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.
The biggest Rookie in the set is Dennis Eckersley. He's joined by a motley crew of fan favorites and solid MLB players like John ("The Count of") Montefusco, Kent Tekulve, Lyman Bostock, John Candelaria, Duane Kuiper, Chet Lemon, Willie Randolph (As a Pirate!), Ron Guidry, and 20-Game Winner Mike Norris.
My 1976 Wantlist, but it's not to complete the whole set, it's just a list of cards I thought I'd like to add to my collection at some point.
1976: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 12,13, 19, 28, 31, 35, 38, 48, 57, 61, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 70, 72, 85, 85T, 88, 100, 107, 110, 112, 120, 120T, 121, 123, 125, 133,135, 137, 139, 140, 156, 165, 167, 174, 179, 240, 245, 246, 253, 255, 263, 273, 274, 275, 278, 284, 290, 295, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 325, 355, 362, 365, 370, 371, 376, 380, 380T, 385, 400, 405, 435, 446, 455, 465, 475, 478,479, 480, 490, 500, 502, 512, 514, 520, 528, 530, 533, 542, 550, 558, 565, 569, 570, 575, 585, 590, 592, 592T, 599, 600, 613, 615, 639, 640, 650, 652, 653, 657, 659
A few of the special "subsets" from 1976 include the "Father-Son" Combo cards, All-Time All-Stars, The Topps All-Star Rookie Cup, the "Traded" series, and 1975 Highlights.
Here's a page featuring some of my personal favorites from the set that are already in my collection.
This set has a little leg up on some of the other 70s sets in my eyes. I have actually opened a pack of 1976 Topps (even though I'm pretty sure it was re-sealed), which I can only say for three sets from the decade.
I think 1976 takes the vibrant colors of 1975, the quirky position logos from 1973, and makes more room for some more interesting photography. I think a good adjective for this set would be "sun soaked." The only tradeoff is that some cards have some really severe lighting issues with players' faces obscured by shadows. They also continued the tradition of have a handful of images that are cropped very close with the player's head taking up 95% or more of the frame, even though they are being shot in profile.
This set should also be a bit easier to complete than some of the earlier sets, not sure if that is a positive or negative.
What do you think are the Pros and Cons of the 1976 Set? I'd love to hear your opinion!
Pro: No fake autos like '75 and '77. No ho(rizontal) cards apparently. Though the father / son might be. At least they're rare.
ReplyDeleteCon: Eck is the big rookie card?
father son subset, the World Series card (just one card for the whole series instead of a subset) are horizontal- there might be one or two weird cards I am forgetting.
DeletePros: Rather easy to complete, the All-Time Greats subset (tho, a couple of those are tougher cards to get), some of the best images of the '70s, and the first on-card appearance of the Astros' Tequila Sunrise unis!
ReplyDeleteCons: The design is just OK for me, but that's a personal preference. Also, the backs are mean on the eyes.
The card number is nice and big at least, but yeah the green on grainy grey/brown is not so hot.
DeleteMy favorite thing about this set is the Sporting News All-Time All-Star subset. They're such beautiful cards. The photography on some of the action shots is fantastic too. That Bench is a classic card. The Fosse too. Another favorite is the Sal Bando card.
ReplyDeleteThe A's have a bunch of good ones in this set- I think their team set might be worth putting together regardless of whether or not I chase the whole 1976 set!
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