What are the most creative/unusual topical subsets you've seen/collected?

Estil

Okay, everyone knows about our resident 1989 Bill Ripken FF collector (I can't believe there were THAT MANY variations of that card) and I believe there was someone else here who collects factory miscut/misprinted cards (like cards that show 1/4 or so of another card, upside down or blank front or back, etc); what other really creative or unusual topical sets have you either seen, personally collect yourself, or have thought about doing? Here's some examples (but please keep it realistic):

* Ugly players
* Checklists (yes, collecting ONLY checklist cards; you'd be surprised at how challenging this one can be)
* Cards of players NOT in uniform and/or NOT in a ballpark setting. For example, the Dave Stewart/Nolan Ryan tux cards (1991 Stadium Club), and there's plenty of players in street clothes and/or non-ballpark settings in some of the Bowman sets.
* Cards with really interesting backgrounds (such as that one 1973 Topps card that has all those old cars)
* Cards with advertisements clearly shown (like the 1971 Topps Nolan Ryan w/ the RC ad and the 1989 Fleer Randy Johnson variation (one has the Marlboro ad, the other has it blacked out)
* Common cards featuring star players in the background or otherwise pictured alongside the common player
(that's all the topical set ideas I can think of right now)
* Players from your state/county/city/country (I did used to put all players born/lived in Kentucky in a seperate section)

Do NOT include things like single player collections, team sets, or complete sets; the focus on the more creative/unusual side of collecting. I think this could be quite an interesting topic! And of course, pics/scans of your own topical subsets would be especially welcome.

Barfvader

Along with the factory defects I also collect

Players with glasses (because I wear them)
Checklists
Commons with stars
Players with the same last name as mine

jmbkb4

I'll have to remove my post about 1995 Flair then.

dmatc

I don't know if this qualifies but I pulled these cards from different packs of
the same box years ago. I wasn't real happy about it at the time and almost
threw them out but they grew on me. I haven't seen anything quite like it
before or since. I now display them on the wall of my hobby room.

Blackborder

<< <i>* Cards with really interesting backgrounds (such as that one 1973 Topps card that has all those old cars)
>>

RedHeart54

I posted pics of them sometime ago but I've been collecting reverse negative errors (with the corrections) since the days of the 1990 Donruss Juan Gonzalez and Brian Downing rev negs.

shouldabeena10

I always get a kick out of seeing the listing on the set registry, from who ever it is that's collecting all the PSA 1's. I think he calls them "The worst possible set" ... or something like that.

I'd love to see some of those sets get completed over time.

Mike

1989FleerBillRipkencollector

Aside from the obvious I also collect errors that are "adult" in nature. Some are posted on the website and others on a ebay group named Adult Sport Cards Errors.

My boys have a binder of cards with funny names (non adult)

My sister and cousin used to collect cards of players that were cute. They have alot of Jeter rookies.

I used to collect stars in the background in the late 80's cus Beckett said it was a good investment.

I used to collect players that were from my town. Bakersfield.

Allen

can anyone link me to that PSA 1 Collection? I couldn't find it.

ROCKDJRW

I have considerd collecting every Pro Set card put out. Not just football but EVERY set..Bill & Ted, Indiana jones etc and even every Pro Set Gazette magazine. I was one of the dumb arses that collected 1989 Pro Set football and passed on those Score factory sets for $14. Maybe one day I will still do this as it won't be that expensive but that would be ALOT of worthless cardboard.

Estil

I'm not sure if collecting all the Pro Set cards would count as a topical subset (sounds to me like its no different than a run of Donruss or Topps sets), but I gotta ask; what is wrong with Pro Set cards? Even if they were mass produced like most early 90s products, they seem like perfectly good looking football cards to me. Also, wasn't there a football set from 1991 that instead of gum, was packaged with candy canes?

calaban7

I have a set amoung a few that I'm collecting for my sons and of course myself , called The Grave Yard for 1984 Topps ***Hall of Shame ***, which consist mainly of bad cards from my own submissions and some trades for others. For some I have in the detail column " LOW POP !!!! ". Its fun, but I'm not going to go out of my way to create or spend my way to completion. Its still fun ,though.

I really like my better sets much more, but it still fun to bottom feed looking for cards lying on the bottom.

MeteoriteGuy

"The Grave Yard for 1984 Topps ***Hall of Shame ***"

You have a pretty good collection going.....it has been fighting to stay above me in the registry, currently we are tied. I better pick up a few more 10's.....it's pretty bad when the hall of shame keeps over taking me.

Mark