My Countdown To Completion - 60 Years Of Baseball Cards

[darkhorse9]

I've seen some similar threads here and thought it might be fun to chime in.
I've been collecting since 1969 (born in 1962) and had a desire to complete every set back to when I was born by the time I was 50. I beat that goal last year and now have expanded it.

My next step is to have sixty years of card sets (one from every year) and I'm well on the way as you can see. I have completed all but four of the sets from 2012 - 1954



My countdown now comprises of

1961 - 24 cards
1959 - 241 cards
1958 - 493 cards (haven't started yet)
1957 - 108 cards

So, as you can see, I'm well on the way. Everything is in EX or better. I only do raw. I am hoping to finish the 1961 set by the end of the year and have most of the 1959 set done by then as well.

All I need now are the All-Star cards from the high series.

Once I finish with this goal I am flipping years instead of working backwards from recent to oldest. I want to have a set from every year back to 1941. When I'm done with the sets above I continue working on some Play Ball, MP&Co, Goudey, Bond Bread and Exhibits to start a run from 1941 up to 1953.

[CW]

Good luck with the final four sets! I like how you put one example from each set on the spine of each binder. I could imagine sitting in that room, flipping through the pages in those binders, and going back in time. It's always cool to see collections like this.

[Volod]

You, sir, are a true collector of ocd proportions. Keep up the good work. I can see you at 106, hunched over one of your volumes of curious and forgotten arcana, working on completion of the T206 set.

[tcjsavannah]

That's amazing. I have a similar goal that I've just now started - any tips for someone just starting out in assembling sets? (I have all that I want from 1978-forward and want to start going backwards, as far as I can reasonably go)

[doug.goodman]

Fantastic. Congrats on your collection. I am working on the exact some thing. Email me a list of the cards you are looking for, maybe I can help.

Take care,
Doug

[darkhorse9]

Originally Posted by tcjsavannah

That's amazing. I have a similar goal that I've just now started - any tips for someone just starting out in assembling sets? (I have all that I want from 1978-forward and want to start going backwards, as far as I can reasonably go)

What got me through was not getting too far over my head at any one time. Work on no more than a couple sets at a time.

I also made things a little easier and "goal achievable" by literally working a series at a time. When I start a set (like 1960, say) i work only on the first 88 cards. That way I usually only have a couple of high priced stars to worry about. When that series was done I went on to the next series. Kind of like the kids did back when the cards first came out.

It made a BIG difference whenever I could hit some smaller goal and then feel good about moving on.

[tcjsavannah]

Thanks for the good advice. When I was clearing through my closet and my current collection I saw about three or four unfinished projects as it is.. I think it'll be tough but I'm ready!

[rsdill2]

very nice collection. I like how you've labeled the spines of the binders...just for my own curiosity - is that an actual card on the spine? Or did you print out a scan of a card?