Mike D's 1976 Topps Binder Project

[Mike D.]

Through the first 500 (actually, 504) cards:

46 cards missing

58 upgrade candidates

[Mike D.]

Passing 500:

505 Mark Belanger
506 George Mitterwald
507 Ray Bare
508 Duane Kuiper
509 Bill Hands
510 Amos Otis
511 Jamie Easterly
512 Ellie Rodriguez
513 Bart Johnson

507 Ray Bare is missing.

No upgrade candidates here.

The cards:




The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next batch:

514 Dan Driessen
515 Steve Yeager
516 Wayne Granger
517 John Milner
518 Doug Flynn
519 Steve Brye
520 Willie McCovey
521 Jim Colborn
522 Ted Sizemore

518 Doug Flynn and 521 Jim Colborn are missing. No upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Next up:

523 Bob Montgomery
524 Pete Falcone
525 Billy Williams
526 Checklist 397-528
527 Mike Anderson
528 Dock Ellis
529 Deron Johnson
530 Don Sutton
531 Joe Frazier

525 Billy Williams and 526 Checklist 397-528.

528 Dock Ellis and 530 Don Sutton are upgrade candidate.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Next up:

532 Milt May
533 Lee Richard
534 Stan Bahnsen
535 Dave Nelson
536 Mike Thompson
537 Tony Muser
538 Pat Darcy
539 John Balaz
540 Bill Freehan

538 Pat Darcy and 540 Bill Freehan are missing.

535 Dave Nelson and 537 Tony Muser are upgrade candidate.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next group:

541 Steve Mingori
542 Keith Hernandez
543 Wayne Twitchell
544 Pepe Frias
545 Sparky Lyle
546 Dave Rosello
547 Roric Harrison
548 Manny Mota
549 Randy Tate

545 Sparky Lyle is missing. 548 Manny Mota is an upgrade candidate.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Blowing by 550:

550 Hank Aaron
551 Jerry DaVanon
552 Terry Humphrey
553 Randy Moffitt
554 Ray Fosse
555 Dyar Miller
556 Gene Mauch
557 Dan Spillner
558 Clarence Gaston

Missing is 550 Hank Aaron. 556 Gene Mauch and 558 Clarence Gaston are upgrade candidates.

The cards:

[Mike D.]

Through the first 550 (actually, 558) cards:

55 cards missing

66 upgrade candidates

[Mike D.]

The next 9:

559 Clyde Wright
560 Jorge Orta
561 Tom Carroll
562 Adrian Garrett
563 Larry Demery
564 Kurt Bevacqua
565 Tug McGraw
566 Ken McMullen
567 George Stone

561 Tom Carroll is missing. No upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Up next:

568 Rob Andrews
569 Nelson Briles
570 George Hendrick
571 Don DeMola
572 Rich Coggins
573 Bill Travers
574 Don Kessinger
575 Dwight Evans
576 Maximino Leon

568 Rob Andrews is missing. 570 George Hendrick and 574 Don Kessinger are upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next 9:

577 Marc Hill
578 Ted Kubiak
579 Clay Kirby
580 Bert Campaneris
581 Red Schoendienst
582 Mike Kekich
583 Tommy Helms
584 Stan Wall
585 Joe Torre

580 Bert Campaneris is missing. 579 Clay Kirby, 582 Mike Kekich, and 585 Joe Torre are upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Up next:

586 Ron Schueler
587 Leo Cardenas
588 Kevin Kobel
589 Mike Flanagan
590 Chet Lemon
591 Rookie Pitchers
592 Rookie Infielders Randolph
593 Rookie Pitchers
594 Rookie Catchers/Outfielders

591 Rookie Pitchers is missing. 588 Kevin Kobel is an upgrade candidate.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Passing 600:

595 Rookie Pitchers
596 Rookie Infielders
597 Rookie Pitchers Don Aase
598 Rookie Outfielders
599 Rookie Pitchers Guidry
600 Tom Seaver
601 Ken Rudolph
602 Doug Konieczny
603 Jim Holt

596 Rookie Infielders is missing. 598 Rookie Outfielders is an upgrade candidate.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Through the first 600 (actually, 603) cards:

60 cards missing

74 upgrade candidates

[Mike D.]

Was flipping through, and noticed #28 Dusty Baker can use an upgrade.

Through the first 600 (actually, 603) cards:

60 cards missing

75 upgrade candidates

[Mike D.]

The next 9:

604 Joe Lovitto
605 Al Downing
606 Alex Grammas
607 Rich Hinton
608 Vic Correll
609 Fred Norman
610 Greg Luzinski
611 Rich Folkers
612 Joe Lahoud

609 Fred Norman is missing. 606 Alex Grammas and 608 Vic Correll are upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[mr2686]

Love this thread. Makes me want to get off my butt and work on some of my 70's sets. I remember back around 1991 I had just purchased some new cleats for softball but after wearing them two times, I didn't like them so I gave them to a teammate. He remembered I had talked with him about my favorite set as a kid (The 1971 Topps set...which my Mom threw out. Yes kids, that really did happen to a lot of us). Anyway, he showed up the next day with a shoe box full of his 71 doubles. Still have them, so now I think I'll sort through them and start working on the whole set. Sounds like fun just talking about it!!

