By Ines Keane
The name sounds like a nursery rhyme and belongs to a company that started with chewing gum. O-Pee-Chee was founded in London, Ontario, and for much of the twentieth century its cards were where many Canadian children first met a hockey player’s face.
A candy business first
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum says the company was created in 1911 in London, Ontario, by brothers J.H. and D.H. McDermid, and that it began as a candy business whose first product was Gipsy Gum. The museum does not explain the origin of the name, and neither do we. A CBC London article says the original factory stood on Adelaide Street, at the corner of Dundas and Adelaide, and that the firm opened in 1911. The CBC piece lists candies associated with the company: Bazooka gum, Nerds, SweetTarts and Thrills.
The first hockey sets
Here the sources part. The museum says the company released five hockey card sets between 1934 and 1938, and that its first major baseball card release was the 1934 Canadian Butterfinger set, also called V94.
The Topps agreement
The museum says that in 1958 O-Pee-Chee entered a “landmark marketing agreement” with Topps, giving Canadian collectors access to cards produced in the United States, and that the partnership lasted decades.
Sale and revival
According to the museum, the last major league baseball set was produced in 1994 and the company was sold to Nestlé in 1996. It says Topps held the O-Pee-Chee name rights until 2004, and that Upper Deck revived the brand in 2007 and uses it for hockey cards. The CBC article says Nestlé acquired the firm about 85 years after it opened, which matches 1996.
CBC reports that a public history professor at Western University is gathering stories about the company’s economic and cultural impact, and wants to hear from former employees in advertising, production and deliveries, who may be invited to oral history interviews. The article shows a 1954 staff photograph outside the Adelaide Street factory, credited to the company’s archives. The article gives no publication date. We do not name the researcher.
Dates in order
- 1911 (museum, CBC): the company is founded in London, Ontario.
- 1934 to 1938 (museum): five hockey sets.
- 1958 (museum): the marketing agreement with Topps.
- 1994 (museum): last major league baseball set.
- 1996 (museum): sold to Nestlé.
- 2004 and 2007 (museum): Topps name rights end; Upper Deck revives the brand.
What kind of sources these are
A Canadian museum’s history page, last modified in December 2025; a public broadcaster’s local story, undated;. The museum page lists a few cards but does not say how it dated them. We read no catalogue and no price guide.
Questions a buyer would ask
Is this a gift idea for a hockey fan? Our reading: an old card in a protective sleeve is a small, flat, mailable present. We say nothing about value, because none of the sources gives any.
What we left out
Prices, grades, auction results, the names of living players and researchers, and any claim about where cards are sold. We also left out the O-Pee-Chee and Topps legal history beyond what the museum states.
Quick answers
Where was O-Pee-Chee founded? According to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, in London, Ontario, in 1911, as a candy business whose first product was Gipsy Gum.
When did O-Pee-Chee make its first hockey cards? The museum says five sets came out between 1934 and 1938.
What happened to O-Pee-Chee? The museum says Nestlé bought the company in 1996, Topps held the name until 2004, and Upper Deck revived the brand in 2007.
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Roam first. Shop later.