1972-73 Basketball Backs

As near as I can tell, I started building the 1972-73 Topps Basketball set in November of 2018.  It has been a stop and start process. My local show only has limited vintage sellers and they rarely have vintage basketball, so progress has been slow.  Glacially slow.  Earlier this year, I made a decision to collect non-baseball sets, since they tend to be much more affordable.  After finishing 1973 Topps football, I set my sights on 1972-73 basketball.  Recently, I finally received from COMC the last cards to finish this set.  It was my first COMC order in over 10 years, as the sellers there tend to overprice vintage (at least in regard to my willingness to pay.)  

I have had an idea for a post on this set for a while.  As I was looking over the set a few months ago,  I noticed some oddities with the cartoons on the back.  The cartoons are much like you would see in any of the Topps baseball sets from the 1970s.  The cartoons are intended to share a factoid about the cards subject. Some are about their NBA career, but most are about their life prior to, or outside of, the NBA. I was going to do a whole post grouping those factoids together, like the players musical interests or off-season activities.  However, that involved a lot of time and I procrastinated. In the mean time, Night Owl did a post along these same lines and, lets be honest here, he did a much better job than I could ever dream of.  I looked for his post and for the life of me, I couldn't find it.  So, Greg, drop a link in the commetns and I'll update this post with a link to it.  (Not that you need me to promote it, but I would like to have it for my own reference.)

Anyways, I reset my goals just to share the weird cartoons I found that really defy explanation. So, let's start with Topps weird obsession with the players weights.

For context, here is the front of Roland Taylor's card:

Fatty, indeed.  Anyways, Topps is also apparently concerned about the players relationship status:

Apparently, other health related facts are considered interesting:

Of course, there were other cartoons that defy classification:

One of my base hobby beliefs is that Topps is generally hapless when it comes to putting out a high quality product. So, credit where it is due, they did display one piece of prescience in the 1972-73 basketball set.

Bil Bradley was certainly one of the most significant individuals of the late 20th century. A Princeton graduate, and a Rhodes scholar, he entered politics after his playing career was over.  That isn't really quite accurate as he was politically active during his playing career, but I think you get the point. Elected in 1979, he spent 18 years serving the state of New Jersey as one of their US Senators. He made an ill-fated run for President in 2000 (and I would note was my preferred candidate) but lost the Democratic primary to the more centrist Al Gore.  

So, tip of the hat to Topps.

What I am listening to: Pissed Off and Mad About It by Texas Hippie Coalition

New Year's Review

Today is the last day of 2023 and I suppose it is time for reflection on the year and to make some promises to myself for 2024. Logically, there is nothing magical about January 1 with regards to self-assessment and new resolutions.  But, I live a fairly busy life and having a lot of down time at the end of December does give the opportunity to look back...and then forward.  I won't bother you with the personal, though it was generally a better year for me after two lousy years in '21 and '22.  I will stick to the hobby stuff that you are here for:

Overall, 2023 was a good year hobby wise if a bit scattered. I managed to complete two sets during the year:

• 1955 - I started building this set in earnest in 2013, so this was 10 years in the making.  As I reported earlier, the last card I needed was a common, Gale Wade. The second to last card was Jackie Robinson. 
  
  
  
  
  
• 1969 - I wasn't planning to finish this set in 2023, but I discovered that my bank has rewards program for debit card use and I was able to convert over a years worth of points into a nice pre-paid VISA card.  The last card was Al Downing.
  
  
  

So, the other highlights of 2023 were:

• Fleer Autograph project - I started the year with 15 signed cards from 1960 and 62 from 1961. I will close out the year with 16 and 70.
• Started both 1966 and 1967 Topps baseball - I haven't mentioned it here, but I bought a large stack of 1966 and 1967 baseball commons in low to mid-grade for about $0.02 a card. I am planning on working on 1966, but after I sorted through the stack and separated out the cards in G condition or better, I found that I had about 20% of the 1966 set and 35% of 1967. know I said I would probably never build 1967 as the design doesn't interest me, but 35% is pretty far along. So, I may need to hold my nose and build the set. Hopefully, the high numbers are affordable in G to VG condition.
• Added a few cards to my Paul Blair and Johnny Antonelli collections.  The only one I was actually excited about was a 1960 Topps Venezuelan card of Antonelli that I got dirt cheap.
  
  

What does 2024 portend? I have 5 sets I would like to complete:

• 1958 Baseball - with only 25 cards to go, I am going to prioritize getting this one done.  Having started in 2012 when I bought the Mantle, 12 years is long enough.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 1972-73 Basketball - I started this set in 2018 and have 33 cards to completion.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 1973 Football - I started this set in January of 2020 and have 24 to go towards completion.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 1974 Topps Baseball - Wait, what?  I've said that I've completed the entire Topps run between 1968 and 1979, so what gives?  What gives is that I need one card (599 - San Diego Small Print) to finish the master set.  I rarely see that card for less than $30-$40, which seems excessive for what is essentially a common.  But, I am close enough to completing the master set that I just need to hold my nose and get one.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 2009 Tristar Obak - I started the three Obak sets in 2011.  I finished 2010 and 2011 long ago and only need 7 short prints short of finishing 2009.  They don't come available all that often and when they do, the prices are generally unreasonable.  So, I probably should just be happy to make progress.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Beyond that, I will just let the hobby tide carry me and look back in a year to see what else happened.  Though, I would like to post more of my signed 1961 Fleer cards.  The last I posted was 39 and I have 70, so 31 to go.  I won't get through all of them, but one a month seems doable.

