Sure, I like to collect Reds cards. Not sure if you knew that or not, but I just wanted to make that clear. But what you might not know is that I'm also an avid set collector. Prior to my return to collecting baseball cards I concentrated on collecting Topps sets (flagship and updates). I had a nice collection prior to 1993 when I had the complete Topps run from 1981 to 1993, but when I decided to sell everything in 1997 to help pay for my wife's engagement ring. Since returning to the hobby I've decided to be a little bit more selective on the sets that I chase. I've made it a rule to only collect one set from a given year. I've also decided that if a particular year doesn't have anything that interests me, I won't chase a set just for the sake of having something from that year. Finally, I won't duplicate a manufacturer and set EVER. For example, if I have 2005 Donruss Studio set I won't get a 2001 Donruss Studio set even if that means I don't have any sets from 2001 AND I like the 2001 Donruss Studio set. Fairly straightforward right? Anyway, a few weeks back I saw a post from
Night Owl about finally completing his 1971 Topps set. I had always loved the 71 set and when I started poking around to see who was in the set I was completely blown away: Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, Joe Morgan, Hank Aaron, Steve Carlton, Red Schoendienst, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Fergie Jenkins, Leo Durocher, Don Sutton, Willie McCovey, Gaylord Perry, Juan Marichal, Willie Mays, Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Jim Palmer, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Earl Weaver, Jim Bunning, Bill Mazeroski, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Carl Yastrzemski, Tony Perez, Johnny Bench, Sparky Anderson, Bob Lemon, Ted Williams, Al Kaline, Phil Niekro, Bert Blyleven, Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew and Thurman Munson. I'm sure I missed a hall of famer or two but that's still an impressive list. So I've decided to add the 1971 Topps set to my chase. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to complete it, but the who's who of baseball past that's in this set will have this as the pinnacle of my set collection. Sure I could fail trying to put this together, but I'm definitely going to try!
