Thank You, Twitter

I realize it's not a terrific mindset to have, but I started collecting 1979 Topps, with the idea in the back of my head that I wouldn't finish the 726-card set. 

Never before had I ever started collecting a set with this idea in mind, but the notion still genuinely made sense. Even to this day, I rarely see 1979 Topps at the Baseball card show and on the occasions which I do see singles from the set, they're grouped in with a bunch of other cards. 

I've never seen a vendor with a marked section devoted to this product, likely due to how it doesn't quite fit in with either the 70s or the 80s of Baseball card collecting. Card shows don't typically have cards from '79 Topps, and it can get too complicated to find them all for the right price on either Sportlots or COMC.

Therefore, I spent a couple of years collecting singles from this set as best I could, and I ended up making it to around the 40% mark before receiving a ton of help from other bloggers and collectors. 

I certainly have Mark Hoyle, Night Owl, and many Twitter users to thank for my recent surge in collecting the 1979 Topps set. Recently, I was able to complete yet another Twitter trade to add 50 new cards en route towards completing the 1979 Topps set.

As expected, there was plenty of color with this new stack of 1979 Topps singles, from the memorable rainbow Astros jerseys to the red banner featured on every Oakland A's card. The combination of red banners with almost-always green uniforms is an unorthodox one, but the color combo does work well with the theme of the set.

I'm not familiar with a ton of the names from a set like '79 Topps, but I easily recognize all the different jerseys present. Even when considering the era in which this set was produced, I don't know of a Topps set that features this many colorful uniforms.

Like I said, the sheer number of cards in this set with "non-traditional" jerseys must be pretty insane which makes for an incredibly interesting product.  There's no shortage of different bright and bold uniforms, but my favorite is most definitely the all-gold Pittsburgh Pirates.

One of the many criteria that I think about when choosing to collect a set is roughly what the finished product will look like. This is a significant factor in determining whether I'll collect a set or not. The idea of having the 1979 Topps set completed and in 9-pocket sheets inspired me to take initiative and begin collecting this product, in the first place. 

Even though the cards aren't super easy to come by, I'm always keeping the finished product in mind when going about my means of filling in gaps in the set.

As is the case for most sets from the 70s or before, a few of the cards I acquired for my 1979 Topps set have some slight creases or marks on them. The condition of a Baseball card has never been a huge deal for me, so I'm going to let these cards slide until the set is 100% completed.

However, if the condition becomes more significant to me later on once the set is finished, I can always go back and upgrade a few of the cards with versions that are in better shape and have fewer flaws.

This trade was completed with a fellow collector on Twitter who noted to me that the PC's White Sox and Mets cards. Thus, in return for the generous haul of '79 singles, I sent a few autographs and relic cards his way, featuring players on those 2 teams. 

The standout card of the entire trade was, without a doubt, the Twins team card. If you look closely enough at the bottom row, you can see 3 Twins players forming Xs with Baseball bats. Pretty cool though if you ask me.

It's almost become expected for me to receive a couple of these team prospect cards every time I complete a trade for some 1979 Topps set needs. At this rate, I'll have this small portion of the 726-card set completed rather soon.

Even though I have roughly half the team prospect cards that make up this subset, I don't believe that I've recognized a single one of these players so far. In fact, they remind me quite a lot of the 70s rookie stars cards as well.

Thanks to another generous card collector, this time via Twitter, I officially have 430 cards, or roughly 60%, of the 1979 Topps set. At this point, since I'm approaching the 2/3 mark, finishing up the last Topps set from the 70s definitely seems achievable, the exact opposite of what I expected when I started this set a while back.

I was pleasantly surprised that I've made such significant progress with this set over the last few months and am very appreciative to those who have helped me. Maybe, just maybe, I can get '61, '76, and '79 Topps to near-completion by the time 2019 draws to a close.

A Pleasant Surprise; Card Show Recap #15 Part #3

Before the Black Friday show, I hadn't been to the Mansfield sports card show in a number of months for a number of reasons. Non-Sunday shows not being possible, wanting to save money for The National, and it not being a weekly show all contributed to the fact that I wasn't able to attend for quite some time.

