All Time Rushing Leaders Set
envoy98
Posts: 4,000 ✭✭
I am finally taking the plunge and trying my hand at a smaller set to see if I get excited enough about to pursue larger sets. Between Chad's Finest Dorsett set and the article in SMR, I finally decided to give it a try. I have to pay for a wedding this month so no $$$ (Bad time to start a set I suppose) but I was wondering if there are any things I should really look out for when looking at a raw version of any of the cards, as well as potential crossover successes/failures I should be aware. Lastly, if anyone has any they've upgraded that they don't need anymore that they would be willing to sell cheaply or perhaps trade. My collection currently consists almost exclusively of modern...I know..boo...hiss. 
The 70's cards I'd like to get in a 5 or 6
80's 7-9
90's 8-10.
Some of them will require me selling a few other cards first, but to get the set started and least close to completion then I can worry about upgrading... Is that how most of you do it? Or do you start out trying to get the highest grade you can afford for a given card first and then upgrade later?
Any advice?
Thanks in advance. I look forward to learning a lot and hopefully I have a lot of fun with this...Of course my fiancee will probably hope I hate it and just give her all the $$$...god knows if I like I'll be pursuing a full baseball set..then she'll really flip out!
-Josh
The 70's cards I'd like to get in a 5 or 6
80's 7-9
90's 8-10.
Some of them will require me selling a few other cards first, but to get the set started and least close to completion then I can worry about upgrading... Is that how most of you do it? Or do you start out trying to get the highest grade you can afford for a given card first and then upgrade later?
Any advice?
Thanks in advance. I look forward to learning a lot and hopefully I have a lot of fun with this...Of course my fiancee will probably hope I hate it and just give her all the $$$...god knows if I like I'll be pursuing a full baseball set..then she'll really flip out!
-Josh
0
Comments
In general, you shouldn't have any problem finding cards in your target grades without having to buy raw. I know off the top of my head I have upgraded Riggins (8), Allen (9), Dickerson (9), and Faulk (9) cards if you want a starter lot.
Since I have a little time and I know the set pretty well, I'll go over it card by card.
Hornung: Easier than you might expect for a 1957 card, even up to PSA 8. Ones with nice eye appeal are a little tougher, but your target grade should be easy: about 90% of the 400 slabbed are PSA 5 or above. Print dots, poor color/gloss, and centering are usually the biggest detriments to eye appeal.
Brown: There are a ton out there, but most are ugly. Even most of the PSA 8's are ugly. There have been about 800 slabbed PSA 5 or greater, so you'll have no problem finding one. Wait for one without a diamond cut or print dots on the black background. If you care, make sure the comic on the back has not been exposed (it doesn't seem to affect the grade, but I prefer it without). With so many out there in each grade, you might as well wait for one high for the grade.
Sayers: No problem at all in 5+. Over 90% of the 600 slabbed are 5 or greater. Watch for centering and rough cuts (if rough cuts bother you).
Csonka: The first colored border in the set. Corner and edge wear are key here. Still, a ton out there in PSA 5+ (over 450 slabbed). You might want to up your target to 6 or 7 here, because with red borders a 5 can have nasty corners and 6's and 7's are still cheap.
Simpson: Again a ton out there in 5+ (over 500). Doesn't seem to come up on eBay as often as you might think for a pop that high. No particular condition issues immediately come to mind, just the typical centering and print dot problems of 70's Topps.
Riggins: Surprisingly tough. Centering mostly keep these down, but there are still a lot of 8's and under out there.
Harris: Also relatively tough. I see a lot of diamond cuts on this one for whatever reason. A 5 or 6 shouldn't be hard to find though.
Payton: One of the easiest card in the set to find graded, in any grade you desire. Even 10's come up frequently. There are over 2500 slabbed PSA 5 or higher
Dorsett: Tough in very high grade because of centering, but there are a lot of 65/35 and 60/40 PSA 8's out there. Hundreds.
Campbell: Another one that always has a diamond cut. There are gobs of them slabbed in your target grades, so wait for one with nice centering, it'll come along.
