Continuing my series on vintage checklist cards, this article looks at four hockey checklists from the 1965 and 1966 Topps Hockey sets. I also think of them as the Oreo Cookie checklists because the row of oversized hockey pucks behind the word “CHECKLIST” looks more like a stack of Oreos than pieces of vulcanized rubber.
If you’re a graphic artist or card designer creating a hockey product, using the shape and color of a hockey puck makes perfect sense. Designers had often incorporated pucks into hockey cards before, usually on the backs as the background for the card number, like on the following 1961 Topps Hockey checklist.
In 1965, Topps doubled down on the idea by placing nine hockey pucks across the top of the card to form the background for the word “CHECKLIST.”
It’s a clever piece of graphic design. Rather than simply placing the word “CHECKLIST” across the top of the card, Topps broke the title into individual letters, each sitting above the pucks. The white highlight along the left edge gives every puck a three dimensional appearance.
The design also benefits from simplicity. Aside from the colorful player illustration and the team name boxes, there’s very little competing for your attention. Your eye naturally moves from the bold puck banner to the checklist itself, making these some of the cleanest and most recognizable hockey checklists Topps ever produced.
1965 Topps Hockey Checklists
Together, I think the two 1965 Topps hockey checklists (#66 and #121) display beautifully. The light blue and bright yellow backgrounds provide plenty of contrast while allowing the black puck banner to remain the focal point.
Card #66 has a total PSA-graded population of 171 (up from 134 in December 2022) without any PSA 10s, seven PSA 9s, and 34 PSA 8s. The last high grade sale I found was a PSA 9 in January 2021 for $1,183. More recently, a PSA 8 sold for $720 in January 2025.
Card #121 has a total PSA-graded population of 189 (up from 134 in December 2022), also without any PSA 10s, eight PSA 9s, and 23 PSA 8s. The only public sale I found for a PSA 9 was $1,500 in April 2018, and the PSA 8 pictured above sold for $535 back in October 2013. More recently, another PSA 8 sold for $797 on eBay in January 2025.
An interesting quirk of card #121 is that it doesn’t include the final seven cards in the set (#122-128).
1966 Topps Hockey Checklists
The 1966 Topps hockey checklists retained the puck banner but updated the design to match the wood grain television frame used throughout the set. It’s a subtle change that ties the checklists into the rest of the release without sacrificing the identity established the previous year. Topps even carried the puck theme onto the backs by using hockey pucks behind the card numbers.
Card #66 has a total PSA-graded population of 169 (up from 143 in December 2022) without any PSA 9s or PSA 10s and 13 PSA 8s. A PSA 8 sold for $2,423 on eBay in May 2026. PSA 7s have sold for more than $1,000 before, but more recently 4 Sharp Corners sold one on eBay for $776 in May 2026.
Card #120 has a total PSA-graded population of 232 (up from 164 in December 2022) without any PSA 10s, a single PSA 9, and 11 PSA 8s. A PSA 8 sold for $3,840 in January 2025, and PWCC sold the “Exceptional” PSA 8 pictured above for $2,500 in March 2021.
Looking across all four cards today, they feel like a cohesive two year design run. The colorful backgrounds of 1965 and the wood framed versions from 1966 each have their own personality, but the puck banner ties the quartet together perfectly. They’re among my favorite hockey checklist designs Topps ever produced.
Happy collecting!
P.S. What do you think? Do the pucks remind you more of hockey equipment…or Oreo cookies?
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