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Collecting in the 1970s and their cards

Here’s another one of those long reflective posts, this one looking back in collecting in the 1970s as kid. I came across a notebook that I did in 1977 that counted – by teams - all of the cards I had in my collection and it’s interesting to see how I built upon that and how I view those cards now.

I started collecting in 1970 when I was 10 years old and until 1978, I bought many wax and rack packs, and traded with my friends. The Big Red Machine were my favorite team throughout the 1970s and many of the trades were to get more Reds cards, as evident by having more Reds cards of those years than any other team. The 1970 cards, being my first year in collecting, still remain as my most favorite year – solely on nostalgic value (these include football and basketball, in addition to baseball). I think the 1971 cards of baseball and football are a close second. Then by the time I was 13, I was able to get more cards per year, peaking in 1975 where I ended up having several hundreds. In 1977, I did the unthinkable and bought a hand-collated set from a dealer who had an ad in TSN. Once I got that set, the joy left – not only because I was getting older but the fun was opening packs and trading. I bought a few packs in 1978 but like what many experienced, it was time to go to college and put my collection away.

In going through my notebook and trying to recall why I collected the way I did, I came up with a couple of things. First, I don’t think I cared too much about the design of the different years. When I first started in 1970 and 1971, I went through those cards over and over because they were a new experience and it’s probably why those 2 years stick in my mind as my favorites. But it could have been any year, whether I started in 1967 or in 1973. I believe my most important goal were 1) to get the cards of the team I love and 2) to get the cards of my favorite players. It really didn’t matter what year – a 1972 Willie Mays meant no more to me than a 1973 Mays – it was the player (or the team), not the year. It’s funny looking back now whereas I am critical of some of the poor or bland designs of most of the 1970s cards, it did not matter to me back then.

Moving ahead 5 years later to 1983. I graduated from college and was still a year away from grad school. It was then I stumbled upon the most evil thing ever to be associated with card collecting – a price guide! I knew I still had my cards from the 1970s but I viewed then as no differently than anything else I had kept around my parent’s house from my childhood. Now I had something in my possession that actually had monetary value. Coincidently, it was during that 5 year hiatus that the hobby/market radically changed. I was fortunate that where I lived (in North San Diego County), there was the oldest card store in the county and where I worked (in downtown San Diego), there was another very reputable dealer/store, as well as many SoCal shows that I could go to.

So what happened to my beloved 1970s cards? It seemed natural to me at the time to continue what I had been doing during the 1970s and that is to complete those sets. For the next 5 years, that’s exactly what I did (even through the poor 2 years of grad school). Of course, I started with 1970 and had that complete before I left for grad school in 1984, as well as got most of 1974 and 1976 done by trading away nearly all of the 1975 cards because they were in high demand at the time. By 1989, not only did I have 4 complete sets (1970, 1974, 1976 and 1977) but 2 very nearly complete sets as well (1971 and 1973). Back in 1983-84, I did buy/trade for quite a few 1972 cards with the intent of building a high-grade “mint” set because those cards look very sharp in great condition (unlike the bland years that were to follow). I think I did end up trading most of those away to complete my sets, just like I did with the 1975 cards.

It was 1989 when I stopped collecting again for not only was there a major lifestyle change for me but I felt I had did all I had wanted to do with my childhood collection. It is very common to for anyone who loves baseball (or sports) to look back at their childhood years with nostalgia, excitement and love for the teams and players (and cards) they followed. For me it happened to have been the early-mid 1970s (for others it was earlier or later). Even though I stopped collecting again in 1989, I did follow the “value” of my sets and collection for a few years and was content that I had something not only had high intangible value (some years I obviously loved better than others) but also had high tangible value. But then something happened.

