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.

Crossing the Halfway Mark

Over the next few weeks, the majority of my Baseball card budget will likely be devoted to the 2019 Topps Heritage set, whether it's a hobby or retail box or individual cards. 

Although I'm highly anticipating the release, the product will likely prevent much progress from being made regarding my various want list sets, or at least stop me from purchasing set needs myself.

Thankfully, there's still the possibility of trading, and I was fortunate enough to receive a package filled with 1979 Topps singles right before the Heritage is set to be released. I completed this trade on Twitter, something that I'm not totally used to, but I can definitely say it was a very pleasant experience overall. 

Thanks to the generous Mark Hoyle's shoutout on Twitter, I was able to complete a trade with Yankees fan Mark Del Franco. Thanks in large part to my abundance of Yankees cards and a few needs for his '69 Topps set, I was able to even out a trade in which I received roughly 100 1979 Topps singles that took me over the halfway mark for this set.

Yeah, that's the stack of cards that arrived at my door on Monday, all cards that I needed for my 1979 Topps set, a product I seldom see available at the Baseball card show. I've always seen it as a transition set of sorts between the 70s and 80s, and maybe that's why collectors don't necessarily hold onto it. 

It's also helped by the lack of big-name rookies besides Ozzie Smith, yet I've always been a huge fan of the set design, nevertheless. Now, thanks to Twitter, I have over 50% of the set in my possession, and like 1961 and 1976, completing this Flagship set finally seems achievable.

As for the cards that Mark sent my way, there were multiple standouts that really screamed "1970s" even though the iconic decade was almost over by the time this set was released. Seeing color on 70s cards is most definitely a given but between the uniforms, banners, and backgrounds, there's definitely no shortage when it comes to 1979 Topps.

Also, I know I've mentioned this before, but I absolutely love the retro-style Baseball with the Topps logo shown on every card. It's definitely a design I'd love to see again, and it makes me excited for Topps Heritage in 9 years (but who's counting?).

1979 Topps is the best possible set to witness the changes that the 1970s presented for the game of Baseball. Brand new teams, a fresh wave of MLB players, and different uniforms were all introduced in the 1970s, causing it to be night and day between '79 Topps and one of the first few Flagship sets of the decade.

Although the Astros' rainbow jersey is an easy choice for one of the greatest uniforms of all-time, the all-black White Sox uniform, quite paradoxical, isn't anything to sneeze at either. 

It can be slightly odd, at first, to witness players changing teams, especially when that player is showcased on a Baseball card with their new ball club. This was even more prevalent in the 1970s when, for the first time ever, MLB players were allowed to become free agents.

Jim Lonborg spent 7 years with the Red Sox before becoming a Phillie for the final 7 years of his MLB career. Though he spent equal time in Boston and Philadelphia, I still don't completely recognize the 1967 AL Cy Young award winner unless he's in a Red Sox uniform.

While I don't mind the combo cards that Topps uses as checklists in their Flagship and Update sets today, the 1979 Topps set was able to accomplish something that's nearly impossible; make a checklist card seem interesting, fun, and appealing.

I wouldn't ever think that a bright pink checklist with an old-school logo and a green banner would be a fitting combination for a checklist card, but these look pretty awesome, as awesome as checklist cards can look, at least.

I may not have taken a long look at the 2019 Topps Heritage checklist, but I did not spot any team cards on the 400-card base set list or the 100-card SP checklist either. This likely means we won't see team cards in Heritage this year, and I'm not upset about that whatsoever.

After Series 1 switched to ballparks following Topps' "attempt" at a "team card" for years, it doesn't appear that team cards will be featured in Heritage, likely because it would get repetitive to feature the same ballpark shots in at least 2 different products.

To cap it all of, I received 2 All-Star cards in this extremely generous trade package as well that's helped me make unprecedented progress with the 1979 Topps set. Before receiving these cards in the mail, I was struggling to find these cards at the show no matter when I went, so any progress I can make with this product is an incredibly positive thing.

Not to mention, I love the All-Star cards in this set, and Greg Luzinski and Vida Blue are perfect examples of some forgotten 70s players who were, at one time or another, superstars. 

Having these 2 cards, along with all the others that I've acquired on my journey towards completing this set, affirms the belief that, eventually, 1979 Topps will be completed.

It'll just have to wait until after 2019 Topps Heritage is released.