The Story of the Sports Cards Museum
The two most valuable cards in the foreground of the most beautiful hockey card set.
The very first cards I fell head over heels in love with were the 1995-96 Fleer Ultra Gold Medallion series.
My friends and I used to buy them at a local sports shop on the town square in Šternberk near Olomouc—and as high school students, they certainly weren't cheap. Of course, I didn't brag about it much at home, and it took a while before I finally confessed what I was spending my money on. In the end, I traded my collection of roughly 160 cards from that set for a single nonsense card—well, you know how it goes...
Yet, nearly twenty years later, that very same series sparked the idea of creating a museum or an exhibition dedicated to hockey cards. I was simply dying to know what they would look like all together, beautifully displayed on a wall where their golden glow could truly shine. Jágr, Gretzky, Brodeur, Hašek, Miloš Holaň, and of course, the Stanley Cup presentation card—which we just couldn't get our hands on back then.
I started diving deep into the history of hockey cards: what were the first cards ever printed, when were the individual brands founded, which cards hold the highest value, where to find the oldest pieces, how much they actually cost, and so on. I devoured content on Cardboard Connection, TCDB, and Beckett. Fortunately, the world is full of amazing enthusiasts who are always ready to share their knowledge.
And then it happened. In November 2023, a space became available in Galerie Myšák that ticked every box—street-level access, a wonderful view into the interior directly from the shopping arcade, and financially manageable within my budget. So, I started considering the biggest investment of my life, which, for various reasons, ultimately got the green light 🙂
While building the museum, my primary motivation was to showcase the true history of hockey card collecting. Obtaining a reprint of the iconic 1910 C56 set wasn't too difficult, but I decided that the museum needed at least one original card from that legendary series. The choice fell on Art Ross.
When I saw the card in person for the first time, I literally fell in love and immediately set out to acquire more historic pieces. Today, visitors can admire matchbook player profiles, a Lester Patrick card by World Wide Gum, and one of the very first cards of the modern era—Turk Broda on a Parkhurst card, fondly known as "Parkies."
From there, I continued acquiring sets from the modern era from the 1950s onward. You will find a 18-card lot from the 1954 Topps set, which represents Topps' very first hockey release featuring the four US-based NHL teams: the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, and Chicago Blackhawks.
I also managed to secure a complete 50-card 1959 Parkhurst set, featuring exclusively two Original Six powerhouses: the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens.
For the early 1970s, we showcase what many consider the most beautiful set ever made—the 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee. The real icing on the cake for me is the complete 24-booklet insert set accompanying the OPC base release, featuring 14 NHL Hall of Famers.
This list of historic hockey cards and sets is far from complete. You will also discover iconic sets from the 80s and 90s, including nostalgic treasures like the legendary PRO-SET and Score series featuring a shining young rookie named Jaromír Jágr. Another highlight is the 99-card Upper Deck Wayne Gretzky Living Legend set, which meticulously maps out the legendary career of "The Great One."
The career of our own hockey legend, Jaromír Jágr, can be explored through the specialized Jagr Years card set. And I certainly cannot forget the set that started it all—the complete 200-card 1995-96 Fleer Ultra Gold Medallion set.
Special thanks go to Czech hockey card manufacturers for helping us preserve the memory of the most important players and moments in Czech and Czechoslovak hockey history. For this reason, I selected two key sets for the museum: the OFS History of the Czech National Team (1908–2010) and the Hall of Fame set, featuring 138 personalities of Czech and Czechoslovak hockey inducted between 2008 and 2019.
The story of the Sports Cards Museum doesn't end here. We have recently added 1992 Classic Muhammad Ali Auto World Class Athletes Signature Autograph card, 1978 Topps World Cup finals set, replicas of Stanley Cup championship rings, and we will continue expanding our collection!
And you don't have to be a die-hard collector to have a great time here. We have created an Augmented Reality (AR) app that lets you snap a photo with a virtual Champions League or Stanley Cup, and you can also try out virtual reality target shooting with the Sense Arena app right in our place.
Do you have any tips or ideas on what shouldn't be missing in our museum? Reach out to me on Instagram @sportscardsmuseum.
I look forward to welcoming you!
Jan Procháček
Founder of the Sports Cards Museum
Acknowledgements
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow collectors, without whom this exhibition would not feature many of these key pieces: Miroslav Cenek, Martin Sedlár, Honza Ulmon, and Martin Veselý.
