778 Down, 9 To Go

Out of all the sets I collect, both vintage and modern, 1972 is the highest priority out of all of them. Not only is it the oldest set that I'm actively collecting, but it's also the biggest set. At 787 cards, it's one of the largest Flagship sets ever produced, though it was later surpassed by a few sets from the junk wax era.

1972 seperates itself from every other Topps set ever made by being a massive set but also a really good looking set. Nearly every other Topps Flagship has either been one of the other (and some have been neither). You don't get sick of 1972 Topps. Every single card, 1-787 is it's own card that creates (in my opinion) the greatest Topps set of all-time. 

I've made multiple purchases of 1972 Topps cards in my lifetime, but it was my most recent COMC haul of 17 unique cards from the set that finally made completing 1972 Topps seem within reach. That's because it brought down the amount of cards needed to complete the set to 9. That's just one sheet of binder cards. After that, the set is completed.

Since the '72 set is over 40 years old, most of the names in the set are no longer big names. Especially the super high numbered cards like the 2 shown above. Even though I've only heard of one of these guys before (Stewart), the photos chosen for the cards make me like the quite a bit even if I don't necessarily recognize the players in them. That's what Topps should be focusing on with their present day Flagship sets. By making cards of lesser players like Stewart and Sampson look as nice as they do, people will appreciate the effort 40 years from now when piecing together the sets we've seen released today.

Or they'll just buy the factory set, but still, details like these do not go unnoticed.

Team cards are typically, for whatever reason, more expensive than typical base cards. These 2 cards of Giants and Cardinals teams set me back roughly $4 more than the average base card price. However, the price and the design helps me appreciate the old-school team card design that Topps has eliminated in recent years. Nowadays, 5 players celebrating is now considered a "team card." 

In Action cards are another one of my favorite features of the '72 set, and I believe I've tracked down the final 2 I need with Doug Griffin and Bobby Bonds. The Bonds one is a pretty nice shot, even if it is a picture we're used to seeing way too much from Topps nowadays. The Bobby Bonds card provides a different angle of a similar card that has to be one of my favorite In Action cards of the set.

Manager cards also appear to be a thing of the past considering the last set to include cards of skippers was the 2016 Topps Heritage set. Bill Virdon is coming off a victory in the 1971 World Series while Waltor Alston's Dodgers had a pretty decent 1971 season as well. 

Even after base cards, team cards, and In Action cards, the best card of the entire order has still yet to come.

The best card came in the form of the final card needed for the Traded part of the set. A pretty well done airbrush of Frank Robinson on the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 1972 Traded cards are pretty iconic because of the big word "Traded" stampted in black over the card. Robinson wasn't with the Dodgers for any longer than a season, therefore there aren't many cards of him in an LA jersey. So getting this card doesn't only get me 1 step closer to completing 1972 Topps, but ultimately provides me a card of Robinson from a team he played on for a very short amount of time.