Mike D's 1977 Topps Binder Project

[Mike D.]

Up next:

289 Gene Garber
290 Amos Otis
291 Jason Thompson RC
292 Rogelio Moret
293 Jack Brohamer
294 George Medich
295 Gary Carter
296 Don Hood
297 Ken Reitz

295 Gary Carter is an upgrade candidate.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Passing 300:

298 Charlie Hough
299 Otto Velez
300 Jerry Koosman
301 Toby Harrah
302 Mike Garman
303 Gene Tenace
304 Jim Hughes
305 Mickey Rivers
306 Rick Waits

299 Otto Velez and 301 Toby Harrah are missing. 303 Gene Tenace and 305 Mickey Rivers are upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next batch:

307 Gary Sutherland
308 Gene Pentz RC
309 Boston Red Sox CL
310 Larry Bowa
311 Vern Ruhle
312 Rob Belloir RC
313 Paul Blair
314 Steve Mingori
315 Dave Chalk

309 Boston Red Sox CL is missing (hard to tell from this photo as the card behind shows through).

311 Vern Ruhle, 313 Paul Blair, and 314 Steve Mingori all could use upgrades.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Next:

316 Steve Rodgers
317 Kurt Bevacqua
318 Duffy Dyer
319 Rich Gossage
320 Ken Griffey
321 Dave Goltz
322 Bill Russell
323 Larry Lintz
324 John Curtis

All 9 are here. 317 Kurt Bevacqua and 322 Bill Russell are upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Sold an extra lower grade extra #144 Bruce Sutter RC for $1.99 via eBay auction.

Total spent on binder set: $185.06
Total Reclaimed: $1.99

[Mike D.]

Since I started with such a larger number of cards, I have a lot of dups.

To make the project just a little more fun, I figured I'd go through the dups and send some TTM (through the mail) autograph requests.

I used to send 300-500 TTM requests a year and it was a big part of my collecting...at my high water mark, I had over 3,000 autographed cards. I hadn't sent any requests in about 3 years, and have been slowly liquidating some of my autographed cards.

That being said, it's a great way to turn commons into something interesting and a lot of players from the 70's sign.

I renewed by subscription to http://www.sportscollectors.net/ (inexpensive and well worth it) and figured I'd send some requests, starting with cards I have multiple duplicates of. I'll offer the players extras...we'll see if they take me up on it.

Anyway, the first request I sent and my first success was Doug Rader, who signed 4 cards, with the the cards making the round trip in a mere 9 days.



Total spent on binder set: $185.06
Total Reclaimed: $1.99
TTM Successes: 1

[Mike D.]

The next group:

325 Mike Ivie
326 Jesse Jefferson
327 Houston Astros CL
328 Tommy Boggs
329 Ron Hodges
330 George Hendrick
331 Jim Colborn
332 Elliott Maddox
333 Paul Reuschel

All cards are present. 327 Houston Astros CL could use an upgrade.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Another TTM success today, from Luis Gomez (#13).

I sent 4 cards and offered extras. I gotta say, I love the result:



Kept a couple extras for his grandkids? Love it!

Total spent on binder set: $185.06
Total Reclaimed: $1.99
TTM Successes: 2

[Elberson]

I look forward to your postings. I just picked up the set from eBay for 150.00 shipped in nrmt. Condition. It was missing the Dawson, Murphy and Ryan. Which I picked all three up for under 30.00. I was going to build the set from picking up lots but just gave in lol. The 1973 set is next for me, good luck with the journey, that’s the fun part

[Mike D.]

Originally Posted by Elberson

I look forward to your postings. I just picked up the set from eBay for 150.00 shipped in nrmt. Condition. It was missing the Dawson, Murphy and Ryan. Which I picked all three up for under 30.00. I was going to build the set from picking up lots but just gave in lol. The 1973 set is next for me, good luck with the journey, that’s the fun part

Thank you! It's been a fun journey so far!

