70s progression

I think it was around 2017 when I decided I'd make a run at completing all the Topps flagship sets from the decade of the 70s. Part of my motivation for this was to really open up my wantlist and facilitate trading back when the blogs were boppin'. But then that all slowed down plus the covid boom bumped up vintage prices, and so the "last updated" dates on my setbuild spreadsheets haven't been getting updated as frequently in recent years. But I keep up with them in a "slow and steady wins the race" outlook.

It had been years since I traded with Scott Crawford, and it took us a few months of rounding up cards and dealing with distractions, but we were finally able to swap some cards. Scott stuck to the 70s and helped me sweep the cobwebs from many of those wantlists of mine.

Some popular dudes in the mix here. My 1970 Topps setbuild is up past 55% complete now, though it'd be foolish of me to consider myself over halfway done, as I don't have much out of the biggest cards and high numbers. But yeah, I love to get whatever I can via trades in sort of putting in me a good position for when I'm eventually ready to start targeting a Ryan and Bench down the line. But yeah, I have no doubt that 1970 will be the last Topps set of the decade I finish (if I even ever do), since I've already completed '71 and '73, my '72 set is entering the high number home stretch, and '74-up aren't too tough thanks to being all one series.

My 1975 Topps is tantalizingly close to 90% complete now (89.24%), with 71 cards missing. Some fuzzy corners here, but still happy to add them-- especially stoked to see the Mantle/Aaron when thumbing through the stack. Maybe they'll get upgraded someday, maybe not. Seems the older I get, the less concerned about condition I become. Not like I'm planning on ever selling the set when I finish it, I just want to be able to say I've got a complete set of 1975 Topps. Maybe I'll make a push here in 2024, since it'd be kinda cool to complete it during its "Topps Heritage tribute" year.

Even with this robust lot from Scott, I'm still under halfway with 1976 Topps. Not long ago I nearly tried to negotiate for a complete set from another trader dude who broached its availability to me, though that didn't make it into our finalized deal. But yeah, '76 Topps seems like a set that would make sense to get at once as a set since there aren't much in the way of "big money" cards in there jacking up the price. But for now, I'll keep chipping away at it the classic way.

Similar to '76, my '77 Topps setbuild hasn't quite hit the midway point, but keeps chugging along.

Here we go! 1978 Topps is rounding the corner now, with just 18 cards left (97.52% complete). I should try to scoop up those last few cards sometime soon. Already got the big ones.

Thanks so much, Scott! I really appreciate the cards!

- -o

Tacking onto this trade post a combined shipping eBay order I got in this week that also contained a couple 70s needs.

Here are some old cards of white guys looking off to their right. Roger Craig is the first '57 I've added in a while. Just 79 cards remaining there, but I've been at it for about a decade now. Hey, I might complete it someday.

The Yaz refractor was the card that spurred the purchase. I'm ga-ga about All-Time Fan Favorites refractors (/299) and will snatch them up at the right price-- even if I already have them! A lot of sellers ask a lot for them, even commons, but once in a while a nice star pops up cheap. I don't often blog about them as they come in, but going after the full run of all 442 ATFF refractors is a hobby priority of mine these days and I expect that project to be completed before 1970 Topps, for what it's worth. I also love the shiny Killebrew I found while looking through the seller's other items. It's from 2004 Upper Deck Diamond Collection.

A couple serial-numbered cards of future Hall of Famers. I don't really PC Verlander, but the purple sonar refractor called to me, not having seen that style of shiny card in-hand. Not that I want to encourage the endless amount of parallels these days, but it looks pretty cool. My wife has mentioned having a mild celebrity crush on Justin, so I might display it on the fridge in a magnetic-backed top-loader for her to also enjoy. For the record, I've never been into the swinger scene (despite having a buddy into that during my 20s), but Mrs. Verlander could probably convince me to at least consider it. lol

Finally, I don't go after basketball cards often, but this 1995-96 Finest refractor wasn't listed (priced) as being a refractor, so I grabbed it for just a buck while amassing 8 cards to get the seller's promo special shipping deal. (Basically felt like I was buying the Yaz and getting a few bonus cards thrown in.) Gheorghe Mureșan is a player I recognize because he did that movie with Billy Crystal. I like how the protector film text isn't covering any skin, otherwise I'd be more inclined to peel it.

That'll do it for today. Thanks for reading.

Big Ol' Trade Post

Hey, here are a bunch of cool cards that I've received over the past couple weeks from friendly collector folk.

Holy heck, check this out! Giancarlo Stanton 2010 Topps Chrome rookie refractor autograph! It may be off-center and have some surface scratches, but still a "big card" and not the caliber of card that typically shows up in your mailbox without some wheeling and dealing beforehand.

