It’s more Canadian than a double-double from Tim Hortons.
A Bill Barilko hockey card signed by all members of the Tragically Hip is up for sale on eBay.
The unique hockey card is being sold by Stratford native Blair Babcock, who has a special connection to the hockey card and the band. The hockey card is similar to the one that inspired the Hip’s popular song “Fifty Mission Cap.”
Gord Downie‘s death last week at the age of 53 brought back painful memories for Babcock — his father died in 2007 from the same type of brain cancer that took Downie’s life.
“My dad has passed away almost 10 years to the day from the same type of cancer Gord Downie had so it hit home hearing his news,” said Babcock.
The sports memorabilia collector and Hip fan says he plans on donating all money raised from selling the card to charity.
Babcock will donate the money to the Stratford Perth Community Foundation, the Chatham-Kent Community Foundation and the Gord Downie fund for brain cancer research. The majority of the money raised will be directed to the charities in Stratford and Chatham-Kent with 10 per cent going to the Gord Downie fund at the Sunnybrook Foundation.
The Chatham-Kent Community Foundation includes a Larry Babcock Memorial Fund.
As of Wednesday morning, the hockey card had received 66 bids with $3,050 serving as the top bid. The auction will run until Thursday at noon.
Babcock has collected hockey cards since he was a kid. The 1991 Pro Set card was signed in the late ’90s while he was attending Queen’s University in Kingston, the Hip’s hometown.
Babcock credits Downie for being a great human and social activist for Canada — his memories of the band date back to when he was in high school. Babcock says it’s the perfect card.
“The amazing thing about it is it encapsulates what Gord Downie was about, and that’s Canada. You’ve got some hockey, you’ve got some Tragically Hip. It seems like the perfect combo,” he said.
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