The next time I checked was in 2002 and like my first hiatus, the hobby/market radically changed. I saw the tangible value of my sets and collection (talking about the 1970s cards, not all of the 1980s crap I bought) plummet. But it was more than that, I saw my favorite baseball years of the 1970s become a period of derision (free agency, strikes, drug use, bad hair, etc.) at the expense of the increasingly popular Golden Age (1946-1969) and the ever popular Modern Age (1980s/1990s to present). Not only did I perceive that 1970s baseball fell through a hole but the cards of that time did as well. That completely shocked me, seeing the likes of Bench, Schmidt, Carlton, etc. lose their interest and value (relatively speaking) while the older players of the Golden Age got even more popular and the rookie and star card phenomenon taking hold with the modern sets. But not all is lost because I still have my 1970 and 1971 sets and have been enjoying going through them like I did 30-35 years ago (they’re in varying condition so I can still *feel* the cards as I have always loved to do).

If I was to start from scratch (as I am doing with 1957 and 1963) and build sets of the 1970s, what would I do? I think it would be hard not to do something with 1970 and 1971. I think I would also do football for both years as well as basketball for 1970. As far as 1972, I have always had a fascination with that year. It is a very famous (or infamous) design but reading about those building the monster 72 set, I can fully understand and appreciate the appeal. I think the bright colors along with good sharp photographs make 1972 stand out as to something that would make a great looking set to build. I wouldn’t do a 1973 set again because I think the design is bland and the photo quality of many the cards is poor. (Even Topps admitted somewhere about the lack of attention and quality paid to the cards afer 1972.) Even though I still have my 1974 and 1976 sets, I think they suffer the same perception in my mind as to blandness and inferior quality. By the time you get to 1977 and 1978, I had lost interest in baseball somewhat and that still sticks in my mind. To me, the cards of the late 1970s and early 1980s do not stand out (not until you get to 1983) and I still have to think twice to tell the difference in the cards of those years. Then we have 1975. Even though that was my most popular collecting year of the 1970s, I still would have a hard time building that set. It’s not just that I gave up those cards for early on but there’s something about the mismatching color scheme that bothers me. 1972 definitely has clashing colors but somehow it works. I think the solid two tones of brown/green, red/brown, green/whatever makes it kinda hard to look at (in the same way people feel about bright solids of the late 1950s, or the woodie of 1962 or the burlap of 1968). So in the end, it’s back to where it all began, the years of 1970-1972 – if I were to re-build the sets of the 1970s. (By the way, this is a very long winded answer to why I chose 1972 as the last “vintage” year in that poll.)

I don’t think there is any real information here, just felt like typing something up. I know there are others here that love, for example, 1977 or 1978 for the exact same reason I love 1970 and 1971. Nothing wrong with that, I just was born a little too early to appreciate those years more. I also wanted to put my 2-cents in on 1972 since I still see that as a popular set to build and I can relate.

Comments

  • StingrayStingray Posts: 8,843 ✭✭✭
    That is a good read, we all enjoy certain years for a certain reason. I collected starting in 74, my older brother started in 71. After he moved out, he gave me all of his 71s, boy I hated those cards, that plain black border, blah. Then when 75 came out I was like wow these are wild, bright colors, really different. I did not care much for the 74s either they were a boring design I thought. I collected until 84 when it was time to go to college. Gave all those cards away to a neighborhood kid for Dale Murphy card. Now starting over with the 75s!? It is always interesting to hear why we collect what we do.

    Stingray
  • Stone193Stone193 Posts: 24,351 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>the most evil thing ever to be associated with card collecting – a price guide >>


    Very nice writeup Steve
    It's great to hear from the collectors - why we collect what we do. I'm with you on the price guide thing.
    I collected for years without a guide and just having checklists that were copied.

    If I had to do something different and more fun/challenging around 1985, was not to collect modern but jump back and collect turn of the century baseball. I used to look at stuff David Festberg had and just shake my head - who wants that old crap.

    Now, I collect more non-card items than ever. Pins, pics, autos, balls, bats, GU stuff etc.

    Thanx for sharing your thoughts
    one of the best threads of the month!
    mike
    Mike
  • cardfan07cardfan07 Posts: 680 ✭✭
    I just "found" an old beckett price guide from several years back. It has Jackie Robinson on the cover. I wish I could buy those cards at the listed prices now...but if I were a little older with some $$, I should have been buying that stuff then...rather than the junk from the late 80s. Ah well, what would I do with all those Mantle rookies anyway??