But yeah, the incredible Matthew Scott has been working on his big, mostly-Pirates collection and decided Giancarlo didn't really have a place. He asked if I was still collecting him. Yep! Maybe not with as much fervor since his trade to the Yankees, but still definitely a guy I collect. And this rookie auto is a nice crown jewel for my Stanton PC.

Numbered 104/499. Sweet! While I'm not rooting for the Yankees, generally speaking, I do hope Stanton has himself a great comeback season.


And if that RC auto wasn't a big enough boom on its own, along with it was this..

Wow! This 2013 Topps "Chasing History" auto ain't nothing to sneeze at either! The number of Giancarlo Stanton autographs in my collection tripled thanks to this mailing.

Bob Walk the Plank is still on hiatus for the most part, so you guys didn't get to see all the neat Pirates I mailed him a while back unless maybe you caught some highlights on Twitter. But yeah, I always try to sniff out good Pirates cards for Matt (and some left over for my other Bucco trader buds), and will hope to gather more for him before too long. Huge thanks again, Matt!

-   -  -  - --o

Friend o' the blog Alex T. and I have been back to our routine where I help him out with some custom card projects and he returns the favor with cards. Here's a nice run from Mark Fidrych's playing days, including a pair of rookies.

And a couple Upper Deck factory sets! I already got '91 UD just a couple months ago from The Diamond King, but Alex had the '90 set I needed plus a '91 he didn't need and since there was room in the flat-rate box, he offered to throw it in for the heck of it. If anyone needs it, I'd be willing to sell it for just a smidge above the postage cost (or a trade equivalent). Otherwise maybe I'll open up the wrap and raid it for my many PCs; there are probably a few that are lacking '91 UD cards, believe it or not. But yeah, I'm excited about the 1990 set. I ripped a fair amount of that in my first year as a collector, but never came anywhere near completing it. I really need to thumb through this set sometime soon and let the familiar cards take me back to those days.

Alex surprised me with this Padres batting practice jersey. There's no name on the back, and he says it's unlikely to be player-worn (sorry I'm too lazy to relay the full background story he shared), but still cool. Size XL, it's too big for me, but if/when the Padres win the World Series, I might have to don this anyways. (I'll probably have filled out enough to fit into it by then, lol.)

Alex's collection has a focus on minor league cards. He knows I collect Tim Blackwell and so he hooked me up with some team sets featuring that marvelous mustache. Even if I already have some of these singles, it's pretty cool to have the full team sets, too.

A nice lot of early 90s black gold!

Here's a sealed '92 Topps pack with a multiplayer "Top Prospects" card showing on top that features a couple guys I collect, Ryan Klesko and Dave Staton. Neat!

Some more cards highlighted by a Dick Allen oddball I needed and the classic Bevacqua bubble card from 1976 Topps.

Alex was downright apologetic for including these customs he had made through a Topps promotion a few years back, but I think they're awesome. I already have a little minicollection of bloggers' cards going, so it's easy to stretch that into including blog-readers' cards too. Made sure to get his approval before posting them for privacy concerns.

Then if all that wasn't enough for the little project he had me working on (several copies of a custom minor league card for a friend of his), he sent a nice PWE on top of it shortly thereafter...

Another oddity for my Tim Blackwell PC, a Floyd auto I didn't have, a Templeton oddball I needed, and a pair of Rafael Garcia signed oddballs sponsored by Carta Blanca, a mexican beer (one of which intended for Rod if he has any interest). Also known as Ralph Garcia, he pitched in a few games for the Padres in the early 70s and is in the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame.

Thanks, Alex! Good stuff! I'll drop your customs in the mail by the end of the week.

 -   -  - ---o

Here's another PWE full of '88 Fleer needs from reader David G., our third light swap along these lines. A cool thing about getting cards from David is he uses magazine cologne ads to wrap them in, so the cards come out smelling lovely and you get a bonus air freshener! Thanks, David! I'll send you back some Cardinals soon.

-    -   -  ---o

Brett the Hoyt Wilhelm superfan graciously offered to send me a copy of Hoyt's 2020 Topps insert.. heck yeah! Always love adding new Hoyts to the PC. Thanks, Brett!

-   -  - --o

And here's the last one for today. It's a package from Bob at the Best Bubble.

Big lot of pack-fresh 1976 Topps! These needs take me up to 36% complete with the set. Funny thing, these cards are all found around the back end of the set. So if you look at my '76 Topps wantlist, you'll see my haves are pretty sparse at first, but I'm in better shape once you hit #400.

More late 70s Topps needs including a few solid names. I'm really close with '79 Topps now, down to just 6 more needs to finish the set:
6 Strikeout Leaders - J.R. Richard / Nolan Ryan
115 Nolan Ryan
313 Dyar Miller (Dyar Miller?!)
369A Bump Willis (Blue Jays error variation)
412 Hank Aaron / Hack Wilson ATL RBI
610 Mike Schmidt (this one looks to be set aside for me already)

And still a ways to go with '78 Topps, but those few needs take me past 81% complete. Not too bad.

