Alexander Ovechkin hot on his heels. Mario Lemieux was arguably the most gifted shooter, and Auston Matthews might be the best of today’s generation.
But plenty of hockey lifers will say that the title belongs to Mike Bossy.
At the very least, the New York Islanders legend was the most dangerous sniper of his era. Beginning with his record-breaking rookie season in 1977-78 when he lit the lamp 53 times, Bossy scored more than 50 goals nine straight times. That’s a feat no other player has equaled. Even Gretzky, at the height of his powers, could only man-age eight straight.
Bossy could always light the lamp. He never scored fewer than 70 goals in his four seasons with Laval of the QMJHL, topping out at 84 in 66 games in 1974-75. Hard to believe then that the Islanders managed to snag the future superstar with the 15th pick in the 1977 draft. Even harder – and more painful for the team’s fans – to believe that the rival Rangers passed on Bossy twice.
Despite that early snub, the 6-foot, 186-pound winger never lacked confidence in himself. When negotiating his first contract with Isles GM Bill Torrey he asked, “What’s a 50-goal scorer worth?” Torrey laughed and told him he might want to make the team first before setting those kinds of expectations. But the youngster wouldn’t back down.
“I knew if I made the Islanders, if I played with the right people, I could score,” Bossy said.
Paired with young center Bryan Trottier, that’s exactly what he did. Bossy finished his career with 573 goals in 752 games. His goals-per-game rate of .762 remains the highest in NHL history among all players with at least 400 games played. By way of comparison, Lemieux ranks second at .754 and Matthews third at .641.
The duo, along with defenseman Denis Potvin, became the core of an Islanders dynasty that won four consecutive Stanley Cups. Along the way, Bossy also won the 1978 Calder Trophy as the NHL rookie of the year, and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the 1982 playoffs. He also was a three-time Lady Byng Memorial Trophy recipient (1983, 1984, 1986). If not for a chronic back injury that derailed his career after just 10 seasons, there’s no telling how many more awards would line his mantle.
Tragically, Bossy passed away on April 14 from lung cancer. Not surprisingly, the news caused a surge in demand for several of his key singles.
While cards issued during his playing days are a critical element of any Bossy collection, many of his most desirable singles were released long after he retired when creativity, limited print runs, and augmentation such as autographs and game-used swatches created more appealing options.
Even with these elements, Bossy’s cards remain relatively affordable allowing for anyone to put together a solid collection of the Islanders legend. There’s only one challenge: Where to start? He has literally thousands of options to pursue – more than 2,900 base, parallel, autograph, relic, and oddball singles in total – so narrowing down the field can be overwhelming. Looking for a little guidance? These 10 cards serve as an excellent representation of his playing career, making them the foundation of an enviable Bossy PC.
1978-79 O-Pee-Chee #1 Mike Bossy
As the No. 1 card of the series, this is technically Bossy’s first single, and while it’s not as popular as his RC, it’s a must-have memento of a remarkable achievement. The 21-year-old shattered Richard Martin’s record of 44 rookie goals, finishing with 53 after tallying in a season-ending 7-2 rout of the Rangers. We chose this particular copy of the card to illustrate how routinely it is found off-center. It isn’t always this bad, but fewer than 125 of them have been slabbed – a low number considering the significance of the single – and only five have merited a Gem Mint 9.5 from BGS.
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1978-79 O-Pee-Chee #115 Mike Bossy RC
By the time this card came out, Bossy had firmly established himself as one of the most popular players in the game. Powered by the goal record, he’d been honored with the 1978 Calder Memorial Trophy as Rookie of the Year and was named to the NHL Second All-Star team. Bossy’s RC has seen a resurgence of late, and while raw copies are selling well most demand is focused on graded singles. A Mint 9 sold earlier this year for $1,550, which sets the stage for the sale of one of the 15 Gem Mint copies in circulation.
