Hockey · REFERENCE ENTRY
Wayne Gretzky
1979 · O-Pee-Chee Hockey · #18
The O-Pee-Chee #18 Gretzky rookie, separate from the Topps issue.
- Sport
- Hockey
- Year / season
- 1979
- Set
- O-Pee-Chee Hockey
- Number
- #18
- Format
- Card
- Issue status
- Rookie card
About this card
Wayne Gretzky’s 1979 O-Pee-Chee Hockey card is number 18 in that release. O-Pee-Chee, based in London, Ontario, printed Canadian hockey cards for decades, often using Topps designs with bilingual English and French text. Upper Deck now makes cards under the O-Pee-Chee name.
The catalog labels this a rookie card, based on the source cited below.
How to identify it
An O-Pee-Chee card and the Topps card of the same year can look nearly identical. Check the back for the O-Pee-Chee name and bilingual text, because the two are separate issues.
In Wayne Gretzky’s run
Wayne Gretzky has 3 entries in this catalog, from 1979 to 1980, and this is the earliest of them. Nearby entries are listed below, so you can compare the releases that sit around this one.
In the 1979 checklist
This is the only entry from the 1979 O-Pee-Chee Hockey release in the catalog so far. The full release has more cards; this page covers the one cataloged here.
What to know about this issue
- Topps and O-Pee-Chee counterparts are distinct editions; include the brand in the exact identity.
- PSA notes blue-border chipping, printing defects, centering and rough-cut edges as condition considerations.
Inspect the source
Source reviewed 2026-10-07. The source describes this issue; it does not verify any item offered by a third party.
No assigned grade, market value or verified offer is supplied by this reference entry.
Read the hockey collecting guideRaw or graded. Inspect the actual copy.
The issue stays 1979 · O-Pee-Chee Hockey. These are research checks, not a condition assessment of a specimen.
Raw / ungraded
- Match the issue
- Match the full year or season, release, number and named edition to this reference. Ask for readable images of the actual item’s front and back.
- Record visible condition
- Inspect corners, edges, centering and surface in suitable photographs or in person. Record damage or unanswered questions without assigning a predicted professional grade.
- Keep authentication separate
- Ungraded does not establish authenticity or mean “never authenticated.” A protective case alone does not establish a professional condition grade.
Professionally graded
- Read the complete label
- Record the grading company, exact issue, card grade and any qualifiers or designation. Keep an autograph grade separate from the card’s condition grade. An authentication-only designation may have no numeric condition grade.
- Compare the certification record
- Use the company’s official lookup and compare its issue details and available images with the actual item, label and holder. A matching certification number alone does not establish that an offered item is genuine.
- Compare within the stated scale
- Retain the company’s exact grade name and number. Different companies and grade designations are not automatically equivalent; a numeric label does not establish a current price.
A source-linked reference or historical scan does not authenticate the card you are considering. CardRoster supplies no assigned grade, certification or price for it.