A Few of My Favorite Things: The 70's

Although I was born in the early 70's, I've always considered myself a child of the 80's.  It comes down to the fact that most of my childhood memories come from the 80's, while the 70's are sort of a blur.

Thankfully there are things like baseball cards, movies, and music that keep me in touch with the 70's.  Today I'll be sharing my personal favorites as part of our community's latest Blog Bat Around, which was inspired by The Collector a few weeks ago.


Baseball Set:  1970 Kellogg's

1970 Kellogg's #27

1970 Kellogg's #12

1970 Kellogg's #2

There was no shortage of fantastic baseball card sets during the 70's.  1972 and 1975 Topps are two of my all-time favorite Topps flagship baseball card designs.  There were also some spectacular oddball issues produced by Topps like the 1971 Greatest Moments and 1979 Comics sets.  And you can't talk about 70's oddball issues without mentioning the Hostess and Kellogg's sets from that era.

After looking over all of my options, I narrowed it down to the 1972 Topps set and the 1970 Kellogg's set.  Ultimately I went with the inaugural Kellogg's issue, because it inspired over a decade's worth of lenticular awesomeness.  And much like the 1964 Topps Giant set... it features a simple yet gorgeous design that just oozes vintage appeal.


Movie:  Star Wars (1977)

1981 Topps Movie Pin-Ups #5

If you have followed my blog over the years, then you knew this was coming.  I can't think of another movie that has impacted my life as much as Star Wars IV: A New Hope.  My parents took me to see it back in 1977 and I was instantly hooked.  My entire birthday and Christmas wishlist revolved around the blockbuster's action figures and vehicles.  I begged my mom to buy me the sheets, books, pajamas, and lunch pail.

1977 Topps Star Wars Set

And if all of these things weren't enough... I'm about 98% sure that the first packs of trading cards I ever opened were 1977 Topps Star Wars cards.  Talk about opening a can of worms.


Song: Fire and Rain (James Taylor 1970)

When I was a little kid, my brothers introduced me Boston, The Eagles, Van Halen, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Kansas, Blue Oyster Cult, The Cars, Black Sabbath, Steve Miller Band, Rush, and Pink Floyd.  Since then... 70's rock has been one of my favorite genre's of music.

Unfortunately there's just too many great songs to choose from.  That's when I started leaning towards using a Bob Marley or Stevie Wonder song.  In fact, I had No Woman, No Cry written up and scheduled to be published.

Then I heard Fire and Rain on my drive home from work earlier in the week and decided to go with it.  There's just something soothing about James Taylor's voice.  I've been a fan of his music ever since I was a kid, but I'm guessing my sister and mom were the ones who introduced me to him... and not my brothers.

Well that wraps up the 3rd segment in this Blog Bat Around series.  I'm looking forward to sitting down and writing the 4th segment.  I've said it before... and I'll say it again.  The 80's are my jam.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Upside Down, You're Turning Me

Rise and shine.  It's early Monday morning... and there are only four days left of summer school.  I'm so stoked that my summer vacation is just around the corner.  Especially since I've been busy at home too.  In between a couple of flea markets and a few rounds of golf, I've been spending at least one or two hours each day cleaning out my office and sorting cards.

While organizing my 80's binder, I stumbled across this rookie card of Lee Smith:

1982 Fleer #603

What a fantastic looking rookie card.  I realize that this card's design isn't going to win a ton of popularity contests, but it does have a well-cropped photograph of the newly inducted hall of fame reliever.

I noticed that I didn't have his Topps or Donruss rookie cards in the binder, so I headed over to COMC to see if either were in the same league as his Fleer card.  I quickly discovered they weren't.

I also noticed that there are two different versions of Smith's Fleer rookie card.  The one sitting inside of my binder is the error version.  Can you spot the error?

If you look at the Cubs' logo in the upper righthand corner, you'll notice that the "UBS" is upside down.

I started digging through my rookie card box to see if I had a corrected version.  I did:

Here's a look at both card backs side by side:

When I first started collecting cards back in the early 80's, error cards with variations were super popular.  I remember flipping through my 1981 Fleer set and my pocket price guides to see if I owned the rarer versions.  The following year, the card to own was the reverse negative version of the John Littlefield.  The card still sells for over $50 on eBay.

