Good Riddance 2020, Hello 2021!

 Happy New Year Everyone!

This time last year I posted a good bye to 2019, reviewing my collecting goals, and looking ahead to 2020.

My goal from 2019 to organize my collection only got worse in 2020, things are way out of hand, I may need to hire an intern to help me sort and catalog everything.

My "At the bat rack" mini-collection has continued to grow, and more pages from the "Frankenset" will be posted in 2021.

The "Call Me, Maybe" mini collection I started in earnest in 2020 did not grow very much. 

The 1959 Topps Set build nearly stopped entirely. Sure, I could have just bought all the singles online, but how is that any fun? In hindsight, with the Project 2020 hype and his untimely passing spiking demand, I should have purchased the Bob Gibson rookie last year.

The "I Love the 80s" and the "Topps All-Star Rookie" posts will come back again in 2021, I still have plenty of material to cover there. 

I only attended 2 card shows in 2020, the last one coming in February. I don't know what the future holds for card shows in MN, selfishly I hope they survive and can rebound in 2021 at some point. I still will hold off from attending until I am vaccinated- I have elderly parents and I'd like to avoid passing anything on to them.

and drumroll . . . I bet you all forgot that I held a contest last January first to guess which 1970s set I was going to start working on. Well, last month I finally took the initiative and bought a 400+ card lot of:

1974 Topps! So, Jim (cards as i see them) and Chris (The Collector), congratulations! You've won by also guessing that I would start a 1974 topps set build. 

As far as actually building that set... well I have no idea what cards I need right now, the 400+ lot is still in the box it shipped in. I will be looking to buy a nice, big binder (or two?) to house the set, and I'll need to get more 9-pocket pages. I haven't started to figure out what I have.

But the good news is that card collecting will continue in 2021. 

Thanks for reading, I owe you all a ton of posts, and a shout out to everyone that has reached out via email and or snail mail with cards and notes. This year can be better if we make it better!

Which 70s Set Should I Build? 1974 Topps edition

I've been trying to decide which 1970s set to start building for my next vintage set build, but I can't seem to make up my mind. So, I'm going to take a little closer look at what I already have in my collection and try to narrow it down.

Big Dave is the big rookie in the 1974 set, but you'll also find Jerry Hairston, Texas phenom David Clyde, Expos great Steve Rogers, Randy Jones, Dave Parker, Gorman Thomas, Dan Driessen, Bucky Dent,  Ken Griffey, Bill Madlock, Royals great Frank White, just to name a few!

I have a 1974 Wantlist, but it's not to complete the full set, it's just a list of cards I thought I'd like to add to my collection at some point.

1974: 1 - 6, 7, 10,  20, 26, 29, 30, 40, 42, 43, 45, 48, 50, 55, 60, 65, 66,  85, 86, 96, 100, 108, 109, 115, 116, 118, 120, 133, 135, 136, 142, 144, 145, 147, 148, 150, 152, 153, 155, 158, 165, 169, 178,  179, 190, 195, 200, 229, 230, 237, 238, 241, 250,251, 252. 255, 257, 260, 261, 265, 269,  280, 283, 288, 290, 300, 304,326, 328, 340, 347, 350, 351, 355, 360, 369, 373, 378, 400, 408, 409, 445, 446, 461, 462, 470, 471,472, 473,474, 475, 476, 477, 478,  492, 506, 519, 529, 540, 558, 561, 563, 570, 575, 598, 601, 604, 605,620, 629, 649, 653

Horizontal cards are still all the rage, I like the landscape look every once in a while to break things up! The banner, which very vaugely recalls the '65 set, is not split up on the horizontal cards like their vertical bretheren.

The oddball feature of this set of course is the Padres' flirtation with the nation's capital  - Topps was ready to move the Padres to D.C. before they could change their name, instead they changed their mind and stayed in San Diego after all.

Here's a full page of my favorites from the set already in my collection. You know - this one might be the one. I have been re-building my want lists each time I've done one of these posts, and I really went to town adding cards to the list for this set. I like banners, I am simple man... I haven't even mentioned the Hank Aaron tribute, (or how most of the Pirates are wearing Roberto Clemente's 21 on their sleeves), or the "TRADED" set within the set. There's a lot to like here. 

My decision is being delayed again though, as the card show is cancelled for April (and probably May as well, let's be real here). I have been trying to exchange some money for some lots of 70s commons for several months now but either I forget to ask or the dealer forgets to bring them. Well, no one's getting those cards this month! 

What do you think are the Pros and Cons of the 1973 Set? I'd love to hear your opinion!

1973 Topps All-Star Rookie Team

Here they are - the Topps All-Star Rookie Team, selected "by the Youth of America" following the 1973 season and featured in the 1974 Topps set. 

I have completed the run of these up through 2017 Series One, at least all regular issue cards that bear the All-Star Rookie Trophy. 

Well, This is embarrassing. Missing trophies this year are 1B Gary Thomasson, C Bob Boone, 2B Davey Lopes, 3B Dan Driessen, SS Jerry Terrell, OF Rich Coggins, OF Johnny Grubb, OF Gary Matthews, RHP Steve Rogers, and LHP Randy Jones.

That's the whole team! 

The great custom card maker on Twitter, Bottomms Cards, tried to correct this travesty:

1974 Topps All-Star Rookie cards; with missing trophies added. pic.twitter.com/vWTq7UhZRS

— Bottomms Cards (@BottommsCards) January 12, 2018