I've already got most of these Gavins, but at least a couple I didn't have. I just looked into what Gavin Cecchini is up to these days. He had gone to spring training with the Arizona Diamondbacks on a minor league deal, but they released him a month or so ago. And before that he had moved to Australia to play baseball there, but then fled the country after the crazy brushfires decimated much of the continent. Not sure what's next for him, but wish him the best of luck.

Finally, Bob threw in a few ladies on cardboard. Always a nice touch.

Thanks, Bob! I'll try to round up a return package for you soon, but you might need to have some patience...

Gonna be a busy rest of July for me. Between the usual work craziness, and now trying to raise a tiny puppy who needs constant supervision, and plus my close friend from way back is going to be in town staying with us next week. So it'll likely be a while till I'm able to spend much quality time with cards.

Oh, I also got a nice box of cards dropped on my doorstep last week by Padrographs Rod, but this post is already pretty long, and I still need to sort that stuff out a bit, so I'll save that for another day.

Thanks for reading!

Cards from Matt, Larry, and Bo

A trade roundup post is good for Thanksgiving, I suppose! Thankful to have great trade partners to swap cards with. Today's post features cards from 3 good trader buddies of mine whom I've dealt with several times in recent years. These cards all arrived a month ago, and while I typically try to feature incoming trades on my blog within a week or so of receiving them, I got preoccupied with my dog's rapid sickness and eventual passing, and many things were placed on the backburner.

Matt from Diamond Jesters was a winner in my kickoff contest at the 1991 MusiCards Blog. He selected the last Wade Boggs Simpsons custom TTM autograph I had available (well, of course I kept one for myself, too!). I figured as long as I was sending him a card, I'd propose a little "time-traveling trade" for that neat idea of his where he has a group of cards and trades them for any older cards, hoping to eventually wind up with a bunch of really old cards. There were 4 cards on the list that I needed for my 1976 Topps setbuild, so I traded him a few '72 triplicates I had from the big lot I got a couple card shows ago.

Thanks for the trade, Matt! And congrats again on the contest win.

Not to harp on sad dog stuff, but this trade will be remembered as a special one for me because the last "walksie" I ever took Annie on was a walk to drop the cards for Matt in the mail.

-  - ---o

Next up is a great bunch of vintage from Larry. He was the other winner in my big MusiCards contest, originally a stand-by winner who ended up being a full-on winner when the other prize wasn't claimed in time. Larry said his first choice was the Earl Weaver refractor auto, but if it was selected before his turn, his backup choice would be the Alan Trammell auto. Well, it turns out both cards remained on the table, so I asked if he'd like to work out a trade so he could get both cards and he was down for that idea.

I was blown away at how "pack fresh" these 44-year old cards are. When I asked him about it over email, he said, "The '75s were from a box that was opened in 1983 and immediately put in an 800 count box.  Those cards haven't seen the light of day but maybe 3 times since 1983."

Very cool!

The additions from Larry pushed my 1975 Topps setbuild past the ⅔ complete mark. Sweet.

A nice trio of '78s too.

And a bunch of 1979 Topps, also in excellent condition. My 1979 Topps setbuild is now down to just 37 cards remaining. Shouldn't be much longer till that one gets knocked off.

Thanks so much, Larry!

-  - - ---o

Last incoming package to show off today is from my frequent trade partner Bo of Baseball Cards Come to Life. I shot him over a bunch of vintage on his wantlist as a little surprise and he hit me back with a great return.

These needs/upgrades breathed some life into my stagnant 1964 Topps setbuild.

But the bulk of the mailer was a fat stack of 1970 Topps. There were several cards with writing on them that I'll hope to eventually upgrade, though I'm more than happy to have them as place fillers for now.

But plenty of the cards were in solid shape.

My 1970 setbuild was at 27.5% complete, but thanks to this lot, it's now on the cusp of 40%.

Here's a little something for your nightmares. LOL

There were also a bunch of great '72 Topps. My '72 setbuild is now at 72% complete, fittingly. The Bob Gibson is in rough condition, but still very appreciated-- it's Bob Frickin' Gibson, after all!

My 1974 Topps setbuild is chugging along, with just 84 cards left to track down now.

Finally, Bo was able to help me out with the last 4 cards missing from my 1988 Topps set. And the German Gonzalez card in my '90 Fleer set had a little damage, so it's nice to upgrade that one. And a '90 UD Marquis thrown in, too.

Thanks a lot, Bo! (Another package from him is already on the way.)


Well, thanks for reading and I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

cardboard from mr haverkamp and beyond

I was graced with a surprise package of cards from friendly cardsphere reader mr haverkamp the other day. Let's take a look!

