1996-97 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Bowman's Winning Formula #290 Wayne Gretzky

Ahhh 1996-97, my heyday of hockey card collecting during my younger years.  Living in a very small community with the lack of the internet, local card shops and card shows; almost everything you pulled was fresh to the eyes.  And the most mediocre hits dropped jaws and had other kids running to your "doorstep" offering up a trade almost instantly.  That's how it was.

1996-97 Upper Deck Collector's Choice

Scotty Bowman's Winning Formula

Wayne Gretzky #290

I'm not sure how I picked this card up as it was about 16 years ago but it was definitely via an elementary school trade.  As you can tell from the corners of the card, it was passed along a few other hands before it eventually landed into mine.

This Wayne Gretzky card from the subset "Scotty Bowman's Winning Formula" is a little different from others I've seen/held - you can't really see it from the scan but the texture on the card is almost like the UD Canvas cards Upper Deck recently released inside their 2011-12 flagship product.  You can see how the surface is oddly textured a little more clearly on the left side of the card, among the dark area.