Overrated / Underrated / Favorite / Least Favorite (OUFLF)

[Harliduck]

Great thread...lots of great opinions, some I agree, some disagree...that's what makes this hobby so great.

Overrated - I'm going to go with the 53 Topps. I currently am putting this set together and do completely understand the "art" perspective which no doubt has a great aesthetic...but I have just never been excited about any one card. I tend to like ANY 53 that isn't a simple head shot...the Gene Woodling and of course the Willie Mays cards and type poses look great. I appreciate this set, just feels a little overrated from my experience.

Underrated - My favorite post war set changes often but one set has always stood out for me consistently and that is the 1966 Topps. Love the design, the cards just pop to me and the color on the back is clear and organized. Great representations of HOFers...decent rookie crop...and of course what I love the most is the high numbers. Everyone talks about the 67 Highs, and deservedly so...but some of those 66's are quite a challenge. I just wish one of the HOF rookie cards landed in the high numbers, would have been a game changer...but...where is Steve Carlton?

Favorite - As said, this changes often for me and I'm sure if I see this post 5 years from now I'll have a different answer. Currently my favorite is either 54 or 67 Topps. Both classic designs, both have just awesome rookies that define the HOF, and both are still heavily collected. The 54s are missing some key players but the rookies more than make up for that. 67 has the highs which has a cult following (I never stop buying/collecting the high numbers). Only issue with 67 is the total miss on Mantle. Terrible card, easily his worse...in a year of such clean photography and classic poses, wow, miss. Can you imagine if Mantle was the SP Rocky Colavito 580...both pose and high number? That's a $1k card right there...

Least Favorite - This one is easy for me. 1958 Topps. I have never liked it...the back grounds, all the head shots, just looks all over the place. I decided out of order to attack this set a short while ago...for about a week I thought maybe I had missed the boat all these years...then...I couldn't wait to finish as I was totally bored. Thankfully there was no high number premiums, the rookie cards outside of Cepeda are terrible, and I know everyone likes the AS cards but the fact they are triple printed takes the zeal out of them to me. Boring set and now that I own one, the least binder that I go and grab to look at.



Hope this thread keeps going...love seeing everyones perspective!

[bobsbbcards]

Overrated: 1959 Topps (Sorry, Don). The player image is consigned to a small bullseye-type circle ("There he is! In that small circle! Yeah, right there!!") I also don't care for the e.e. cummings type lower-case lettering for the player's name. Names have capital letters! Deal with it!



Underrated: 1991 Topps (Sorry, everybody else). I only have the Desert Shield set, but if I squint real hard and try and pretend that there isn't a picture of a palm tree on the front of my card, I can sort of intuit what the regular issue set might look like. Gorgeous! There's a nice mix of action photos and non-action photos (can't think of a name for those).



Favorite: 1969 Topps Supers. Nuff said.



Least Favorite: 1958 Topps and 1973 Topps (it's a tie). Ick.

[ALR-bishop]

You were doing real well Bob until the 1959 nonsense. Wait until Don catches up with you in Chicago.

I am a fan of 1991. How many cards would it take to have a master 1991 Topps set, including the Desert Shield cards ?

The 1969 Supers are indeed super. My 2nd favorite Topps set

[bobsbbcards]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

How many cards would it take to have a master 1991 Topps set, including the Desert Shield cards ?

Over 9,000.

[ALR-bishop]

Close

[BillP]

Overrated 1961 plain design. Underrated 1953 topps. Least fav again 1961. Favorite tough call 1967.

[smellthegum]

Overrated - 1952 Topps. Bad artwork that is hopelessly lost somewhere between the worlds of photo and illustration so is really neither. Horrendous production quality, even for the day. Rides high primarily on strength of a single overrated card of an overrated player.

Underrated - No nominee here

Favorite - 1967 Topps. I love the clean design, quality of the photos, star and rookie selection, and even the challenging high numbers.

Least favorite - 3-way tie between Topps 1958 (just plain boring and ugly) & 1960 (someone with no notion of typography ate a box of crayons then vomited them up as this baseball card design (sorry 1960 lovers!)) and any Heritage-type or reprint set (the ultimate lazy design copout. Nothing more incongruous, uncreative, and unsurprising than placing modern photos on retread designs from a completely different era)