[Mike D.]

Originally Posted by mr2686

Love this thread. Makes me want to get off my butt and work on some of my 70's sets. I remember back around 1991 I had just purchased some new cleats for softball but after wearing them two times, I didn't like them so I gave them to a teammate. He remembered I had talked with him about my favorite set as a kid (The 1971 Topps set...which my Mom threw out. Yes kids, that really did happen to a lot of us). Anyway, he showed up the next day with a shoe box full of his 71 doubles. Still have them, so now I think I'll sort through them and start working on the whole set. Sounds like fun just talking about it!!

Hey man, I came of age in the junk wax era....we had to throw out our OWN cards!

Glad you're enjoying the thread...the project has been a blast, and sharing it here makes it feel like more of a shared experience.

1971 Topps is a pretty set....you should go for it! I've never been a set builder, and I never bought 70's cards in packs, but I'm having a good time with it.

[Mike D.]

The next batch:

613 Tim Johnson
614 Fernando Arroyo
615 Mike Cubbage
616 Buck Martinez
617 Darold Knowles
618 Jack Brohamer
619 Bill Butler
620 Al Oliver
621 Tom Hall

614 Fernando Arroyo is missing. 615 Mike Cubbage is an upgrade candidate.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next batch:

622 Rick Auerbach
623 Bob Allietta
624 Tony Taylor
625 J.R. Richard
626 Bob Sheldon
627 Bill Plummer
628 John D'Acquisto
629 Sandy Alomar
630 Chris Speier

622 Rick Auerbach and 627 Bill Plummer are missing.

626 Bob Sheldon and 629 Sandy Alomar are upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The 630's:

631 Dave Bristol
632 Rogelio Moret
633 John Stearns
634 Larry Christenson
635 Jim Fregosi
636 Joe Decker
637 Bruce Bochte
638 Doyle Alexander
639 Fred Kendall

636 Joe Decker is missing. No upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next batch:

640 Bill Madlock
641 Tom Paciorek
642 Dennis Blair
643 Checklist 529-660
644 Tom Bradley
645 Darrell Porter
646 John Lowenstein
647 Ramon Hernandez
648 Al Cowens

This was probably the toughest page in the whole set.

642 Dennis Blair, 643 Checklist 529-660, 646 John Lowenstein, 647 Ramon Hernandez, and 648 Al Cowens are all missing.

641 Tom Paciorek is an upgrade candidate.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Passing 650:

649 Dave Roberts
650 Thurman Munson
651 John Odom
652 Ed Armbrister
653 Mike Norris
654 Doug Griffin
655 Mike Vail
656 Chuck Tanner
657 Roy Smalley

All cards are here. 657 Roy Smalley is an upgrade candidate.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Bringing it home!

658 Jerry Johnson
659 Ben Oglivie
660 Davey Lopes

All three are here and look good. No upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Through the first pass through the 660 cards:

70 cards missing

82 upgrade candidates

That's hair over 10.5% missing, and almost 12.5 upgrade, for a total of 23% of the set that I still need to add.

Is that good? I don't know....but so far, it's been a lot of fun, so we'll keep at it!

[Mike D.]

The total duplicate pile:

[mr2686]

Originally Posted by Mike D.

Hey man, I came of age in the junk wax era....we had to throw out our OWN cards!

Darn it Mike, you made me spit milk through my nose. Too funny! LOL

[Mike D.]

Originally Posted by mr2686

Darn it Mike, you made me spit milk through my nose. Too funny! LOL

Dang it! My secret identity as a milk and keyboard salesman has been uncovered!

[Kurri17]

Love this thread. I was a kid of the '70s (ages 6-16), so those sets are my love. The '76 is the first one I built in my quest to rebuild all of the years '72 thru '79. I have yet to put it in an album though I finished it a few years ago, and its fun to see them all like this. I truly loved my cards as a kid, and when there is one I don't recognize, I know that is one I never got from packs as a kid. I usually managed to get about 600 or so from each set just through packs, and thus probably another 400-500 dupes as once you got close it was just a lottery buy to see if you could hit one you needed. Funny how excited a Juan Beniquez can make you. Thanks for sharing the ride on this one.

[Mike D.]

Originally Posted by Kurri17

Love this thread. I was a kid of the '70s (ages 6-16), so those sets are my love. The '76 is the first one I built in my quest to rebuild all of the years '72 thru '79. I have yet to put it in an album though I finished it a few years ago, and its fun to see them all like this. I truly loved my cards as a kid, and when there is one I don't recognize, I know that is one I never got from packs as a kid. I usually managed to get about 600 or so from each set just through packs, and thus probably another 400-500 dupes as once you got close it was just a lottery buy to see if you could hit one you needed. Funny how excited a Juan Beniquez can make you. Thanks for sharing the ride on this one.

