In a nine-season stretch from 1987-97, Mario Lemieux led the NHL in points six times. The fact that Wayne Gretzky was only midway through the greatest hockey career in history only makes Lemieux's triumph all the more astounding. If not for back injuries and Hodgkin’s disease that sidelined him for most of the other three of those nine seasons, it's possible that Super Mario might have led the league in points for nine consecutive years—an unthinkable accomplishment. For 17 seasons, Lemieux turned Pittsburgh into a hockey town for the ages. By the time his storied career ended, he hoisted two Stanley Cups and captured six NHL scoring titles, three MVP awards, two Conn Smythe Trophies, a Calder Trophy, a Masterton Trophy, and an Olympic gold medal.
Considering his place in the upper echelon of hockey history, Lemieux’s 1985-86 rookie cards remain revered throughout the collecting community. Only 79 of 7,851 examples of this 1985-86 Topps Mario Lemieux card graded by PSA (1%) have earned a Gem Mint 10 grade.
The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 03/24/2026.
