This card completes my 1974 Topps football set. I am not sure when exactly I started this, but I believe it was about a year and a half ago. So, a fairly quick build for me.
This one was a different story. I started the 1993 Upper Deck Baseball Assistance Team set, which is based on the T202 Hassan Triple Folds, in 2017. I had pretty much forgotten about it, but when I was adding 1974 Topps Football to my Want List widget I noticed it there and decided to just finish it. There are a couple other sets over there that I am in striking distance of finishing and I will probably try to knock them off next month.
What I am listening to: Finish What Ya Started by Van Halen
I have been working diligently on my 1967 Topps set recently. When I last checked in with y'all two months ago, I had 26 cards to go for completion and figured that Norm Cash would be the last one I needed to complete the set. I managed to find a not outrageously priced Cash card and have been picking up a few cards here and there over the ensuing weeks. As of a few days ago, I was down to 8 cards to finish the set off. Over the last several days, I found 3 reasonably priced cards online and 2 more at the large card show in OKC that is held every other month, including high number Don Demeter.
So, I am down to 3 cards to complete my set . Two of the three (526 and 592) are rookie star cards which collect a premium even though neither features noteworthy players. 526 features Pat Dobson and George Korince and 592 features Jim Shellenback and Ron Willis. And both of them will likely set me back in excess of $50 each. I never have been fond of 1967 Topps. I find the design boring and I have dubbed it the Cloudy Day set as that is the vibe I get from it. I know that others love the set and that is fine. Viva la difference.
I only built it because back in 2023 I bought a 700 count box of 1966 and 1967 cards. My intent was to build 1966, but I found that I had only 1/5 of the 1966 set and 1/3 of 1967. A few months later I found a cache of '67s at a show and guess what set I was building? Yup, 1967. My ambivalence for the design and the outrageous prices that the 6th and 7th series commands made this a hard slog. I am pleased to be close to the end. But having to pay up for two otherwise nondescript cards to finish it is the final insult that '67 has sent my way.
What am I listening to: Experience by Ludovico Einaudi
I am still struggling with the Bob Feller post, though it is no fault of the commenters on my previous post. There were good suggestions there. I am more put off by the amount of research it would take to bring a fresh look to a post about Feller. Time is at a premium at the moment, so it is hard to set aside the time. In the background I have also been struggling with the direction of my collection. As a vintage set builder, I am finding myself caught between Scylla and Charybdis*.
On the one hand, my baseball set journey is down to sets with expensive high numbers. On the other hand, there are vintage sets for basketball, football and hockey I am interested in and, while they are more affordable, they seem less available. As set builder, I just couldn't bring myself to build a low number only set. I have to build it all. So, I am faced with a future where I only get a few cards at a time with significant dry spells in between. So, I wondered, what can I do to have a regular collecting fix without breaking the bank? And it finally occurred to me.
As a young man, I loved the annual Street and Smith Baseball Yearbook. I had planned to buy the editions I had as a teen. The prices seemed reasonable, so why not try to collect the entire series? Normally, these types of questions are a fool's errand and end with me deciding the price tag was too high to take it on. This time it actually looks achievable.
Street and Smith was published annually from 1941 through 2005, when the brand was absorbed into The Sporting News. For example, here is the 1943 edition.
It cost me $25 delivered. So, pretty affordable. The one thing that will make it a challenge is that, at some point, the publisher decided to have multiple different covers for each edition. Based on the incomplete checklist I found at Beckett, this appears to have started around 1963. One problem is that the Beckett checklist is incomplete. There are covers I know exist that aren't on the list. The second problem is that the publisher got a little wild at the end and it appears that the final three editions (2003 through 2005) had 15 different covers each. At the moment, I have a list of 178 different versions over the 65 year history. 15 different covers for a year seems excessive, but given that copies of those years go for around $5 it isn't insurmountable. I am mainly going to focus on getting at least one for each year. the way these things work out, others will drop into my lap without even trying. At some point I will have to decide if I really want 15 slightly different versions of the same edition.