Yes, I've certainly found that some of these late 70's sets are actually cheaper to buy in complete set form than to put them together (I got offered a complete set for less than I've spent already), but it's really about the journey, not the destination.

[Mike D.]

The next group:

334 Bill Stein
335 Bill Robinson
336 Denny Doyle
337 Ron Schueler
338 Dave Duncan
339 Adrian Devine
340 Hal McRae
341 Joe Kerrigan RC
342 Jerry Remy

All here, and no obvious upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next group:

343 Ed Halicki
344 Brian Downing
345 Reggie Smith
346 Bill Singer
347 George Foster
348 Brent Strom
349 Jim Holt
350 Larry Dierker
351 Jim Sundberg

All cards are here and no obvious upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next 9:

352 Mike Phillips
353 Stan Thomas
354 Pittsburgh Pirates CL
355 Lou Brock
356 Checklist 265-396
357 Tim McCarver
358 Tom House
359 Willie Randolph
360 Rick Monday

354 Pittsburgh Pirates CL is missing.

352, 353, 355, 356, 358, and 360 all could use an upgrade, making this a less than stellar lot.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Another TTM success today, this time including a couple of cards from my 1976 Topps project.

Fred Stanley 4/4 in 12 days.

[Mike D.]

The next batch:

361 Eduardo Rodriguez
362 Tommy Davis
363 Dave Roberts
364 Vic Correll
365 Mike Torrez
366 Ted Sizemore
367 Dave Hamilton
368 Mike Jorgensen
369 Terry Humphrey

All here. 363 Dave Roberts, 364 Vic Correll, and 366 Ted Sizemore are upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next batch:

370 John Montefusco
371 Whitey Herzog
372 Rick Folkers
373 Bert Campaneris
374 Kent Tekulve
375 Larry Hisle
376 Nino Espinosa
377 Dave McKay
378 Jim Umbarger

371 Whitey Herzog is missing. 373 Bert Campaneris could use an upgrade.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next batch:

379 Larry Cox
380 Lee May
381 Bob Forsch
382 Charlie Moore
383 Stan Bahnsen
384 Darrel Chaney
385 Dave LaRoche
386 Manny Mota
387 New York Yankees CL

387 New York Yankees CL is missing. 380 Lee May, 383 Stan Bahnsen, and 384 Darrel Chaney are all upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Sold a 100 card lot of VG 1977 Topps dups on eBay this weekend for $4.49 plus shipping. I'll probably get some more similar lots listed in the coming weeks.

Total spent on binder set: $185.06
Total Reclaimed: $6.48
TTM Successes: 3

[Mike D.]

The next batch:

388 Terry Harmon
389 Ken Kravec
390 Dave Winfield
391 Dan Warthen
392 Phil Roof
393 John Lowenstein
394 Bill Laxton
395 Manny Trillo
396 Tom Murphy

391 Dan Warthen is missing. 393 John Lowenstein could use an upgrade.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Heading past 400:

397 Larry Herndon RC
398 Tom Burgmeier
399 Bruce Boisclair RC
400 Steve Garvey
401 Mickey Scott
402 Tommy Helms
403 Tom Grieve
404 Eric Rasmussen RC
405 Claudell Washington

400 Steve Garvey is missing. 405 Claudell Washington could use an upgrade.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Up next:

406 Tim Johnson
407 Dave Freisleben
408 Cesar Tovar
409 Pete Broberg
410 Willie Montanez
411 World Series Morgan/Bench
412 World Series Johnny Bench
413 World Series Cincy Wins
414 Tommy Harper

413 World Series Cincy Wins is missing. 409 Pete Broberg and 414 Tommy Harper are upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next batch:

415 Jay Johnstone
416 Chuck Hartenstein
417 Wayne Garrett
418 Chicago White Sox CL
419 Steve Swisher
420 Rusty Staub
421 Doug Rau
422 Freddie Patek
423 Gary Lavelle

The batch is all here. 418 Chicago White Sox CL, 419 Steve Swisher, and 420 Rusty Staub.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Up next:

