Remember the card you needed to complete a set,series?

metsfan

It was 1973, my first year collecting (bought some in 1972, but not many). Cards came in series those days, so I completed the first series, completed the 2nd series( or so I thought!). Looked back at my trusty checklist, and lo and behold I was missing #242 George Culver!

What to do? Don't want to buy packs for 1 card. Who the heck is George Culver anyway? So find out my friend Chris has the card. Ok, wanna trade me for it? nope he says, I'll flip you for it. When we used to flip cards we had to match colors by turning the cards over. Can't really remember how it worked, but it was fun.

So we flip, and I win! Finally completed 2 series of 1973 Topps. When I look at the card its really beat, for some reason thought it had about 50 creases, almost like he folded it, and put it in his pocket! My cards were in decent shape, so I wanted a better George Culver! Got a better condition card years later.

Decided to look through my collection and see if I still had the card, sure enough I do! The card isn't in great shape, but not nearly as bad as I thought. Pretty sure its the same card.George Culver

Now I'm thinking of collecting George Culver cards! Will have to look up his stats. Would love to hear everyone's storys.

alifaxwa2

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Back in 1997 when Star Wars (the originals, not the POS prequels) came back into theatre I got into the Star Wars CCG. It took me forever to get my hands on the last card.....'Red Leader' from the final battle in A New Hope. For some reason, that card was not easy to find among the few dozen collectors at the local Comic Store. I had a much easier time getting the Darth Vader I needed, than Red Leader.

41GoudeyGuy

I remember it like it was yesterday. I had been working on the T206 set for several years. The basic 520 cards came pretty easily although not cheaply. Picking up the Plank, Magie and Doyle were tough and the condition wasn't what I had hoped for when I started the set but that left me just one card short. Wagner. It took a couple of years to pick up my beat up copy but I finally got one. A couple had sold in the interim but I didn't have enough money saved up yet. But finally, it happened. I was able to pull the trigger and pick up that 524th card and comlete my T206 set.

Oh wait, I'm projecting into the future again aren't I. Well, I imagine it will happen that way.

Real story is I picked up a near set of 1968 Topps Poster inserts but was missing one poster. Mac Scarce. You can imagine the idiot comments as I kept looking for that damn insert. "Boy, that sure is a SCARCE one!! HA HA HA!!". Well, I finally got that insert and how have that set fished off.

Bkritz

The year was 1980. I was 8 years old. I tried and tried to complete my 1980 topps set, but was missing three cards - Terry Forster, Robin Yount, and Adrian Devine. Time passed, and soon it was 1981. Now, I had three sets to collect, topps, fleer and donruss. The 1980 topps set remained incomplete.

Around 1982, my mom was cleaning out a kitchen cabinet. She uncovered a wax pack of 1980 topps. She used to keep packs there for me as presents, and must have forgotten about that one. She presented the pack to me. I opened it! Who did I get? Among 12 others unmemorable cards were Terry Forster, Robin Yount, and Adrian Devine. Thanks, Mom!

nam812

<< <i>......Among 12 others unmemorable cards were Terry Forster, Robin Yount, and Adrian Devine......... >>





Just kidding since that may have really happened. I just wanted to use my BS flag.

jackstraw

1976 and we (2 friends in the neighborhood) bought alot of cards that year. By the end of the summer we
needed Chris Chambliss, Danny Frisella and Brent Strom.

PaulMaul

1974 was the first year I was really into baseball cards. I had a few '73's, but until early '74 I was obsessed with Wacky Packages only.

I bought and bought and bought '74 packs. I still have all the dupes. 17 Merv Rettenmund traded cards. In fact I have a 500-count box filled with dupes of just traded cards.

The one card I could never get was Jim Campanis. I finally wrote a letter to Topps asking them to send me the card. I have heard so many similar stories where Topps refused such requests but I must have lucked into a generous soul because I actually received the card in the mail! Imagine my reaction.

I started ordering complete sets from Renata Galasso in 1975 at age 9. In fact I even visited her factory, which I lived within walking distance of in Brooklyn.

