BY BILL HOPPE
Mason lost 13 pounds while tending net for the Capitals during the Easter Epic, the longest game 7 in NHL history and a contest Hall of Famer Billy Smith called “the best goaltended game” he’d seen in his life. But neither that performance, nor his 145 career regular-season games, earned Mason a Rookie Card.
More than 30 years later, former NHL goalie Bob Mason can still hear his late father’s voice. “He was always, ‘Where’s your card, where’s your card, where’s your card?’” Mason recalled. “I never could bring him one home and say, ‘Here it is.’”
It’s hard to believe that Mason, forever remembered for his performance in the Easter Epic, the longest Game 7 in NHL history, was overlooked. He played 145 games over parts of eight NHL seasons, including 45 contests with the Washington Capitals in 1986-87 and 41 with the Chicago Blackhawks a year later. Despite seeing consistent action, the hockey card companies in 1980s, Topps and O-Pee-Chee, ignored the keeper when it came time to compile their checklists. that irked Don Mason, who was a “huge hockey fan,” according to his son. fianks to an expanded, 21-team NHL and shrinking set sizes in the 80s, a slew of established NHL players never received a card. Don Mason probably wasn’t the only dad disappointed to see his son overlooked. Forward Dan Frawley captained the Pittsburgh Penguins before handing the the prestigious ‘C’ over to Mario Lemieux. Despite his high profile, the card companies ignored him as well.