A trade, a trophy and a treasure

Hockey history found in a cigar box

The Stanley Cup is a symbol of greatness, longevity and tradition, making it a fitting emblem for this story of a remarkable Canadian hockey discovery.

The dream of uncovering hidden treasures often captures the imagination of both young and old. For Donald Badder of Windsor, Ontario that dream became reality in the spring of 1988 when he began cleaning out his father’s desk. Tucked inside a drawer was a dust-covered Detroit Athletic Club cigar box. Inside were 51 hockey cards from the 1924–25 Champ’s Cigarettes hockey set—one of the most desirable Canadian tobacco issues in the hobby of card collecting.

This 51-card discovery is now being offered in Miller & Miller Auctions’ Pre-1980 Sports Cards and Memorabilia auction, which closes online on January 25, 2026 beginning at 6:00 p.m.

The Champ’s Cigarettes set consists of 60 cards measuring 2.5 by 1.5 inches, originally inserted individually into tobacco packages distributed by the Tobacco Products Corporation of Hamilton, Ontario. The set features players from the six teams that represented the highest level of professional hockey at the time: eight Boston Bruins, eleven Hamilton Tigers, nine Montreal Canadiens, eleven Montreal Maroons, eight Ottawa Senators, and twelve Toronto St. Pats.

The 60th card in the set—one that was found among the contents of the cigar box—has taken on an almost mythical status among collectors. Rather than depicting a player, it features the image of the game’s ultimate prize: the Stanley Cup. This marked the first time the trophy ever appeared on a sports card.

The purpose of the 60-card set was promotional. Consumers were encouraged to submit a complete ‘team set’ to the Hamilton-based company, predicting which team would be the NHL Champion of the League. Correct entries shared in a $500 prize pool. For decades, the inclusion of The Stanley Cup card puzzled collectors, but research supported by Bobby Burrell has clarified its role. The card functioned as a ‘wildcard,’ allowing participants to substitute it for players whose images were not submitted in time for production or traded throughout the season.

As a result, the Stanley Cup card became a crucial component for contest entrants—and ultimately one of the scarcest cards in the set. Cards submitted as part of the promotion were never returned, contributing significantly to the card’s rarity in today’s collecting landscape.

Other notable names found in the cigar box include Howie Morenz, Clarence ‘Hap’ Day, King Clancy, and Jack Adams. While these Hall of Fame inductees carry tremendous weight in the world of hockey collecting, none rival the desirability of the Stanley Cup card itself.

When Donald Badder opened the lid of his father’s cigar box, he could never have imagined it contained what many consider a “holy grail” of vintage card collecting. The reason his father owned the cards adds an even more compelling layer to the story. As a young boy and devoted hockey fan, Donald’s father made a trade that would prove remarkably profitable: he exchanged a stack of similar tobacco cards featuring Birds of Canada for the 51 hockey cards later discovered in the box.

Donald recalls that his father nearly threw the cigar box away shortly after the discovery, noting that “it feels very good” to have saved this historic group from being lost forever. He also explained that the cards have been kept in a safety deposit box since 1988, remaining unseen until their recent 100th anniversary and their appearance at Miller & Miller Auctions.

The group includes the Stanley Cup card, which is currently bid to CA$17,000 on Miller & Miller’s online auction platform, as well as Clarence ‘Hap’ Day’s rookie card, which stands at $17,000. By comparison, the bird-themed tobacco cards traded away decades earlier sell for approximately $5 per card in today’s market.

More than a century after their production—and nearly four decades after their rediscovery—these Champ’s Cigarettes hockey cards offer a rare, tangible connection to the early days of professional hockey. Anchored by the iconic Stanley Cup card, the collection stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of the game, the chance decisions that shape collecting history, and the quiet treasures that can lie hidden for generations before finally taking their place in the spotlight.