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1979-80 O-Pee-Chee #161 Mike Bossy
Two seasons into his hobby career, and two Record Breaker cards for Bossy. This one honors the 69 goals he scored as a sophomore the season before, a total that set a new mark for goals by a right winger and established his career high. But while that season ended in disappointment as the Isles were knocked out in the semis by the arch-rival Rangers, it marked the last playoff series they would lose for quite some time. The Isles won their next 19 playoff series, earning their first of four consecutive Cups in 1980.
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1983-84 O-Pee-Chee #205 Mike Bossy
While collectors focus on Bossy’s sharpshooting, that wasn’t the only defining element of his game. Despite facing a barrage of abuse from opposing defenders, he committed to playing clean and fair. He finished among the top five in Lady Byng voting each of his first eight seasons and won the award three times. This single commemorates the first time he claimed the hardware as he tallied 60 goals for the third consecutive season and took just 20 minutes in penalties. While it’ll never be among his most valuable cards, it speaks to the type of player he was.
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1993 Classic Autographs #AU1 Mike Bossy
Autographs weren’t part of the hobby equation during Bossy’s playing days, so it wasn’t until well after he had retired that he earned his first signed card. Oddly it was the draft picks manufacturer Classic, and not one of the many licensed manufacturers, that released the single. Issued as part of a superstar-laden 12-card insert set, it featured a gold ink signature and a print run of 975 copies. That may seem like a lot by current standards but it was a tough pull in 1993 and it remains elusive for many of his fans today.
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1999-00 Upper Deck A Piece Of History 500 Goal Club #500MB Mike Bossy
On January 2, 1986, Bossy scored an empty netter to seal a 7-5 victory over the Boston Bruins. Although it was far from the most exciting goal of his career, his 500th definitely was one of his most iconic. It came in his 647th career game, marking him as the fastest player to reach that plateau in league history (although Wayne Gretzky would break the record later that season). Upper Deck’s ongoing A Piece Of History insert honored Bossy’s accomplishment when it kicked off in 1999 with two versions. This one, hard-signed and limited to 25 hand-numbered copies, is the more desirable.
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2001-02 Fleer Greats Of The Game Autographs #72 Mike Bossy
This set has found a second life in the hobby since the beginning of the pandemic, with short prints like this Bossy single earning all kinds of love. Showcasing a vintage image of his stick blade on fire, it’s one of his most visually iconic cards and a favorite of his fans. It also inspired a cover image we had shot of Mike Modano for the January 1994 issue of this magazine. It’s a card that rarely shows up online, but can be found from time to time at shows – but you might have to do some deep digging.
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2007 Vancouver Show Autograph Mike Bossy
By no means are we endorsing a card that appears to have been produced without authorization from the NHL, NHLPA, or Topps, but this is a fascinating item that Bossy collectors suggested for the list. The card, which appropriates the image and card-back text from his RC, was produced for a March 2007 card show appearance in Vancouver and was reportedly limited to just 25 copies. That scarcity, along with the crisp hard-signed autograph and HOF notation, makes it a noteworthy item in several collections and a white whale for many more.
2014-15 The Cup Signature Renditions #SRMB Mike Bossy
Bossy wore Canada’s colors twice over the course of his storied career, and he was at the peak of his powers on both occasions. Skating at the 1981 Canada Cup, he scored eight goals and 11 points in just seven games. Three years later, he potted five goals and nine points in eight games, with his OT winner over the Soviets in the semifinal ranking among the biggest tallies of his career. The text on this Team Canada card oddly focuses on two goals he scored against West Germany in the opener, but benefits from a sharp, gold ink sig.
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2017-18 Upper Deck Trilogy Scripted Hall of Fame Plaques #SHOFMB Mike Bossy
“A sniper on the ice, Mike Bossy mastered the art of putting the puck into the net to become one of the greatest goal scorers ever to play in the National Hockey League.” Those words, spoken by the great Dick Irvin, kicked off Bossy’s induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991. Many cards have been produced over the years to honor him as a HOFer but none are as striking as this single which features an approximation of his induction plaque on acetate stock, along with a hard-signed autograph and hand-numbering out of 25.
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