    I remember buying my first packs in 1980. I believe I was paying a quarter per pack and used to bug the crap out of my aunts, uncles, grandmother, etc for dollar bills. 4 packs, 4 sticks of gum and pure enjoyment of ripping those packs. I didn't think about the future worth of those cards or have an appreciation or dislike of the stuff that came before it. That changed a few years later as I started putting together my 85 topps set by hand, getting my first catalogs (Kit Young maybe??) in the mail, that I understood that there was more than the packs I had opened. Trading cards with friends, getting your favorite player or favorite team players in packs was all you needed.
    Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Tom Seaver, Mike Schmidt, George Brett, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock player collector
  • I think there will never be a more incredible feeling than opening up a pack of cards from the local Mom and Pop corner store or 5 and Dime for the first time of a new baseball year and contemplating the "new" design for the upcoming year. You would peek over at a local friend who was opening his pack, but purposely not look to close to spoil the suprise of sliding your thumb through the wax seal and then carefully shuffling through the first pack of the new year.....


  • << <i>I think the 1971 cards of baseball and football are a close second. Then by the time I was 13, I was able to get more cards per year, peaking in 1975 where I ended up having several hundreds. In 1977, I did the unthinkable and bought a hand-collated set from a dealer who had an ad in TSN. Once I got that set, the joy left – not only because I was getting older but the fun was opening packs and trading. >>



    You don't know how freakishly eerie this is for me to read.
    I too started in 1970, but whereas you were a BIG RED Machine fan, I was a BIG RED machine hater, and a Dodger fan. I intentionally passed up rack packs with Rose and Bench showing, in favor of ones with Don Sutton and Walt Alston showing.

    The really weird part is that I was thnking the exact same thing, today at work, about my first set purchase. For me it was 1973, and I think I got it through a Baseball Digest ad. But the result was the same...a long baseball season without the fun of opening packs.

    Even today, with some of the more modern sets I like, I find it more enjoyable to buy packs or boxes, and then fill in the remaining holes individually (if it's possible). Even though it would be much cheaper to just buy a hand collated set.

    I still collect, basically, the same way I did 35 years ago, only the way dealers operate have made me alter it slightly. You use to be able to take a wantlist to any shop or show, and scavenge through boxes and boxes of commons, not any more.

    Which leads me to ask, if the modern stuff is out there in such large quantities, how come it's nearly impossible to find? Even some of the modern boxes seem to be nowhere in sight.
    Football collector 1948-1995, Rams oddball cards & memorabilia, Diamond match.
    Cataloging all those pesky, unlisted 1963 Topps football color variations Updated 2/13/05
    image
  • tkd7tkd7 Posts: 1,799 ✭✭
    Hey Buccaneer-

    Same story here. I got into collecting cards in 1972. My dad and I would buy one rack pack a week while my mom went grocery shopping. I was 6 years old at the time. I looked forward to the new cards each year. By 1975, I was going to the local store and searching rack packs for the stars on top. Being a big Yankee fan, the holy grail was finding a Bobby Bonds in his new Yankee uniform. I remember pulling the MVP cards and thinking about all those years and how cool it would be to get those cards. I managed to put together a set of 1975 Topps, ranging in condition from excellent to awful. I didn't care if a card was miscut, I had the card.

    About that time, a card store opened up in the local mall. I remember bugging my dad to take me to the store on my birthday (March 25) to get a complete set of the new Topps set. I still have that set, its now in pages in a binder. That didn't kill my enthusiasm though. The card store had lots of old cards. I started collecting all the cards of my favorite players. I was collecting Seaver, Bench, Morgan, Yaz, Hunter, Perez, Rose, Maris, Carew and the like. I had a photo album and put them all in there. Never cared about condition, the cards weren't even priced by condition.

    Each year after that I bought a set of the new Topps series. What killed it for me was when Donruss and Fleer came in the picture. At first, all those extra sets were nice. But then there were the error cards (1981 Fleer) and factory sets (1982 Donruss) and it just got too hard to keep up on the player collections. I would buy a set of Topps cards for the season and that was that.

