{"product_id":"1975-o-pee-chee-31-bryan-watson-psa-8-nm-mt-detroit-red-wings-bugsy-defense","title":"1975 O-Pee-Chee #31 Bryan Watson PSA 8 NM-MT Detroit Red Wings Bugsy Defense","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e1975 O-Pee-Chee #31 Bryan Watson, Detroit Red Wings. Graded PSA 8 NM-MT. Certification number 16762826. The card is from the 1975-76 O-Pee-Chee hockey set. The photos show the exact card and holder you will receive, so please review them closely for condition and centering.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe back lists him on defense, born November 14, 1942 in Bancroft, Ontario, home Bancroft, 5'10\" and 175 pounds, acquired in a trade with St. Louis, 14 years pro. His NHL totals through 1974-75 are listed as 630 games, 13 goals, 90 assists, 103 points and 1,457 penalty minutes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eBryan Joseph Watson broke in with Montreal in 1963-64 and made his name in the 1966 Stanley Cup semifinal against Chicago. Detroit coach Sid Abel assigned the 23-year-old to shadow Bobby Hull, who had just led the NHL with 54 goals. Watson, giving up roughly 25 pounds, followed Hull everywhere on the ice, and Detroit won the series in six games. Gordie Howe and Andy Bathgate are credited with tagging him with the nickname Bugsy, and Hull himself called him Super Pest.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eWatson bounced between the minors and the NHL through the mid-1960s before Pittsburgh acquired him in 1969, where he spent five-plus seasons and served as the club's first enforcer. He led the NHL with 215 penalty minutes in 1971-72 and set a personal high of 322 in 1975-76, second in the league that year. In December 1976 he became the first player in NHL history to reach 2,000 career penalty minutes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eHe played 878 NHL games for Montreal, Detroit, Oakland, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Washington, finishing with 17 goals, 152 points and 2,212 penalty minutes, a total that still ranks among the highest in league history. He closed out his playing days with Cincinnati in the WHA in 1979. In 1980-81 he became the first head coach of the Edmonton Oilers in their inaugural NHL season, coaching a young Wayne Gretzky before Glen Sather took over behind the bench. He and his wife later opened a pizza restaurant in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia that they renamed Bugsy's. Watson died in July 2021 at age 78 in St. Michaels, Maryland.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eShips same business day on orders placed before 6:00 AM EST. Message us to save with combined shipping.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"B\u0026R Collectibles","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67464141406253,"sku":"EB-318792697662","price":67.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0674\/8160\/0045\/files\/57_7e7ce770-45b4-4cd3-8767-2ce2135b7f52.png?v=1788295830","url":"https:\/\/brcollectibles.co\/products\/1975-o-pee-chee-31-bryan-watson-psa-8-nm-mt-detroit-red-wings-bugsy-defense","provider":"B\u0026R Collectibles","version":"1.0","type":"link"}