Although most of my collection is focused on my player collections as well as my Red Sox team sets, I still have other things that I pursue. A big part of that is the sets that I am trying to complete.
Even though I am collecting parts of sets like Topps Heritage short prints or attempting to complete a set at a slower rate like I'm doing for 1971 Topps, this post is dedicated to the 6 sets that I am attempting to complete the most, the ones highest up on my list and constantly on my radar whether I'm at the show or looking for cards online.
1972 Topps
The first set I'm showing is the set that my dad has spent most of his life collecting. He's been collecting 1972 Topps since 1972 and is the main reason as to why we are down to our final 50 cards of the set. This set stands out above any other set because of it's almost ridiculous color combinations that Topps was able to pull off. Still, most of the card is centered around the picture, most of which are fabulous and feature some old-school 70's jerseys. This set is also one of the largest ever made with a grand total of 787 cards, proving to be a challenge for any collector to complete. I hope to finish this set within the next year, but with the lowest numbered card of the 50 missing cards being 658 it may not happen for a bit more time than that.
1975 Topps
1975 Topps is another set that my dad has been collecting since it came out 42 years ago. This set takes color combos to a whole nother level by featuring 3 main colors on each card. The top color, the bottom color, and the team name color. This Al Fitzmorris card is the perfect example of these combinations as it shows pink on top and yellow on the bottom with a blue name accompaniment that matches the Royals colors. This set perfectly matches the era that it's from and is definitely a favorite of mine. However, I am not pursuing this set at the level that 1972 has been pursued and therefore I'm still missing about 150 cards from this 660 card set. However, once 1972 is completed this set will rise to the top of my priority list.
1976 Topps
I don't think I've fallen in love with any set as fast as I've fallen in love with 1976 Topps. I began collecting it along with 1979 Topps in April of this year and even though my total amount of cards from this set is around 100 I still have full intentions of completing yet another color-centric set. This set came out the year after the classic 1975 World Series when baseball was more popular than ever. As a result, more people were buying cards. Unfortunately, considering my dad moved that year and began working he, along with many other collectors, didn't buy this set. Because of this, the price gap between the cost of 1975 Topps and 1976 Topps is absolutely shocking, therefore I've picked up most of my cards from this set in the dime bins which is why this set is a great alternative for when I can't justify paying so much for 1972 or 1975 cards.
1979 Topps
Like I said I began collecting 1976 and 1979 Topps this year and both of them have quickly become some of my favorite sets. 1979 is yet another set available in the dime bins which, like 1976 Topps is where I've bought most of these. Since this was yet another year in which Topps wasn't selling as many cards, and with Topps' golden era coming to an end, 1979 Topps is a set with similar prices and a similar set design to 1976. My favorite part of this set would have to be the baseball in the bottom left with the retro Topps logo in the center. This set may have ended Topps' best decade for cards (in my opinion), but that certainly doesn't mean it doesn't deserve recognition for ending the decade with a bang.
2003 Topps 205
The only set on this list that isn't a Topps base set happens to be one of the most unique sets ever made. Based on the 1912 tobacco cards, Topps 205 is loaded with variations as big as vastly different color schemes and as small as a shaded in team logo vs a clear team logo. This was another set that my dad has been collecting since it came out as he would seek out boxes of these to try and complete the set. This is also the set we've made the most progress with as we are missing just 29 cards from the 315 card set, including all the crazy variations. This set is also the one of the first by Topps to include mini cards as part of the set. These feature back variations ranging from common to rare and were another challenging aspect of this set to complete.
2015 Topps
The last set on this list is by far the best Topps base set made in the last decade. 2015 Topps was able to break the boring white border mold that Topps had laid out for years before and instead added color (something I'm sure you can tell I love in baseball cards) and helped make their base set exciting again. I also remember this being one of the first sets I had bought a blaster of myself, considering up until that year I had almost always gone to the show and I had never really known about buying retail. This set may not be able to compete with 60's or 70's sets, but it was the set that introduced me into the retail and hobby aspect of baseball cards. That is why I 2015 Topps is one of the 6 sets that I collect.
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