Major Progress With '76 Topps; 2019 National Recap Part #4

173. 

That's how many cards I picked up for my 1976 Topps set while at The National, easily the largest haul brought back from the show for any aspect of my collection.

Most of the cards shown in the previous 2 blog posts were purchased by my Dad. There have been cards from the 50s and 60s, 3Ds, and vintage oddballs galore over the last couple of posts.

Throughout most of the show, we divided and conquered so that we could each focus on our own objectives. While my Dad spent a large portion of his time purchasing vintage oddballs, I tried to concentrate more on the want list, particularly the Topps Flagship sets that I'm trying to complete.

Unsurprisingly, I wasn't able to find any 1979 Topps while I was there since most vendors don't bother selling individual cards from that set. Even 1976 Topps proved challenging to find, though I eventually tracked down a dealer with excellent prices on cards from this colorful set.

At first, I only wanted to go through about half of the cards on my '76 Topps want list before moving onto another part of the show. However, after skimming through the pages and seeing the stellar prices, I realized that this was my best chance to make huge strides with this product.

The odds of finding such an enormous selection of 1976 Topps cards for incredibly low prices are slim, so I continued through the binder and ended up going through the entirety of my '76 Topps want list. As a result, I ended up buying 173 cards that I needed to complete the set.

Unlike the next Topps set that I choose to build (either '73 or '74 Flagship), I began collecting 1976 Topps not because I had a ton of cards from that year. In fact, when I drew up my want list upon deciding that I'd be collecting this set, I barely had 100 out of the 660 total cards.

With that being said, '76 Topps is quite affordable, and the brilliant color scheme is ultimately what inspired me to begin building this set despite how few cards I had. 

I've mentioned before that my favorite Baseball card sets are the ones where every base card looks different. Thanks to the various color combinations for each team, this trait applies to '76 Topps. 

I knew that completing this set would present some challenges, but the affordability and the vibrant design inspired me to start this project. Now, with the set almost complete, I couldn't be happier.

In addition to overproduction, a reason why Topps sets from the 1990s are so forgettable is that there wasn't anything to differentiate Oakland A's cards from Houston Astros cards like there was in '76. 

Even modern-day Topps sets use green for the A's and orange for the Astros to help the set stand out, but this wasn't as pronounced in the 90s. Clearly, with 2 colorful banners on every base card, 1976 accomplishes this.

Even for teams like the Indians and Astros who utilize the same 2 colors (orange and pink), the order is switched to change things up and help create a unique design across the entire set. 

Other than the iconic 1975 design, I can't think of a more vibrant Topps set than 1976, though the uniforms certainly help with this.

Topps' decision to cease releasing Flagship in multiple series caused the value their cards to plummet beginning in 1974. Furthermore, many collectors, including myself, consider 1975 the last year of true vintage cards.

These 2 factors contribute to the overall affordability of 1976 Topps. Even cards of Hall of Famers like George Brett and Mike Schmidt are far less expensive ($3 and $4 respectively) compared to similar cards in another Topps set that I've completed, 1972.

With a set like '72, you have to worry about high numbered cards, HOFers, team cards, and especially condition, all of which contribute to the price of a card. However, many of these factors don't apply to '76. The set is beautiful and the cards are inexpensive; it doesn't get much better than that.

Beginning in the 1970s, Topps began noting a player's All-Star status by placing a symbol or banner on his base card. They continued this tradition for many years, particularly during the 1980s.

If I remember correctly, however, this inclusion began in 1976 when Topps used actual stars to demonstrate that a player was an All-Star. It's always challenging to beat the original, especially when it's something as simple yet classic as a bright yellow All-Star star. 

I already had most of the All-Stars' cards before heading to The National, but I picked up a couple new ones while I was there, most notably Ron Cey's card with red and blue banners.

Before the days of insert sets as we know them today, Topps included many subsets throughout the 1970s Flagship products. Ranging from Boyhood Photos of the Stars to Father and Son Duos, the subsets consisted of around 10 cards and followed a certain theme.

1976 Topps has a couple of these subsets, one of them being The Sporting News All-Time All-Stars, easily one of my favorite subsets that Topps has ever done. The checklist includes HOF legends in a fantastic red, white, and blue design, not to mention spectacular black and white photos.

I'm not that knowledgable when it comes to these cards. Since the set is All-Time All-Stars, the players may combine to form 1 complete team. All I know is that these cards are one of the high points of '76 Topps, and that's saying a lot considering how fond I am of this set.

With this massive 173-card purchase in the books, I'm just 39 cards away from completing my 3rd Topps set from the 70s. At the same time, only 48 cards are standing in my way of finishing '79 Topps as well. 

Though I'm taking a necessary break from buying cards, for the time being, there's no doubt in my mind that I'll be able to complete both of these 70s Flagship sets by the time the Holiday season rolls around.

After that, it'll be time for me to turn my attention towards '61 Topps and whichever Flagship set I try to complete next. 

For now, I have to concentrate on those 39 cards stopping me from completing yet another one of my favorite Baseball card sets ever produced.