Tim Flannery 1987 Bohemian Hearth Bread! Sweet! My needs for this regional oddball set are now down to just one: Dave Dravecky. And Flan here is in incredible shape, especially considering these cards originally came thrown in with a loaf of bread. Creases, dinged corners, and staining are par for the course, but amazingly this one looks suitable for grading.

And I figured this was a good card to feature on Mother's Day since one of the first baseball cards I ever got was a Steve Garvey from this set thanks to being included in a loaf of bread my mom bought, back before I was collecting cards at all. She was never super supportive of my hobby, but she never threw out my cards or forbid me from spending my allowance on them or anything. She was reluctantly onboard with me collecting cards if it made me happy.

But yeah, this is a neat set with strong sentimental attachment for me, so I'm looking forward to finally completing it one of these days. I still have that original Garvey from back in the day, so this is my longest-running setbuild by far-- 32 years and counting.

Also in the package were 3 needs from '75 Topps, serendipitously all in my favorite color combination: "green grass" on the bottom and "blue sky" on top. Beautiful.

And a half dozen '77 Topps needs, funny enough all Expos.

Some 1980 Topps for upgrades for my set, plus dupes for PCs of Sparky Anderson and Dick Williams.

And here's an '88 Topps George Brett that was on my Desperate Double Dozen. I consider '88 Topps among my least favorite Topps flagship sets*, and so despite billions of them out there in circulation, I don't have many in my collection. So I need to fill in some PC holes like this one.

*I mean, the design is fine. There are some nice looking cards like Brett here. The backs are drab. Could have been a pretty cool set if it wasn't so crazy over-produced.. and maybe throw a Griffey "1st Draft Pick" card to give it a special boost.. Then that would have been a pretty solid set.

Big thanks, mr haverkamp! Much appreciated. I'll try to hit you back soon.

- - ---o

And here are some bonus vintage additions for this post.

I found a couple PC dupes to put towards my '76 setbuild. Great to be able to check off this pair of fan favorites.

A couple '57 eBay pickups. The Colavito rookie has a dirty back, which kept the price down, but I'll likely upgrade it someday. The Bob Rush was snagged for next to nothing thanks to another recent $3-off coupon code. Now at an even 300 cards acquired.. the set is coming along, slowly but surely.

Thanks a lot for stopping by!

Plucking cards from my original collection for set needs

It's late, but I figured I'd try getting out one last post in 2018 to bring up my total for the year to an even 270. Glad to see my posting was up a bit this year from 2016 (254) and 2017 (257). It wasn't always easy, but still managed to get out several posts per week. Go me!

This is sort of a Sentimental Sundays post (ok, it's Monday, but I took the day off work, so feels like a Sunday). I went through an old shoe box of cards from back before my full-fledged return to the hobby, and picked out some old cards from sets I'm working on. Could "past me" help out with some of my in-progress setbuilds? Let's check them out (plus I can use this post as documentation of my old collection and not feel so bad for "cheating on it" by taking out cards and integrating them into my current collection).

Woo.. 3-for-3 here, needing all these '72 Topps HOFers. I'm now up to 7% complete with this recently-begun quest. Got the pair of Killers back in 2005 in one of my first forays into buying cards on eBay ($0.99 + $0.95 s&h).

Needed half of these 1975 Topps cards: Seaver (scored this one in 2011 from a guy named Will, who's an accomplished musician) and Ryan/Carlton (which was a cherished highlight of my collection from the early 90s... think it was an LCS pickup, though might have been a trade with a classmate). Already had the Carew and Rookie Infielders. 58.64% complete.

Looks like I needed all three of these 1976 Topps. That Hammer sunset card is nice one to check off! I believe that was another eBay pickup sticking my toe in the water with baseball cards between stretches of full-on collecting. Now at 27.4% complete here.

1978 Topps-- some solid names among these rookies. I always liked multi-player rookie cards and the eternal promise they seem to possess. Needed the top 2, had the bottom 2.

"Hall Rating" leaders for this group:
Lou Whitaker 145
Dale Murphy 87
Lance Parrish 80
Jack Morris 77

Card Savers and yellowed top loaders are not a part of my collection besides sentimental remnants among these "pre-return to the hobby" cards of mine. Had the '74 Gibson, but this is an upgrade. Needed the '77 Fisk... hell of a card.

1979 Topps. Needed the Alan Trammell 2nd-Year and Bob Welch rookie, but already had the Cardinals Prospects. 30.81% complete

Ending the post with some Donruss. I haven't made a wantlist for '83 Donruss yet, but I'll put this pair of rookies with the few cards I've rounded up so far. Looks like I've already got the '84 Viola.


With some luck, perhaps I'll complete one or two of these sets in 2019. Thanks to past-me for the help. As always, if you want to lend a hand, take a look at my wantlist and let me know.

Happy New Year, everybody!