1971-72 Toronto Sun NHL Action Players: Building Daily Readership

The 1971-72 Toronto Sun NHL Action Players are large-format hockey photo issues produced and distributed by the Toronto Sun newspaper during the early 1970s.

Background & purpose
1) Newspaper-driven promotion
These were part of a broader trend where newspapers and sponsors created collectible sports photo series to:

• Drive circulation and repeat readership
• Engage younger fans (similar to stamp or card promotions)
• Compete with established card brands like O-Pee-Chee and Topps

The Toronto Sun was a relatively new tabloid at the time (launched in 1971). The publisher used hockey collectibles as a market-entry tactic to quickly build loyalty in Canada’s most hockey-centric market.

2) Album-based collecting experience
Unlike wax-pack cards, these were typically:

• Sold or distributed in sets/sheets or weekly releases.
• Designed to be placed into a collector album or binder.
• Sometimes issued with team logos and checklist pages

What they physically are

These are often miscategorized as “cards” but structurally they’re different:

• Size: approximately 5¼" × 7" (much larger than standard cards).
• Two-hold punched along the left side intended for album insertion and storage.
• Format: glossy or semi-gloss photographic prints.
• Front: full-color action shot (hence the name).
• Back: player bio or text (varies by issue).
• Finish: more like a photo insert than cardboard stock.

You can think of them as sitting somewhere between:

• 1960s–70s Beehive photos.
• Magazine inserts.
• Oversized team-issued photos.

Set structure & scope

• Total checklist: 295 subjects.
• Covered all NHL teams of the era (14 teams).
• Multiple back variations/logos exist (a nuance collectors track today).

Why they were made
The photos were a mass-distributed promotional collectibles for the Sun. From a business standpoint, this was smart:

• Low production complexity (photos vs. multi-layer card printing).
• High perceived value (large, displayable images).
• Habit-forming distribution (weekly or serial releases).
• Brand embedding where every item reinforced Toronto Sun.

Their purpose was less about the collectible itself and more about building daily readership behavior.

Collectability today
Strengths
Large, visually appealing action photography.
Includes major Hall of Famers.
Scarcer in high grade due to size/handling.

Limitations
Not part of the “core” card canon (Topps/O-Pee-Chee).
Oversized format is harder to store/grade.
Fragmented distribution (albums, sheets, loose);

The result is a niche and often undervalued collectible relative to the player content. 

Bottom line

The 1971-72 Toronto Sun NHL Action Players were:

• A newspaper-driven promotional photo series.
• Designed to drive readership and engagement.
• Structurally oversized collectible photos, not standard cards.
• Part of a broader early-70s ecosystem of non-traditional hockey collectibles.