Happy New Year to you.  May your 2024 be your best year yet.

What I am listening to:  Auld Lang Syne by The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin

New Focus - Basketball and Hockey

While there are plenty of sets who's designs I like enough to collect, I'm going to limit this to sets that I like enough to collect and actually have some.

1969-1970 Topps Basketball

How complete:                     9 of 99 cards (9.1%)

Most valuable card:            #25 - Lew Alcindor RC with a Beckett high book of $2000

Stars I already have:           Walt Frazier, Wes Unseld

What I like about it:            Funky design with a easy to read back
What I don't like about it:  Odd size requiring 6 pocket pages. That Kareem RC is the type of thing I am trying to                                                 avoid by diversifying away from baseball.  13 cards have BV greater than $100

1971-72 Topps Basketball

How complete:                     2 of 233 cards (0.8%)

Most valuable card:            #100 - Lew Alcindor with a Beckett high book of $250

Stars I already have:           Connie Hawkins

What I like about it:            Fun Design capturing the zeitgeist of the time
What I don't like about it:  Not a huge fan of all the yellow on the back, but at least it is readable

1972-73 Topps Basketball

How complete:                     226 of 264 cards (85.6%)

Most valuable card:            #195 - Julius Erving RC with a Beckett high book of $1200 (it was $300 when I started)

Stars I already have:           Julius Erving, Phil Jackson, Pete Maravich, Jerry West

What I like about it:            Simple design but still projects that early 1970s vibe

What I don't like about it:  Nothing sticks out.

1971-72 Topps Hockey

How complete:                     1 of 132 cards (0.7%)

Most valuable card:            #45 - Ken Dryden with a Beckett high book of $125

Stars I already have:           Bobby Orr

What I like about it:            Another fun Topps design in or around 1972
What I don't like about it:  Egads!  That back is ugly

What I am listening to:  Song for the Dead by Queens of the Stone Age

Sigh

With my newfound desire to remain laser focused on my primary collecting goals, I headed off to the every-other month OKC show yesterday morning (Saturday.)  My main goal for the show was to see if I could find any of the few remaining cards I needed for my 1968 and 1970 sets, and to look for additional 1960 and 1965 set needs. I took along my 1956 Mantle I won in a recent set break to  see if I might swing a trade for some of the 1955 Topps stars I need.

And that is where everything went off the rails.  I found none of my '68 and '70 needs and the 1960 cards were priced above my target range, so I left them be. There were no 1955 star cards to trade for. However,  I did manage to find one card for my 1965 set at a cost I was comfortable with.

Only 167 cards left to finish that set.  Great progress today.

via GIPHY

So, in the interest of not leaving early, I kept looking and managed to find 8 cards I needed for my 1972-73 Basketball set, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and The Logo.

I also managed to pick up a  few game-used cards for Hall-of-Famers from the early 2000s for a few bucks each, and an autographed Gil McDougal from the Upper Deck Yankee Classics set. I bought a box of Yankee Classics early in my return to collecting and finished the base set.  I only have  few of the autographs, and no real intent to finish that part of the set, but it was only $5.

The Duke Snider seems familiar.  I think I may have traded one to Night Owl.  (If I haven't, NO, and you want it, let me know. I found a two of your 1956 needs and I can send it along for the ride.)

I also found this Wheaties Pete Rose card. I don't know anything about it, as it has a blank back.  I am not a Pete Rose fan, but I thought it was a neat looking card.

Where things really got off into the ditch was when I bought partial set of 1973 Topps football partial set, with 348 out of 528 cards. I really don't need another tangent in my collecting. Particularly a sport I no longer follow.  But, I had a bunch of these cards as a kid and seeing them set off a wave of nostalgia.

I absolutely love that Joe Greene card and Tom Dempsey is quite the model of physical fitness there, isn't he?

But, the piece de resistance, the thing that made the whole day worthwhile, was found hiding in a 400 count box of low grade 1960s commons.

That is a 1922 American Caramel (E120) Joe Harris.  It is bent five ways from Sunday and has a little paper loss on the back, but Beckett says they are worth $30 in poor condition, so I am happy with the having only dropped a $20 on it.  I always drool over pre-war baseball cards, but don't really have the wallet to pursue building those sets. It might be fun to start a type collection where I just find one example from each of the various sets.  I've already got one T206, so I guess I am well on my way! But, I've got enough going on that I am not about to start any such thing until I am getting closer to finishing the Topps 1960s sets, of which I have I have finished exactly zero so far.

