The 1975 set was the first set I started collecting as a kid (along with the 1975 baseball), but it was hit-or-miss; get a few packs (25 cents then for 10 cards!) whenever we made it over to the local 7-11. I did not care for the look of the 1976 set, and the 1977 set was the first set that I attempted to build (all from wax). I think I fell about 3-4 cards short. I stopped buying packs when I bought four packs (40 cards) and only got 4 that I needed; the rest were duplicates.
I guess I'm old school, as when I collected cards from packs, I actually checked off the checklist cards to keep track of what I had and did not have. Some purists or those that send cards off to TPG would deem that a travesty. It was part of the hobby and fun to me.
I recently picked up a lot of about 150 or so 1975 football cards on eBay just to "relive" some childhood memories, and sorting through them, I can remember which cards I did have back then. Got the George Blanda and Tom Dempsey Record cards which I had as I kid. Big thrill again.
It always bothered me that the logos on the helmets were airbrushed out back then; some teams looked worse (Chargers, Eagles, Rams) and some not so bad (Patriots, Cowboys, Dolphins). I remember in 1979 or 1980 when Topps quite totally airbrushing out the complete horn on the Rams helmet; that was a big deal back then for the small group of collectors…
