We'll start with John Doran, at six feet and 205 pounds, John "Red" Doran was one of hockey's big boys when he played in the 1930s. When Doran joined the Canadiens in 1939-40, the Montreal Gazette newspaper reported on his arrival in creative fashion:
"Doran is a chunky, hefty and lusty fellow who loves to throw his weight around with gay abandon and considerable destructive force as some of these same Canadiens can recall when Doran was handing out stiff body-checks on the Americans' rearguard."
Doran never had a hockey card issued so we decided to create a 1939-40 OPC V301-1 style card to commemorate his 6 game stint as a Canadien.
Perhaps Portland was too busy pursuing other athletic pursuits such as track and field. He participated in the high jump and triple jump events at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He was the national high jump champion in 1930, 1931 and 1932 and finished in 7th place in the LA Games. Not bad considering he was completely self taught.
From there he went on to the NHL, but only after eschewing opportunities to play pro football both in Canada and the United States. He was also a notable baseball player. The Montreal Canadiens signed Portland at the recommendation of former NHL player turned scout Bert Corbeau.
Portland would never have a hockey card produced so we created a 1933-34 Hamilton Gum V288 style card.
We have created a 1933-34 Ice Kings V357 style card for him.
He had a 1933-34 OPC V304A New York Americans card issued but we have created a V304B variation to mark his Montreal appearance.