* Believe it or not that reference has nothing to do with the release of the Odyssey movie. I actual read the book several years ago, though I found it tedious. I do like the allusion, but it is not something that is used in normal conversation. So, you get to deal with a little bit of pretentiousness on my part.
What I am listening to: Green Manalishi by Judas Priest
I am really struggling with my next post in the series about my signed 1961 Fleer collection. The subject of that post is (supposed to be) Bob Feller. It is easy to write about players that, while they were big names in their time, are mostly forgotten now. I get the opportunity to learn about them and invariably I find interesting things to write about. But, legend like Feller? How do you write about them without regurgitating what people already know. I am trying to think of an interesting angle, but haven't figured it out yet. Thoughts?
So, I'm going write a post about a couple cards that showed up today.
2004 Upper Deck Timeless Teams was an interesting concept for a set, but poorly executed. I give my unvarnished opinion in the middle of this post. Also in that post I list out the six variations of each card. Since Paul Blair has two cards in the set, there are a total of 12 cards* to collect. The Bronze parallel above brings me up to 9. I still lack 1 of the Signature Golds (# to 5) and both Signature Platinum (1/1) This is the 170th unique item in my Blair player collection. I organized this collection at the end of 2024 but have updated the want list since and the last handful of acquisitions haven't been placed in their proper location yet. So, it is probably about time to organize again and assess where I am against known cards.
I mentioned a while back that I was building the 1970-71 Topps Hockey set. It is a weird set. But first, some context. When I build my want list, I always have the Beckett book value next to each card number. Mind you, I don't pay book value (except for 1967 high numbers. Grrrr) but usually look to be around half for high grade raw cards and a third or so for mid grade. The 1970-71 hockey set is odd in that my experience so far has been that commons sell for more than book value and stars for less. I have no idea why. Maybe my experience is wrong what with small sample sizes and all. But I am making steady progress on the stars and only occasionally picking up commons.
Anyhow, the two most valuable cards in this set are the Bobby Orr above and Gilbert Perreault's rookie card and I have the Perreault on its way. Of the ten most valuable cards in the set, I have 8 with the Gordie Howe and checklist cards to go.
Us set builders can be fussy about how we go about business. In the case of this hockey set, I have to state that I have a few OPC mixed in with the Topps. This doesn't really bother me. It probably should, but it doesn't I am considering, when I am done here, building the OPC-only part of the set (cards 133-264) When I get closer to completion (I'm 2/3 of the way there), I will start scouting out those OPC cards and see if they are reasonably affordable before making a final decision.
* Paul Blair also appears on a multiplayer relic card, but they are so dang expensive I am not interested in chasing it.
What I am listening to: All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow
Any hope that sports card will become less popular and (more importantly) less expensive was put to rest today when I looked to see the schedule of the upcoming card shows in the area. I skipped a show last weekend because the seller I buy the most from wasn't going to be there and it was being held at a casino. I don't gamble and always feel skeevy in a casino. This weekend there was three (yes, three) shows here in the Oklahoma City area. One was in the city I live in, one was in the next town north, and the third was about a 45 minute drive away. I hit the first two shows and they were both a complete bust. 99% TCG and modern sports. As luck would have it, there is a sports card shop in the same town as the second show so I went by. I went there and started pawing through boxes of commons.
I found about 15 cards for my 1966 set; all from the first five (of seven) series. Not wanting to get over my skis financially until I knew how they priced commons, I shifted to seeing what I could find for my 1974 Topps football set. I managed to find 30 cards I needed, leaving only 11 cards standing between me and completion. None are key cards, so I figured I'd throw up a want list and see if I could trade my way to completion.
Here it is:
COMPLETE
What I am listening to: Feelin' Good Again by Robert Earl Keen
It has been a challenging few weeks 'round here. Our OKC Thunder got eliminated in the NBA Western Conference Finals and we had to have my paint horse mare, Stormy, euthanized. We have been fighting squamous cell carcinoma with her for at least three, and possibly four, years. Earlier this year it became obvious it was accelerating but we continued to treat her as long as she had a good quality of life. Without getting into the details, it became clear that it was time and so it goes. I'm not trying to be morbid. It is more just a case of getting it out and off my heart.
Moving along. Next up in this series is another Hall of Fame member, George Sisler.
So, what did I find interesting about Mr. Sisler
There is a running joke in Ohio that no matter where you go in the world, you will run into someone else from Ohio. Despite growing up in New York and living now in Oklahoma, the center of gravity of my life is in Ohio. I only mention this because George Sisler was born in Manchester, Ohio in 1893.
Manchester didn't have a high school and as a teen he moved in with his brother in Akron to attend school where he played football and pitched on both the school team and local semi-pro teams.
After graduating, he enrolled at the University of Michigan, originally planning to study law but ending up in an engineering program. It was in Ann Arbor that his life changed when he came to the attention of the new Wolverine baseball coach, Branch Rickey.
In the summer after his freshman year, he pitched in the Akron industrial league for Babcock & Wilcox. That summer he managed to toss a no-hitter when Cy Young made an appearance as the games umpire.
Sisler's play at Michigan caught the attention of scouts and it became known that he signed a contract with the Akron Champs of the Ohio & Pennsylvania League prior to his senior year in high school. On the heels of two All-American seasons at Michigan, the contract was bought by the Pittsburgh Pirates and he was ordered to report.
Branch Rickey, then with the St Louis Browns had the contract invalidated by the National Commission because the contract signed by the then 17-year-old Sisler did not contain his father's signature.
As he was a free agent, he signed with Rickey's Browns and was immediately put to use as a pitcher. In 1915, his first season, he took the mound in 15 games including five as a starter and ended with a 4-4 record, a 2.83 ERA and a league average ERA+ of 101.
During that same season he began making appearances at first base and in the outfield in order to take fuller advantage of his hitting abilities. Indeed, through the balance of his career, he only made 9 more pitching appearances for a total of 41 innings and a 1-2 record.
Starting in 1916, he was the hapless Browns regular first baseman and most productive player. He hit over .400 in both 1920 and 1922. The latter season he his .420 and was the AL's MVP.
A serious sinus infection that led to severe headaches and double vision meant that he sat out the entirety of the 1923 season.
Returning in 1924 as a player-manager, he was never the same player again. Prior to his illness he racked up 48.2 WAR in 8 seasons. and only 7.4 WAR in the 8 subsequent seasons.
He still was a .300 hitter over that time, including three seasons with over 200 hits.
Removed as manager after the 1926 season, he played one more year with the Browns before closing out the last two years of his major league career with the Washington Nationals and Boston Braves. He did play in the minors in 1931 and 1932 with the Rochester Red Wings and Shreveport/Tyler Sports before hanging up is playing career.
In 1942, he joined the Rickey led Brooklyn Dodgers as a scout and helped prepare Jackie Robinson to play first base.
He followed Rickey to the Pirates in 1951 and helped both Bill Mazeroski and Roberto Clemente improve their game.
Despite moving back to St Louis in 1957, he continued with the Pirates as a roving hitting instructor. In this capacity, he instructed players like Don Clendonen and Willie Stargell.
He died in 1973 at the age of 80, two days after his birthday.
He had two sons, Dick and Dave, who also had major league careers.
Next up: The Heater from Van Meter.
What I am listening to: only wanna dance by almost monday
I've been plugging away at my 1967 Topps set adding a few cards here and there. I am down to 26 cards to complete the set. I need only one from Series 4, 17 from Series 6, and 8 from the high number seventh series. I think it is possible that I'll finish this year, though those semi-highs and highs often sell for considerably more than my willingness to pay. Anyways, I was looking through my set binder and did a double take.
For a moment, I thought I had sleeved duplicate cards. Obviously, team names are different enough that I caught on soon enough. I may not be observant, but I make up for it by being slow.
That's it. Just an odd moment. I do have another entry in the Fleer Autograph Project in the works and hopefully I'll find time to work on it soon.
What I am listening to: Keep the Wolves Away by Uncle Lucius