This time, the main question was not if I could attend, but if I wanted to take part in the COMC Black Friday sale instead. Ultimately, I chose the baseball card show and could not be more happy with my decision. 

Not only did I come back with a nice variety of cards, but I also received a pleasant surprise from someone I met in-person for the first time while at the show.

I've been trying to attend the Mansfield show the same day as fellow Red Sox fan and loyal reader Mark Hoyle for months now, but as I said before, it hasn't worked out. If I remember correctly, we were at a show or 2 the same day earlier this year but hadn't realized that until the show had been over for a couple of days.

Mark seems to be a regular at the Mansfield sports card show, and his Twitter page is chock-full of awesome Red Sox cards and memorabilia finds from previous trips. Once I had been at the show for about 15 minutes, we met each other at the front and chatted for a little while. 

Before we parted ways, he generously handed over a package of 1976 and 1979 Topps cards from the want list, much to my surprise and appreciation. To make things even more special, he told me that a majority of the cards included in the box were pulled by him out of packs back when he was a kid. Don't worry, Mark, I promise I'll take care of them.

After completing 1972 and 1975 Topps having been completed over the last 6 months or so, I reminded myself it was time to turn my attention towards these 2 sets with more emphasis on 1976 due to it being the older of the 2 70's sets that I'm currently building. That time hasn't quite come yet, but I also haven't spotted much or any '76 or '79 Topps at the shows I've been attending.

One of the most underrated Topps sets I can name, 1976 Topps takes a page out of '75 Topps' book by featuring bold color combinations just like 1975 Topps did. What helps to separate 1976 Topps from the latter is less emphasis on the colors and more on the images and equally colorful jerseys.

There are only so many colors and combinations out there, meaning sometimes in a Topps set, a couple of teams need to share a certain shade or duo of different colors. Despite all of this, 1976 Topps does an excellent job at making certain that the set doesn't get redundant.

In addition to having a perfect-sized checklist of 660 cards, teams with the same color combo, at least in this instance, have the colors flipped in order to create a wider range or unique cards across the set. 

I'm no vintage set guru, so I can't say for certain if something like this has been done before, but even if it has, it shows why '76 Topps is one of my favorite sets in a decade full of some of the best sets ever made.

Because 1976 Topps is a set from the middle of the 1970s, it means there are plenty of cards with colorful uniforms, action images, and intriguing backgrounds. Out of the 30 or so cards from the set that Mark generously gave me, these 4 were my personal favorites due to how well they represent the decade that the set is from. 

In particular, Nyls Nyman (awesome name) and his red White Sox jersey show the short-lived red-striped uniforms that, combined with light green, gives the card a slight Christmas feel.

Moving on, Mark was kind enough to send me off with another 30 cards or so from 1979 Topps, the 2nd 70s set I'm piecing together and yet another example of an underrated product. With the perfect placement of the retro Topps logo on the baseball, '79 Topps also includes color combinations and bright banners that vaguely resemble '76 Topps in some way or another.

Like the lot of 1976 Topps cards, I instantly picked out some favorites amongst the 1979 cards with Gene Tenace on the Padres taking top prize as my favorite of the entire group. Even though 1979 was the last year of the 70s and times in baseball were changing, the colorful uniforms that became so popular throughout this decade would be able to live on for a little while after.

Team cards are featured in both sets, but only 1979 Topps includes prospect cards, a concept that would be expanded upon throughout the 1980s, becoming rookie stars and/or future star cards including the same number of players, 3. Of the 6 total players between the Mariners and A's prospect cards, Bud Anderson and Dwayne Murphy are the sole names that I can recognize.

Thanks to Mark and the Mansfield sports card show, I was able to have an incredible Black Friday without spending hours in line at Target. Instead, I ventured through dime boxes and was the recipient of a wonderful box of cards that will go towards my completing of these 2 70s sets.

Thanks again for the cards, Mark. I truly appreciate it.