I've always had a problem with the 'rubber band theory' of first and last cards. We never put cards in numerical order, it was always by team. Complete sets were determined by actually checking the numbers off of the checklists and seeing who else you still needed. I remember trying to figure out what team certain missing players were on (Steve Foucault comes to mind). Kids have always been fanatical about baseball cards, and this fanaticism was 10 times as deep when it came to your favorite team. For me, the Mets were always on top of the pile (I had about 20 different Mets team cards virtually cut in half by rubber bands) getting screwed by the rubber bands, and the 'junk' cards (leaders, playoff/World Series, checklists, etc.) were on the bottom and got rubber banded from the rear.
|