    Fast forward to 2005. I've gotten back into collecting in the last few years through ebay. What do I collect now? First I started on a set of white border unmailed linen and prelinen baseball stadium postcards (if anyone has a Griffith Stadium postcard, let me know. Its impossible to find). Then I started a collection of 1955 Red Man in PSA 6/7. I'm 60% there now. I think I did that to satisfy the childhood urge of "wouldn't it be cool to collect a set of cards from the 50's". I'm also working on a set of 1970 Kellogg's PSA 8/9 for no reason other than I think they are cool. Being a big Yankees fan, I've also started collecting game used uniform cards of Yankees. I have one for all the retired numbers now, plus some of the other stars. I love the idea of having a piece of an old timer's uniform (the magnetic holders are great for these cards). I've also put together of set of signed baseballs of living Yankee captains. My latest acquisition? I purchased off mlb.com a game used base from Yankee Stadium from a game I attended this year. The game of Derek Jeter's first grand slam. Why? Probably as a kid the thought of owning something from Yankee Stadium seemed so amazing that I had to satisfy that urge.

    I joined the PSA collectors club about a month ago to get some raw Red Mans graded that I purchased on ebay. I stumbled upon these boards in the process and was deathly afraid that I had gotten taken by some dealers selling me altered cards. Luckily all the Red Mans graded (one 7, four 6s including Mays, and one 5). My next submission was cards that I had purchased when I was a kid. Here is the list:

    1 12257494 1953 TOPPS 104 YOGI BERRA N/A 6
    2 12257495 1958 TOPPS 47 ROGER MARIS N/A 5
    3 12257496 1958 TOPPS 487 MICKEY MANTLE ALL STAR 5
    4 12257497 1958 TOPPS 488 HANK AARON ALL STAR 5
    5 12257498 1959 TOPPS 180 YOGI BERRA N/A 6
    6 12257499 1959 TOPPS 360 AL KALINE N/A 7
    7 12257500 1962 TOPPS 425 CARL YASTRZEMSKI N/A 5
    8 12257501 1964 TOPPS 125 PETE ROSE ALL-STAR ROOKIE 5
    9 12257502 1969 TOPPS 480 TOM SEAVER N/A 7
    10 12257503 1970 TOPPS 660 JOHNNY BENCH N/A 6
    11 12257504 1980 TOPPS 482 RICKEY HENDERSON N/A 7

    I can't buy a house with these cards, but they have a history with me that can't be replaced. I've had all of them for at least 25 years.

    After reading these boards, I might start a 1978 graded collection. It has all the players I remember and takes me back to one of my favorite times and seasons.

    So anyway, here is my vote for 1978. I've learned a lot about cards on here in the last couple of weeks. Pretty cool.

    ~Tom




  • Stone193Stone193 Posts: 24,351 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Some more great stories!

    Tom
    Ya might want to PM Dan aka Softparade on the 78T set - if you plan to do it in 9 or better, he will have good advice for you. One thing I can say - it will get expensive!

    Good luck
    mike
    Mike
  • nflhofnflhof Posts: 189 ✭✭
    Buying/Collecting Topps cards started for me in 1974. And I distinctly remember paying 10 cents a pack at the local Perry Drugs. Then the price changed to 15 cents a pack. If I took the packs to the cosmetic counter, the price was still 10 cents, the comsmetic ladies did not know about the price change. I only put together 3 years, 74-75 minis and 76. What a blast!
  • BuccaneerBuccaneer Posts: 1,794 ✭✭
    Here's a corollary. In the past couple of days, I have going through my cards of the 1970s and 1980s to find those that I can submit for the August special. The problem that I am seeing with my collection is that with the condition the baseball and football cards are in, there are way too many that are valued in the $4-8 range. Who keeps cards in true MINT condition for that long, esp. when condition wasn't as highly valued back then? Hopefully I'll have better luck with the many hundreds of star cards from the late 70s and early 80s but they're all in plastic snap-lid boxes so they can't be that great. Oh well...
  • tkd7tkd7 Posts: 1,799 ✭✭
    I hear you. In my mind my 1978 Topps set I purchased in 1978 was in perfect condition. I went through it last night and saw how many rough edges, diamond cuts, and print marks there were. That was in addition to my handling. I suppose it shows how much I liked the set that it had so much wear.
  • Buccneer,


    Damn, I appreciate your story. I really wish everyone would share at length as some point their experience. Your testimonial speaks to why we love cards. Everyone has their own story. I really loved reading yours. I will post mine at some point and I hope it is as good of a read and that others relate in a similar way. Way to go! You have to admit that the captivation/nostalgia associated with sportscards is pure magic.