I missed that era, which feels like a bit more "pure" then when I started (1987), when kids were already putting all their cards in top loaders and boxes to protect their "value".

In those pre-internet days, though, you're right....buying packs and a few trades were your only ways to acquire cards, except for the rare trips to a local card shop.

And when buying packs, I feel like I got a 1987 Topps Pat Dobson in every pack, even when buying 1988 Donruss or 1989 Topps!

And you're right about recognizing most of the cards. I bought my son a box of 1987 Topps to rip open a few months back, and I think maybe 1-2 cards in the whole box I didn't recognize.

[Mike D.]

I have a bunch of the missing and upgrade cards coming my way from a Net54 member....should get me quite a bit closer to complete.

Stay tuned!

[Kurri17]

Stay tuned I will. If you end up still needing Concepcion, Tanana, and Flynn, lmk as I have them and can get 'em out to you.

[Mike D.]

Picked up 5 more binder pages on eBay for $3.69 delivered.

9 cards x 5 pages = 45 cards. Which is one more than 44, which should give away what they're for.

Total spent on binder set: $227.85

Total spent on graded: $47.37

Total recaptured via sales: $1.99

[Mike D.]

Received a box from fellow board member Collectorsince62 today. 112 cards that I was either missing or was looking to upgrade, plus a traded set, for $40 delivered.

A great deal and a great addition to my project....should keep me busy for a while.

Thank you Collectorsince62!

Total spent on binder set: $267.85

Total spent on graded: $47.37

Total recaptured via sales: $1.99

I'll be picking away at this lot for DAYS!

[Mike D.]

The first six cards in the stack, all upgrades over existing cards:



It's a nice start...although I'm starting to notice that every time I go through the binder, I find more cards I wouldn't mind upgrading.

[Mike D.]

Sold a fairly rough shape Mike Schmidt #480 on eBay for $1.99 w/ free shipping.

Recouping my investment big time here!

Total spent on binder set: $267.85

Total spent on graded: $47.37

Total recaptured via sales: $3.98

[Mike D.]

6 more upgrades:



I also had six that replaced missing ones, but forgot to take a picture. The lot included Luis Tiant, Rich Gossage, and card #193 Leaders (with Carew).

[Mike D.]

As I mentioned, along with the upgrades and missing cards that just arrived was a 1976 Topps Traded set.

This was Topps 2nd traded set, after '74 (not sure why they didn't do one in '75).

44 cards, numbered to coincide with with the players regular Topps card, but with a "T" added. An interesting approach.

Here they all are:

[Mike D.]

A few more lots of gap-filling cards...formerly missing from my set!

[Mike D.]

A few upgrades:

[wdwfan]

Looks like you're moving right along. Congrats.

I bought my first lot of 1975s this week. Got a lot of a little over 400 for $65 shipped. I know it has Aaron, Yaz, Bench and a few other HOFers/stars. So not a bad lot at all, and not a bad price for Ex-Mt to NM cards.

Once I get them in, and I buy a couple other lots, I'll start a thread. I also have to buy a notebook and pages. So once I get all that done, I'll start the thread and go about like you did.

I really enjoyed following along.

[Mike D.]

Originally Posted by wdwfan

Looks like you're moving right along. Congrats.

I bought my first lot of 1975s this week. Got a lot of a little over 400 for $65 shipped. I know it has Aaron, Yaz, Bench and a few other HOFers/stars. So not a bad lot at all, and not a bad price for Ex-Mt to NM cards.

Once I get them in, and I buy a couple other lots, I'll start a thread. I also have to buy a notebook and pages. So once I get all that done, I'll start the thread and go about like you did.

I really enjoyed following along.

Glad you're enjoying the ride...it's been a lot of fun!

That's awesome that you've picked up some 1975's - that's a pretty set. Sounds like a good value lot you picked up, and I look forward to your thread.

When I eventually finish up the 76 Topps, I'm not sure if I go backwards to '75 or forward to '77.

[Mike D.]

A few more upgrades:

[Rickyy]

wow you're picking up some nice cards there...as we who collect 70's cards..the 76 ones were very hard to find nicely centered.

Ricky Y

[Mike D.]

Originally Posted by Rickyy

wow you're picking up some nice cards there...as we who collect 70's cards..the 76 ones were very hard to find nicely centered.

Ricky Y

Thanks Ricky...the centering is pretty challenging, to the point where in some cases I'm just going to have to ignore it. Amazing how bad quality control was back then.

Guess a monopoly isn't that good for the consumer.

[Mike D.]

One more upgrade batch:

[Mike D.]

A few more formerly missing cards added:

[Mike D.]

An update on where things stand:

17 cards missing

26 upgrade candidates

Next step is to pick away at the missing cards, maybe sell off my dups to help finance the purchases. Some of it won't be cheap....Nolan Ryan and 2 Hank Aaron cards are among those 43, so it won't always be cheap and easy.

[Rrrlyons]

Are you going to list the cards missing or needing upgrades?
Rick

[Mike D.]

Good idea, Rick...I’ll work on that this week!