424 Steve Brye
425 Joe Torre
426 Dick Drago
427 Dave Rader
428 Texas Rangers CL
429 Ken Boswell
430 Fergie Jenkins
431 Dave Collins UER
432 Buzz Capra

428 Texas Rangers CL is missing. 429 Ken Boswell could use an upgrade.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next few:

433 Nate Colbert TBC
434 Carl Yastrzemski TBC
435 Maury Wills TBC
436 Bob Keegan TBC
437 Ralph Kiner TBC
438 Marty Perez
439 Gorman Thomas
440 Jon Matlack
441 Larvell Blanks

434 Carl Yastrzemski TBC is missing. All the rest other than 441 Larvell Blanks could use an upgrade.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Running up to 450:

442 Dave Bristol
443 Lamar Johnson
444 Wayne Twitchell
445 Ken Singleton
446 Bill Bonham
447 Jerry Turner
448 Ellie Rodriguez
449 Al Fitzmorris
450 Pete Rose

450 Pete Rose is missing - I'd have bet it would be

443 Lamar Johnson and 444 Wayne Twitchell could use upgrades.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next group:

451 Checklist 397-528
452 Mike Caldwell
453 Pedro Garcia
454 Andy Etchebarren
455 Rick Wise
456 Leon Roberts
457 Steve Luebber
458 Leo Foster
459 Steve Foucault

451 Checklist 397-528 is missing. 454 Andy Etchebarren and 455 Rick Wise are upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Up next:

460 Willie Stargell
461 Dick Tidrow
462 Don Baylor
463 Jamie Quirk
464 Randy Moffitt
465 Rico Carty
466 Fred Holdsworth
467 Philadelphia Phillies CL
468 Ramon Hernandez

465 Rico Carty and 467 Philadelphia Phillies CL are missing. 460 Willie Stargell could use an upgrade.


The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Picked up a graded Yaz today:



$31.02 delivered.

Total spent on binder set: $185.06
Total Reclaimed: $6.48
Total Spent on Graded: $31.02
TTM Successes: 3

[Mike D.]

Next:

469 Pat Kelly
470 Ted Simmons
471 Del Unser
472 Rookie Pitchers
473 Rookie OF Andre Dawson
474 Rookie Shortstops
475 Rookie Pitchers
476 Rookie C D Murphy/Cerone
477 Rookie Infielders

Ugh.

Missing are:

473 Rookie OF Andre Dawson
474 Rookie Shortstops
475 Rookie Pitchers
476 Rookie C D Murphy/Cerone
477 Rookie Infielders

Also, 471 Del Unser could use an upgrade .

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next batch:

478 Rookei Pitchers
479 Rookie Outfielders
480 Carl Yastrzemski
481 Roger Metzge
482 Tony Solaita
483 Richie Zisk
484 Burt Hooton
485 Roy White
486 Ed Bane

485 Roy White is missing. 478 Rookei Pitchers, 479 Rookie Outfielders, 480 Carl Yastrzemski, and 484 Burt Hooton all could use upgrades.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Next:

487 Rookie Pitchers
488 Rookie Outfielders
489 Rookie Pitchers
490 Rookie Shortstops
491 Dennis Martinez
492 Rookie Outfielders
493 Rookie Pitchers
494 Rookie Infielders
495 Al Hrabosky

488 Rookie Outfielders, 489 Rookie Pitchers, 490 Rookie Shortstops, and 495 Al Hrabosky are missing. All the other are upgrade candidates. Blah.

The cards:

[Mike D.]

Passing 500:

496 Gary Thomasson
497 Clay Carroll
498 Sal Bando
499 Pablo Torrealba
500 Dave Kingman
501 Jim Bibby
502 Randy Hundley
503 Bill Lee
504 Tom Lasorda

500 Dave Kingman, 502 Randy Hundley, and 504 Tom Lasorda are all missing.

498 Sal Bando and 503 Bill Lee could use upgrades.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next batch:

505 Oscar Gamble
506 Steve Grilli
507 Mike Hegan
508 Dave Pagan
509 Cookie Rojas
510 John Candelaria
511 Bill Fahey
512 Jack Billingham
513 Jerry Terrell

All 9 are here. 511 Bill Fahey could use an upgrade.

