1984 Los Angeles Kings Smokey Card Series

The 1984 Los Angeles Kings Smokey card set is one of the more obscure team-issued sets of the 1980s. Produced as a promotional fire-safety series, the 24-card set is particularly interesting to goalie collectors because it includes early, or rookie-era, cards of Bob Janecyk and Darren Eliot.

The Smokey cards are considerably larger than the standard O-Pee-Chee and Topps cards of the period, giving them the appearance of small postcards or team-issued photographs. The fronts feature large player photos with minimal graphics and simple identification. The backs are where the set becomes much more distinctive, featuring hand-drawn illustrations accompanied by different fire-safety messages and tips. They were promotional PSA pieces rather than traditional hockey cards, which helps explain why the set remains relatively obscure today.

For the Goalie Archive, the important cards are the Janecyk and Eliot cards. Both are rookie cards but are difficult to classify when documenting their earliest cardboard appearances. They are the type of regional issue that can easily be missed when relying strictly on mainstream hockey card checklists.

The cards are also more commonly sold as complete sets rather than as individual singles. The 24-card checklist includes several recognizable Kings, including Marcel Dionne, Bernie Nicholls, Dave Taylor, and head coach Pat Quinn.

The 1984 Kings Smokey set represents exactly the type of issue the Goalie Archive was created to document. It isn't a famous set, and Janecyk and Eliot aren't hobby superstars, but that's what makes these cards interesting. Their unusual size, limited regional distribution, fire-safety artwork and early goalie appearances make them another small but important piece of goaltending card history.