    Damian
  • Great post that really hits home. I recently decided to focus my collecting efforts on building the sets I collected as a child (1982-1987 topps). I know several of these sets are very overproduced and have little monetary value, but these are the cards that have some real meaning to me. Every week during the baseball season (or at least when cards were available) my dad would buy me two packs for mowing the lawn. I think the drive to the little local grocery store on a Sunday afternoon or evening was one of the best parts. I laugh now when I realize that he was paying me 50-60 cents a week for mowing the lawn. Some how the two packs seemed like a lot more.

    I can remember during February and March going into the store hoping that the new season's packs would be available.

    I discovered the price guide in 3rd grade at the school book fair. There are several things I remember abou it. It had Pete Rose on the cover, the 52 Mantle booked for $4000 (I could not believe a card could be worth that much) and I think the book actually had a checklist in it. The checklist was much more interesting to me than the prices (although I just assumed that my cards must be in mint condition) and I used it to keep track of my cards.

    I spent hours looking at my cards, memorizing statistics of just about every player. Once (I must have been in 3rd or 4th grade) I was walking home from the school bus stop and this guy driving stopped and asked me if I knew who was born on Christmas. I responded with Rickey Henderson.

    Thanks for the post. It was a lot of fun to read.

    David
  • ctsoxfanctsoxfan Posts: 6,246 ✭✭
    Let me add another "nice post" to the list! Well done, Steve!

    I believe that many of us collect graded sets of the sets we once collected pack by pack, card by card, as kids. I know I do. A large part of the collecting experience for me is the memories associated with various cards. Even the sets that I collect now, that were issued before I was born, contain players that I knew and followed through and after their careers. It's always nice to hear another collector share his reasons for still being involved in this hobby today.
    image
  • BuccaneerBuccaneer Posts: 1,794 ✭✭
    This is so depressing. Since it's getting towards the end of the month, I just finished going through about 1200 star cards that I have from the 70s and 80s (all collected during that time frame). Do you know how many I found worth grading?

    11

    That's it, 11 freaking cards. 4 of them are mid-grade superstars (like 72 Staubach, 73 Schmidt) but the rest are stuff that came from unopened packs from long ago - mostly 1983 Topps. In other words, not a single card (save 7) I bought to complete all of those sets from the 70s and all of the stacks of stars from late 70s and into the late 80s is worth sending in.

    Why couldn't someone have told me about condition back then?
  • Stone193Stone193 Posts: 24,351 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Why couldn't someone have told me about condition back then? >>


    Steve
    In some ways that would've taken the fun out of it. I too collected right up to about 1992 without regard for centering. I probably overpaid for OC cards by today's standards.

    Let's face it - certain groups of people - "played" with their cards - that's why they were called playing cards - they had zero monetary value to a child.

    Now, of course, they did have "player" value - I would gladly trade Ted Williams for Duke Snider e.g.

    I think we should all put some of our experiences down here for discussion.

    I know this may piss off some people - but the "flow" of the board discussions this year has changed a bit and there seems to be a different "edge" to the discourse to a degree. Then again, it may be my own point of view is changing.

    The whole discussion of graded cards, pop reports and investments gets talked about in such a way that I feel like people are "over-thinking" the issues.

    The truth is that if someone posted about in depth hobby info involving a set, or a piece of memorabilia, it would get overlooked. Yet if someone got screwed on one grade point or something, it could spawn two days worth of discussion. I would hope the hobby is deeper than that.

    Well that's my take.
    Thanx for taking the time to talk about cards and the reason I enjoy them.
    mike
    Mike
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