So.  Two posts in just a few days.  I haven't done that in forever.  But, it is likely to be short lived.  I'm not planning any major activity until the late April show in Dallas  While there may be a post here or there, and I suppose there is a chance the creative muse hits me, but we'll now return to your regularly scheduled non-programming.

What I am listening to: You're No Good by Linda Rondstadt

Cleanup in Aisle Sports

Not too long ago, Night Owl ran a giveaway to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his blog.  I entered, but was fairly far down on the order of selection and a lot of really cool cards had already been picked over. I ended up choosing the 2008 Topps Babe Ruth you see below. 

It doesn't really fit in my collecting wheelhouse, but it is a nice card and is apparently fairly rare.  The 1994 Rawlings Yoo-hoo Bobby Bonds was included and is a nice card as well. I like the design and it is the type of modern oddball I might consider collecting.  

The following cards arrived from the inestimable Mr. Haverkamp.  He sent me 8 cards from 1972-73 Topps basketball, a set I started working on last fall.  Of the 8 cards, I needed two and three others were clear upgrades. I am not sure why I didn't scan all five of the cards before they went into the binder, but I didn't. So, here is four of the cards that found their way into my binder.

And finally, a card from 1968 Topps Baseball:

In terms of my sports card collecting, I am working on 1968 and 1970 Topps Baseball and am less than 100 cards from completing each set.  Specifically, I need 76 cards to finish 1968 and 99 to finish 1970.  Even though the number of cards is lower for 1968, I am probably further away. The only major stars I need for 1970 are Roberto Clemente and Al Kaline. However, for 1968 I lack most of the star cards, including the dreaded Tom Seaver rookie card and the Killebrew/Mays/Mantle Super Stars card.

I got this on an Ebay auction. My approach to set building is to get as far as I can with local shows and card shops. Once those sources are exhausted, I generally look to Greg Morris Cards set breatk auctions to fill out the set.  It takes a while because I usually only end up winning a few auctions at a time.  With 1068 and 1970, this is the point I am at. Although, my tentative trip to a Dallas show in February may help me knock a few more off in person.

So that may be about it for a while. I'll still keep an eye on Ebay, but my expectation is that I'll add more cards to my horse themed tobacco card collection and keep my powder dry on everything else until February.

What I am listening to: Jacob's Dream by Alison Krauss (sorry)

New Collecting Focus

Happy Thanksgiving!

The blog title may oversell it a bit, but I am adding a new dimension to my collecting.  In one way, I already have enough to keep me busy.  But, my quest for autographed 1960 and 1961 Fleer  cards have never excited me the way my similar effort on 1963 did. Consequently, that project has gone stagnant and I haven't added anything new since June. It's not dead quite yet, but it is getting there.

I am still going to be collecting vintage baseball sets, but I have been struggling to find something new to collect to add a bit of serendipity to this hobby.  Don't get me wrong. I still love collecting baseball sets but, like baseball itself, it can be a little staid at times.  1972 (and to a lesser extent, 1975) Topps added a little bit of hipness to the design.  but, for the most part, vintage baseball card design is a serious, buttoned down affair.

So, what have I decided on?

Vintage basketball cards! It is no secret that I have increasingly taken to basketball over the previous few years, what with the OKC Thunder here in town.  I think this will generally mirror my baseball set collection:  Topps sets from 1979 and earlier, plus the 1961-62 Fleer set.

As you can see below, the design of the 1972-73 set is funky.  The previous years set has a similar vibe.  Even though subsequent sets aren't as impactful as those two sets, I find that the Topps basketball sets are more colorful and offbeat than baseball, Granted, the 1980-81 set is going to look familiar to baseball collectors, but I don't plan on building that set, so it doesn't count.

Baseball collectors make a big deal about Oscar Gamble's 1976 Topps Traded card, but as you can see, basketball cards were already sporting gloriously large hairdos at least 4 years earlier.

Neal here looks like he moonlights in the offseason as the leather biker in The Village People.

Now Jim looks a lot like a high school math teacher who is overly enthusiastic and probably has a kitten-hanging-from-a-branch inspirational poster on the wall in his classroom.

In all seriousness, it appears that most of the cards in the 264 card set (of which I have 66) are of the posed and matted version seen above.  But, there are also action shots

And Championship series subsets.  As you can see, this was prior to the 1976 merger of the NBA and ABA, so there is two championship subsets.  The set itself is divided between the two leagues, with cards 1 to 176 focused on the NBA and the ABA getting cards 177 to 264. Basically, the set was three 88 card sheets with the senior circuit getting two sheets and the upstart ABA (which formed in 1967) getting one.

The highlights of the set include the (Doctor J) Julius Erving rookie card, along with cards for Wilt Chamberlain, Pete Maravich, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Actually, all four of those guys have two cards each: their base card along with a card in the All-Stars subsets.

Speaking of basketball:

This is my place on the waitlist for OKC Thunder season tickets.  Based on the way I've moved up the waitlist, there is a chance I'll be qualified for season tickets next season (2019-2020), though it is probably more likely that it will be the season after that. 

That's it for now.

What I am listening to: Thunderstruck by AC/DC

What I am watching: "God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly"