A few days ago, Night Owl wrote about his latest published article in Beckett Vintage Collector which talks about subsets. I can't wait to find a copy of this issue at my local Barnes and Noble, so I can plop myself on the floor and read it. He mentions in his post that this issue should be arriving in the next couple of weeks.
In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few "subset" cards I have sitting in my collection:
1974 Topps #201
One of my favorite things to collect are vintage league leader cards, because you're often able to add big names to your collection at a fraction of the price you'd spend for their base card.
I purchased this card back in August off of eBay for $43.42 (+ $4 shipping) with one of my eBay gift cards that I received through a credit card bonus. By the way, I still have three $100 eBay gift cards that I've been saving for a 1973 Topps baseball set that I hope to buy one day.
Anyways... getting back to this card... I was happy to add it to my collection since it features two of the best hitters from the 70's. According to this Reds Zone thread, Pete Rose led the National League in hits during the 70's... while Carew led the American League during the decade.
The fact that this card was once held and signed (assuming the signatures are legit) by each of these guys is a nice bonus.
I realize that some of you aren't fans of autographs, so here are a pair of cards from one of my favorite subsets of all-time:
1976 Topps #341
1976 Topps #345
And for those anti-graded card collectors, here's one last subset card from the 70's:
I've never taken the time to sit down and pick a favorite World Series subset card, but this has to be right up there. It features a perfectly timed (and well-cropped) photo which gives the illusion that Ray Fosse is lifting Sal Bando and Darold Knowles. Add a sea of Green and Gold in the background at the Oakland Coliseum and this creates one heck of a card. Well... at least for this Oakland A's fan.
I'd like to give a shoutout to whoever featured this card on their blog a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I can't remember whose blog it was. If you're reading this, feel free to leave a link to your post down below.
Well that's it for today. Thank you Greg for giving me something to write about. I'm looking forward to reading your article in the upcoming Beckett Vintage Collector.
Happy Thursday and sayonara!
Wow! That Carew/Rose autographed League Leaders card is a beauty! Excellent pick up!
ReplyDeleteI did read that thing on Night Owl about subsets and realized I had been out of the US hobby for so long I hadn't realized they were no longer a thing!
I'd also that combo cards are an excellent way to had HOFers to your collection at a fraction of the price of base cards. Plus, the creative names of the 50s/60s combo cards are just so fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading -- in all my platforms!
ReplyDeleteThis is another reason why I like it when people blog, it gives me ideas.
I always loved those All-Time All-Stars! For our generation, that was probably most kids' first Babe Ruth card!
ReplyDeleteI was a fan of the 89 Score World Series subset.Those were pretty cool I thought.
ReplyDeleteThat is a neat World Series card, I don't know why Topps stopped doing those. The Rose/Carew autos are fantastic as well.
ReplyDelete-Great article...Love the 74 Carew/Rose dual auto...good luck finding a 73 set, I just acquired about half the set in an online Facebook group buy, not an easy set to get....
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to borrow ideas from others and use them in your own way.
ReplyDeleteI love the All-Time All-Stars cards in the 1976 Topps set. That set isn't really high on my list, but I think I own all of those subset cards. Love the design.
ReplyDeletedefinitely one of the greatest subsets of the 70's... heck of all-time.
Deletesean - it's a shame. topps is obsessed with flooding the market with inserts... some of which could actually be subsets... but they're stuck in the mindset that inserts = awesome pull. i wonder what percentage of collectors look forward to pulling their cheap, mass produced inserts these days. i know i'm not one of them
ReplyDeletehenry blanchette - oh yeah, those 50's and 60's combo cards were awesome!
night owl - you keep writing and i'll keep reading and commenting
matt - i honestly can't remember my first babe. i'm thinking it was one of those fleer laughlin stickers... or possibly a conlon. but you're probably right. either this card or his 1973 Topps (all-time leaders) card.
big tone - as an a's fan, i was more a fan of the 1990 score world series subset ;)
chris - topps produced world series highlights cards for the red sox this year, but scattered them in their 2019 set. not sure why they decided to go that route. it makes so much more sense to put them numerically in a row.
alan deakins - thanks. yeah, i haven't had a lot of luck. and there's a point where if they shoot up in price, i'll just give up.
sport card collectors - 80% of my posts are probably recycled blogger ideas ;)