Joy of a Completed Set: 1978 Topps

This year I've been trying to stick a fork in some long-term collecting projects that had been languishing in "almost there" status over the past few years. The big boy was 1957 Topps, completed back in October. And thanks to my latest COMC order, I've knocked out a couple more sets, including previously covered 1992 Leaf Gold and this one from about 47 years ago..

Yep, today's post is to bask in the joy of a completed 1978 Topps set. While my "birth year set" is technically 1977 Topps, I was born during the offseason near the end of the year, so if I really wanted to push the parallel of entering this world around the same time as a baseball card set, it makes more sense to align with '78 Topps. Plus the '77 set features photos from the 1976 season anyways. So while it's not exactly a "baby book" for me, I can at least work up a little extra personal connection with the '78 set today.

The set/design has grown on me over the years after not doing much for me as a kid. One compliment I can give it is it's among my favorite designs to see in refractor form. I'm still working on a run of Topps All-Time Favorites refractors and I'd rank the '78s at the top (best looking) there, maybe just slightly below the 1970 Topps refractors when they make the borders shiny silver (sometimes they didn't and just left them matte grey, which doesn't look nearly as cool). I think maybe the fact Topps hasn't run 1978 into the ground in their modern era has helped the design remain sorta fresh.

Funny enough, the final pair of needs arriving in the COMC order were both team cards: #451 Minnesota Twins and #577 Oakland A's. The third-to-last need was also a team card (Pirates, from Sportlots). I don't even remember who the last player card I needed was. Thanks again to Dennis for sending me the Trammell/Molitor rookie a while back, which helped the setbuild be relatively painless to wrap up.

I've got 23 cards in the status of "upgrade would be nice" on my spreadsheet, but these days upgrading is very low priority and I don't really care about the condition of the set, I just find peace in the knowing that I've got a complete set of 1978 Topps there to take a look at whenever I want to.

My 1978 Topps set is a basic one-of-every-number set, currently, but I wouldn't mind expanding it slightly to include the 2 recognized variations. The #23 Bump Wills error has a black circle drawn in area between the crotch and rookie trophy. Seems to cost upwards of $20, which is more than I care about it, but I'll put it on my TCDB wantlist just in case a future trade partner has one to spare. I also need a #374 Jose Morales error where the stitching on position baseball is black, not red. Turns out the copy I have (red laces, like the rest of the set) is actually the more scarce variation, with the black laces version being the common. Guess I'll have to grab one in a future Sportlots order or something.

I'm also interested in possibly adding an appendix of the effectively "1978 Topps Traded"-type cards from that year in the same design via OPC and Burger King or Zest or whatever. But yeah, I'm only interested in the cards where the photo is significantly different than the flagship Topps card. Can anybody point me to a list of such cards to target? (Feels like this is something up GCRL's alley.)

I've now got a new oldest 3-year run of completed sets thanks to already finishing '79 and '80 in recent years. I'm focused on wrapping up '72 and '75 now, and after that I'll hope to bust out the relatively lightweight sets from '76 and '77, leaving 1970 Topps as the toughest obstacle on the horizon as I try to complete the run of 70s Topps flagship.

BIRTHDAY BONUS

I received a pair of mailings from blogger buds just in time for Christmas Eve, so let's check them out!

First up is a PWE from beloved chronicler Fuji. The envelope looked like it had been rained on a bit while out for delivery, but the main card was safe inside.

Nice! Going old school with a Helmar Turkish Cigarettes card with the Oregon state seal.

Great addition to my collection. Love super old cards plus cards with a personal connection, so happy to get this vintage representation of the state I've called home for the past 15 years.

Thank you, Fuji!

-   - -o

Next up is a little bubble mailer from another of the cardsphere's top solid dudes, Dennis from TMV.

Bringer of Gavins! Shiny Sheets and a nice pair of Escobars.

But the real highlight was this Gavin Floyd plate from 2011 Topps! 

Not just a cool 1/1 Gavin-- 2011 Topps is a modern favorite of mine. You might recall I've still got a massive parallel frankenset crawling along where I'm trying to build that year's flagship sets (S1, S2, Update, Chrome) as a mix of the various parallels. Surprisingly I didn't have any printing plates among those cards despite having nearly every other parallel from that year. But yeah, this one's going to further pump up my Gavin Floyd PC.

[A little coincidence to mention, Fuji included a pair of 2011 Topps cards as bonus protection for the Oregon Helmar, though his note specified they were just along for the ride as support.]

Big thanks, Dennis! That brightened my day.

And thanks to all you readers for finding a moment to swing by the blog. Happy Xmas Eve and I hope you have an awesome Christmastime season.