The cards:



The dups:

[Phil68]

Originally Posted by Mike D.

The next batch:

505 Oscar Gamble
506 Steve Grilli
507 Mike Hegan
508 Dave Pagan
509 Cookie Rojas
510 John Candelaria
511 Bill Fahey
512 Jack Billingham
513 Jerry Terrell

All 9 are here. 511 Bill Fahey could use an upgrade.

The cards:



The dups:

Candelaria is one of the truly toughest cards in the set. There's a gross PSA 10 on eBay right now that is closer to NM than Gem, but that card is brutally tough. For reasons unknown, the White Sox and Pirates are the toughest cards. One theory is the incidental sheet placement and overspray issues upon re-inking...but it doesn't explain the focus, registration shifts.
What cards are giving you the most problems?

[Phil68]

Originally Posted by Mike D.

Thank you! The card stock on the 77's is pretty thin...these are tougher than I expected.

Much tougher

[mrmopar]

I was one year late in being able to collect these as they were issued. I have always loved this set design, the action shots, the All Star banners, the turn back the clocks, etc. This set also provides the best looking Steve Garvey card ever, in my opinion.

Staub, Fisk, Garvey, Templeton, Tanana, Rose, Fidrych, R. Smith, M. Marshall and C. Morton are a handful that stick in my mind as cardboard greatness.

[Mike D.]

Originally Posted by Phil68

Candelaria is one of the truly toughest cards in the set. There's a gross PSA 10 on eBay right now that is closer to NM than Gem, but that card is brutally tough. For reasons unknown, the White Sox and Pirates are the toughest cards. One theory is the incidental sheet placement and overspray issues upon re-inking...but it doesn't explain the focus, registration shifts.
What cards are giving you the most problems?

I started with a LOT of cards, but I am still finding a LOT of gaps. No specific cards are an issue...yet. I'm just not that far...but the thin paper, bad centering, and other production issues are making this set a bit more of a challenge than I expected!

[Mike D.]

Originally Posted by mrmopar

I was one year late in being able to collect these as they were issued. I have always loved this set design, the action shots, the All Star banners, the turn back the clocks, etc. This set also provides the best looking Steve Garvey card ever, in my opinion.

Staub, Fisk, Garvey, Templeton, Tanana, Rose, Fidrych, R. Smith, M. Marshall and C. Morton are a handful that stick in my mind as cardboard greatness.

Yeah, despite the production issues with card stock, centering, and print/registration...some of the cards are just beautiful.

I also like the design...it feels to me what someone who knows next to nothing about baseball cards would describe a baseball card as looking like.

[Mike D.]

Next:

514 Cliff Johnson
515 Chris Speier
516 Bake McBride
517 Pete Vuckovich RC
518 Chicago Cubs CL
519 Don Kirkwood
520 Garry Maddox
521 Bob Grich
522 Enzo Hernandez

This lot is all here. 514 Cliff Johnson and 515 Chris Speier need upgrades.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next batch:

523 Rollie Fingers
524 Rowland Office
525 Dennis Eckersley
526 Larry Parrish
527 Dan Meyer
528 Bill Castro
529 Jim Essian RC
530 Rick Reuschel
531 Lyman Bostock

Wow, lots of career saves covered in this lot!