Unfortunately... neither of these Smith cards fetch big money.  Based on COMC prices, the corrected version is worth more, which goes hand in hand with my personal data.  I own 8 copies of this rookie card.  Five are error versions and three are corrected.

Well that's it for today.  Lee's rookie card might be the inspiration of this blog post, but Diana Ross was the inspiration for this blog's title:

Congratulations to all of the Smith, Rivera, Martinez, Mussina, Baines, and Halladay fans out there!  Have a great week.

Happy Monday and sayonara!

Miscut Mania

It's approaching midnight on Saturday night... and I probably should be sleeping.

But before I hit the sack, I wanted to quickly thank John over at Johnny's Trading Spot for another package filled with well-loved vintage cards.

Tonight I decided to highlight four miscut cards that will be making it into my Damaged Card PC binder:

1974 Topps #261

1970 Topps #136

1977 Topps #85

This one features the poorest cut... but it's also my favorite.  I grew up watching him play at Candlestick Park back in the 80's.  These days... he makes up one-half of the Kruk and Kuip broadcasting duo over at KNBR... one of the local sports radio stations I tune into.

1987 Fleer Baseball All-Stars #4

I was actually bummed that this card is so off-centered, because I was hoping to add it to my Canseco collection.  Instead... it's joining the other three in my Damaged Card PC.

That's okay though, because Johnny hooked me up with a huge stack of Canseco cards:

I haven't sat down and organized these, but I'm guessing there are five or six new additions to my Canseco collection.

He also sent me a huge stack of Dennis Eckersley cards:

And rounding out his care package are two more cards headed to my Damaged Card PC binder:

1970 Topps #90

1970 Topps #291

Whoever previously owned these cards had an obsession with goatees.  On one hand... it's a shame, because McCarver and Durocher are both familiar names that would normally be headed to my vintage card binder.  However... the added ink means they'll be keeping Canseco and Kuiper company.

Thank you Johnny for another generous care package!  Okay... it's officially way past my bedtime.  G'nite.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Tan, Thin, and Gorgeous

Last month, I showcased my recently purchased 1970 Topps Booklets set and Henry over at Cardboard Greats left a comment regarding his fanfare for the 1970 Topps Posters.  I couldn't agree more.  They're gorgeous!

In 1970 Topps decided to raise their wax pack price from 5¢ to 10¢, which is probably why they decided to add these bonuses for collectors.  One of these posters were included in each Series One pack.

Since I have a few eBay gift cards laying around, I added the set to my saved searches.  Within a few weeks, I found a set that fit my price range and condition parameters.  When the auction ended, I was the winning bidder.  Final price was $62 (free shipping), which breaks down to around $2.60 per poster.

There are twenty-four posters in the set with each team from the 1969 season being represented.  Eight of the posters depict players elected into Cooperstown:  Phil Niekro, Lou Brock, Ron Santo, Willie McCovey, Johnny Bench, Frank Robinson, Rod Carew, and Roberto Clemente.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that I recognize almost every name on the checklist.  Joe Horlen, Larry Dierker, and Don Mincher were the only guys I didn't know.  That's a huge improvement compared to my 1970 Topps Booklets set.

Each of these posters measure a whopping 8.69" x 9.63".  In order to fit them into packs, they were printed on thin newsprint paper and folded multiple times.

The thin newsprint paper is prone to tearing and discoloration, so keep these things in mind if you decide to target any of these for your collection.  The majority of my set is really clean, but three contain a small tear along folds.

The seller pointed out the flaw in the Lou Brock, but didn't mention the other two.  I didn't bother saying anything, because I was pretty excited about the overall condition of this set. And honestly... I was really blown away by this set's design.

My only complaint is the the oddball size which made finding a storage solution a pain.  I'd like to eventually find a way to display these in a binder for easy viewing.  Until then... I have them stored flat inside of a magazine bag with a backing board.  

Well that's all folks.  Feel free to leave your thoughts on this vintage set or any storage suggestions down below.  As usual... I look forward to reading and responding to them.

Have a happy Thursday and sayonara!