My friends and I used to buy them at a local sports shop on the town square in Šternberk near Olomouc—and as high school students, they certainly weren't cheap. Of course, I didn't brag about it much at home, and it took a while before I finally confessed what I was spending my money on. In the end, I traded my collection of roughly 160 cards from that set for a single nonsense card—well, you know how it goes...
Yet, nearly twenty years later, that very same series sparked the idea of creating a museum or an exhibition dedicated to hockey cards. I was simply dying to know what they would look like all together, beautifully displayed on a wall where their golden glow could truly shine. Jágr, Gretzky, Brodeur, Hašek, Miloš Holaň, and of course, the Stanley Cup presentation card—which we just couldn't get our hands on back then.
I started diving deep into the history of hockey cards: what were the first cards ever printed, when were the individual brands founded, which cards hold the highest value, where to find the oldest pieces, how much they actually cost, and so on. I devoured content on Cardboard Connection, TCDB, and Beckett. Fortunately, the world is full of amazing enthusiasts who are always ready to share their knowledge.
And then it happened. In November 2023, a space became available in Galerie Myšák that ticked every box—street-level access, a wonderful view into the interior directly from the shopping arcade, and financially manageable within my budget. So, I started considering the biggest investment of my life, which, for various reasons, ultimately got the green light 🙂
While building the museum, my primary motivation was to showcase the true history of hockey card collecting. Obtaining a reprint of the iconic 1910 C56 set wasn't too difficult, but I decided that the museum needed at least one original card from that legendary series. The choice fell on Art Ross.
When I saw the card in person for the first time, I literally fell in love and immediately set out to acquire more historic pieces. Today, visitors can admire matchbook player profiles, a Lester Patrick card by World Wide Gum, and one of the very first cards of the modern era—Turk Broda on a Parkhurst card, fondly known as "Parkies."
From there, I continued acquiring sets from the modern era from the 1950s onward. You will find a 18-card lot from the 1954 Topps set, which represents Topps' very first hockey release featuring the four US-based NHL teams: the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, and Chicago Blackhawks.
I also managed to secure a complete 50-card 1959 Parkhurst set, featuring exclusively two Original Six powerhouses: the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens.
For the early 1970s, we showcase what many consider the most beautiful set ever made—the 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee. The real icing on the cake for me is the complete 24-booklet insert set accompanying the OPC base release, featuring 14 NHL Hall of Famers.
This list of historic hockey cards and sets is far from complete. You will also discover iconic sets from the 80s and 90s, including nostalgic treasures like the legendary PRO-SET and Score series featuring a shining young rookie named Jaromír Jágr. Another highlight is the 99-card Upper Deck Wayne Gretzky Living Legend set, which meticulously maps out the legendary career of "The Great One."
The career of our own hockey legend, Jaromír Jágr, can be explored through the specialized Jagr Years card set. And I certainly cannot forget the set that started it all—the complete 200-card 1995-96 Fleer Ultra Gold Medallion set.
Special thanks go to Czech hockey card manufacturers for helping us preserve the memory of the most important players and moments in Czech and Czechoslovak hockey history. For this reason, I selected two key sets for the museum: the OFS History of the Czech National Team (1908–2010) and the Hall of Fame set, featuring 138 personalities of Czech and Czechoslovak hockey inducted between 2008 and 2019.
The story of the Sports Cards Museum doesn't end here. We have recently added 1992 Classic Muhammad Ali Auto World Class Athletes Signature Autograph card, 1978 Topps World Cup finals set, replicas of Stanley Cup championship rings, and we will continue expanding our collection!
And you don't have to be a die-hard collector to have a great time here. We have created an Augmented Reality (AR) app that lets you snap a photo with a virtual Champions League or Stanley Cup, and you can also try out virtual reality target shooting with the Sense Arena app right in our place.
Do you have any tips or ideas on what shouldn't be missing in our museum? Reach out to me on Instagram @sportscardsmuseum.
I look forward to welcoming you!
Jan Procháček
Founder of the Sports Cards Museum
Acknowledgements
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow collectors, without whom this exhibition would not feature many of these key pieces: Miroslav Cenek, Martin Sedlár, Honza Ulmon, and Martin Veselý.