All nine are here. 523 Rollie Fingers, 525 Dennis Eckersley, 528 Bill Castro,
529 Jim Essian RC, and 531 Lyman Bostock are all upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next batch:

532 Jim Willoughby
533 Mickey Stanley
534 Paul Splittorff
535 Cesar Geronimo
536 Vic Albury
537 Dave Roberts
538 Frank Taveras
539 Mike Wallace
540 Bob Watson

All 9 cards are here. 532 Jim Willoughby, 533 Mickey Stanley, 536 Vic Albury,
537 Dave Roberts, 538 Frank Taveras, and 539 Mike Wallace all need upgrades.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Up next:

541 John Denny
542 Frank Duffy
543 Ron Blomberg
544 Gary Ross
545 Bob Boone
546 Baltimore Orioles CL
547 Willie McCovey
548 Joel Youngblood
549 Jerry Royster

543 Ron Blomberg and 547 Willie McCovey are missing. 546 Baltimore Orioles CL, 548 Joel Youngblood, and 549 Jerry Royster need upgrades.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Passing 550:

550 Randy Jones
551 Bill North
552 Pepe Mangual
553 Jack Heidemann
554 Bruce Kimm RC
555 Dan Ford
556 Doug Bird
557 Jerry White
558 Elias Sosa

554 Bruce Kimm RC is missing. 551 Bill Nort, 555 Dan Ford, 556 Doug Bird,
557 Jerry White, and 558 Elias Sosa need upgrades.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next group:

559 Alan Bannister
560 Dave Concepcion
561 Pete LaCock
562 Checklist 529-660
563 Bruce Kison
564 Alan Ashby
565 Mickey Lolich
566 Rick Miller
567 Enos Cabell

559 Alan Bannister, 562 Checklist 529-660, and 565 Mickey Lolich are missing. 563 Bruce Kison, 564 Alan Ashby, 566 Rick Miller, and 567 Enos Cabell could use upgrades.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next few:

568 Carlos May
569 Jim Lonborg
570 Bobby Bonds
571 Darrell Evans
572 Ross Grimsley
573 Joe Ferguson
574 Aurelio Rodriguez
575 Dick Ruthven
576 Fred Kendall

570 Bobby Bonds is missing. 568 Carlos May, 569 Jim Lonborg, 573 Joe Ferguson, 575 Dick Ruthven, and 576 Fred Kendall all need upgrades.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next nine:

577 Jerry Augustine
578 Bob Randall RC
579 Don Carrithers
580 George Brett
581 Pedro Borbon
582 Ed Kirkpatrick
583 Paul Lindblad
584 Ed Goodson
585 Rick Burleson

All 9 are present. 582 Ed Kirkpatrick and 585 Rick Burleson could use upgrades.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Rolling along:

586 Steve Renko
587 Rick Baldwin
588 Dave Moates
589 Mike Cosgrove
590 Buddy Bell
591 Chris Arnold
592 Dan Briggs
593 Dennis Blair
594 Biff Pocoroba

587 Rick Baldwin, 588 Dave Moates, and 589 Mike Cosgrove are missing.

590 Buddy Bell and 594 Biff Pocoroba are upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Passing 600:

595 John Hiller
596 Jerry Martin
597 Mariners Coaches
598 Sparky Lyle
599 Mike Tyson
600 Jim Palmer
601 Mike Lum
602 Andy Hassler
603 Willie Davis

597 Mariners Coaches is missing. 596 Jerry Martin, 599 Mike Tyson, 601 Mike Lum, 602 Andy Hassler, and 603 Willie Davis all need upgrades.

Blah...thank goodness the 500's are OVER!

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next batch:

604 Jim Slaton
605 Felix Millan
606 Steve Braun
607 Larry Demery
608 Roy Howell
609 Jim Barr
610 Jose Cardenal
611 Dave Lemanczyk
612 Barry Foote

611 Dave Lemanczyk is missing. 607 Larry Demery and 612 Barry Foote need upgrades.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next group:

613 Reggie Cleveland
614 Greg Gross
615 Phil Niekro
616 Tommy Sandt
617 Bobby Darwin
618 Pat Dobson
619 Johnny Oates
620 Don Sutton
621 Detroit Tigers CL

621 Detroit Tigers CL is missing. 616 Tommy Sandt and 620 Don Sutton are upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups: