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Tuesday, January 17, 2017

The Unlikey Duo of Parkies and My Alma Mater

If you say "Parkies" to a card collector and anytime comes to their mind, it's like a hockey card.  There aren't any NHL alumni that played at my alma mater, West Virginia University.  The card that arrived today was a John Bove/Bovey card from the 1952 Parkhurst CFL set, featuring him with the Ottawa Rough Riders.

I didn't know of this card until a year ago.  I stumbled upon the footballcardgallery.com function to filter by school.  The West Virginia University search turned it up, revealing one of the five oldest cards picturing a former Mountaineer.  I searched ol' feeBay and while none were listed, there was one in the completed listings.  It gave me hope that I'd both be able to run across a copy, and find it at a price I was comfortable with.

Fast forward until today...and this beauty is FINALLY mine.

1952 Parkhurst #71 John Bovey
If you noticed above (and I'm sure that you did), I listed his name as "Bove/Bovey,"  The footballcardgallery.com link states that the card is an uncorrected error.  John Bovey doesn't exist, despite what the card says.  I took a quick look at wvustats.com and it confirmed that the name is (or should be) Bove.  


I was convinced that this card back was just, as Beckett used to list them, a "UER" (uncorrected error). 

1952 Parkhurst #71 John Bovey (back)
All information tells me that is information is correct.  In my heart, I believe it.

However, while doing a quick search on the interwebz for this post, something struck me as odd.  This story from ottawacitizen.com on Moe Racine refers to "Rough Rider middle wing John Bovey" suggesting that Racine try out for the Rough Riders.  Is it possible there was a John Bove and  John Bovey both on the Ottawa team in the 1950s?  I doubt that.  

This article on the Ottawa RedBlacks site, posted a little more than a year later, quotes Racine as saying "I was getting ready to play junior football in Cornwall, Ontario. Our coach, John Bove, had played with the Ottawa Rough Riders. Given my size at 6’3 and 250 pounds, he encouraged me to try out for the Rough Riders."

It certainly seems odd that two stories about the same man would list someone that convinced him to play football with two different names.  It's even more odd that they are the two names associated with the latest addition to my WVU collection.



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4 comments:

  1. BobWalkthePlankJanuary 18, 2017 at 6:43 AM

    You need to get to the bottom of the mystery! Either way it is a super cool card.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KinJanuary 18, 2017 at 8:24 AM

      I'm considering it settled that it's actually Bove...but the part revolving around the two articles is certainly...interesting.

      Delete
  2. Tony BurbsJanuary 18, 2017 at 8:46 AM

    Wow - that's a superb find. It's super vintage, popular brand, your alma mater, an uncorrected error and an opportunity to play super sleuth? It's a trading card blogger's dream!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tony BoveNovember 16, 2021 at 8:21 AM

    Wow, John was my dad. Bove is the correct spelling, but Bovey is how we pronounce it. That's why the confusion re:spelling. Incidentally, he was actually born in 1924. If you ever consider selling that card, or bequeathing it to anybody, please consider me. We had 2 of these in the house when I was growing up, but they got "lost" when his estate was disbursed and I haven't seen one in many years. Thanks for the flashback. Cheers, Tony Bove.

    ReplyDelete