Anderson: DSL has the market cornered on slabbed Andersons. I think they submitted all but about 40 of them in pop report, and they trickle one out every few weeks. It's a very very cheap card in PSA 8 or less, usually less than grading fees. It used to be that 9's would run you $100 or more, but since the pop has gone up 10-fold prices have come way down. Not up for auction as often as most cards in the set, but demand is low so prices are too. Centering is a bear on '80s.
Allen: An easy card in PSA 9 or less. There are nearly 1000 PSA 8's which should run you about $10 (9's are more like $30-$35). Watch for centering, print dots, and corner wear on the weak '83 stock.
Dickerson: Similar to Allen, nearly 1000 8's and plentiful 9's. Prices are a smidge lower than Allen. Diamond cuts can be a problem as with many '84s.
Sanders: Easy in any grade. Over 400 PSA 10's out there, and over 12,000 slabbed overall! Centering is no problem, only corner wear usually keeps these from PSA 10.
Thomas: A little tough to find than Sanders, mostly because less have been submitted. I think the red borders are a little tougher than the green (Sanders) in '89 Score, but not appreciably. You should be able to find it in any grade you want without waiting long.
Smith: Again a huge pop, with over 5000 PSA 8's and 9's, and almost none below that. Doesn't come up for sale as often as the pop suggests now that the hype has died down, but still an easy card. Watch for wear on the dark edges and centering problems.
Watters: If you're happy with an 8-10, just buy one raw and submit it. It's an unpopular card so not many have been slabbed. If you don't mind waiting, 9's and 10's do come up occasionally and are dirt cheap.
Bettis: Tough card! You wouldn't think it looking at the set list, but this is one of the tougher cards in the set in high grade. As a matter of fact, this is the only card in the set whose pop has not increased in my target grade in the past year (8-9 for vintage, 9-10 for modern). There are only 25 9's and 2 10's, and the nines rarely become available. If you know where a 10 is, I'll give you a finders' fee
Faulk: A ton have been submitted, so even 10's are not hard to come by. 9's and 8's are cake. There are corner issues as with any 90's SP set, but the sheer volume of slabbed cards overcomes any condition problems.
Martin: Corners, corners, corners. And edges. With black top and bottom borders and gold side edges, any wear is magnified. 8's are not a problem, but above that it gets tougher. Not as tough as Bettis or George, but easier than Faulk.
George: The second-easiest of the 4 SP cards in the set. Again, corners and edges are key with a black left border and red foil the rest of the way around. 10's are scarce but anything else you should be able to find.
My fingers are cramping up, see ya
Joe
Zodiac - I agree with you.
That was one great read. Thanks Joe !
"How about a little fire Scarecrow ?"
Thank you so much! That was 5x the amount of info I expected to get out of the entire thread from all of the posts. I appreciate you taking the time to post so much info, it was a lot more than I expected. This is yet another reason CU has by far the best boards.
Now, about that "starter set" you might have...
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BigCrumbs! I made over $250 last year!
Chad
As for Joe, I'd say it's pretty hard to believe someone that would give that much info to a newbie isn't one of the good guys. That's again, why I say this is the best board around, hands down. By far the most honest, knowledgable and helpful people around.
I don't know if you saw my post on your thread about your Dorsett set, but congrats on that.
My eBay Store
BigCrumbs! I made over $250 last year!
Josh
Josh, good luck on the set. We always welcome new collectors to the fray. I often have some of these cards for sale on my website(link below) although my inventory is running low right now. I've sold a Simpson, Riggins, Harris, Payton, Allen, Anderson, Sanders, Watters and Faulk all from my website in the past 6 months. So keep an eye on it (majority of cards added on Sunday).
Best of luck,
Jason
according to my values and my needs. Nothing holds dominion over me, I stand alone as the ruler of my life.
Joe
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar PSA 7-10 12/17 70.59%
Barry Sanders PSA 9-10
Any graded PSA basketball stars Pre-1980