NickM

1982 was the first year I collected. After lots of packs, I was missing 1 card: #81, Jim Palmer In Action. I had put together a complete sticker set by that point, and had up to 7 of some other cards, but still no Palmer IA. I finally did get it, after getting several more rack packs and more wax packs, but by that time, Palmer IA and one common were the only cards I was missing to complete a second set, and I was only about 10 cards short of a third set.

Nick

Ironmanfan

The first set I ever put together from packs was the 1976T baseball set and the last card I needed was Bruce Balaz of the Angels (I'll never forget as well)

jivan

for me it was the year 1973.. myself and 2 friends were collecting basketball cards.. all 3 of us had full set minus the debusschere and erving cards.. how odd is that???? we kept buying till we got em.. i think (not sure) both cards were in same pack..

cwazzy

The first set that I put together on my own was 1990-1991 Hoops basketball. I'm not sure why I chose a basketball product but I did (and followed that up with Skybox from the same year LOL). I remember opening at least 2 full boxes and still didn't pull a Danny Ferry. I finally had to break down and buy it from a local shop.

alnavman

Mantle, Rose, Mays, all were plentiful, but I couldn't open a pack and find card #81 Ray Oyler.....you could trade all three for one Oyler....if someone else had him...the year was 1966 and for some reason no matter how many packs I opened I could not get Ray.....

lucasj

1988 Topps Darnell Coles. i remember finally getting it out of a wax pack from the supervalue and feeling like i had just won the lottery. man, i wanna be 10 again.

markj111

<< <i>Mantle, Rose, Mays, all were plentiful, but I couldn't open a pack and find card #81 Ray Oyler.....you could trade all three for one Oyler....if someone else had him...the year was 1966 and for some reason no matter how many packs I opened I could not get Ray..... >>




The 66 Oyler is a tough card-$50+ in PSA 8.

Bkritz

I love the BS Flag, Nam!

It actually did happen tho!

B

brian26

'85 Fleer Baseball....David Green (St. Louis)

benderbroeth

<< <i>The first set that I put together on my own was 1990-1991 Hoops basketball. I'm not sure why I chose a basketball product but I did (and followed that up with Skybox from the same year LOL). I remember opening at least 2 full boxes and still didn't pull a Danny Ferry. I finally had to break down and buy it from a local shop. >>



mine was #200 i believe skybox mark bryant.

MeteoriteGuy

I tried putting together the E.T. Topps card set buying rack packs at the local gas station. I tried putting together a couple of the yearbook stickers...and a couple of the non-sport ones buying piles of the cheap packs at the grocery store. But it was after school one day in 1985 that I completed my first set, Garbage Pail Kids Series 1.

From the moment we discovered them, me and a few classmates would walk to the 7-11 about a mile from the school (in the opposite direction from home of course) and pick up a few packs. The next day we would bring all our cards to school and trade for ones we were missing. Can't remember if everyone completed theirs, but I was the second in the group. We were just as excited about the second series when it came out, but I don't really remember anyone bringing any later to school. By then, I had moved onto sport cards.

HoofHearted

<< <i>I started ordering complete sets from Renata Galasso in 1975 at age 9. In fact I even visited her factory, which I lived within walking distance of in Brooklyn. >>



I ordered stuff from Renata Galasso magazines (see below). I'm sure I got her address from Sports Collectors Digest at the time. Good memories!

alnavman

<< <i>

<< <i>Mantle, Rose, Mays, all were plentiful, but I couldn't open a pack and find card #81 Ray Oyler.....you could trade all three for one Oyler....if someone else had him...the year was 1966 and for some reason no matter how many packs I opened I could not get Ray..... >>




The 66 Oyler is a tough card-$50+ in PSA 8. >>



WOW, back in 1966 it must have been the start of rarity for this light hitting tiger.....he was a tough pull, at least for me back then...

alnavman

<< <i>

<< <i>I started ordering complete sets from Renata Galasso in 1975 at age 9. In fact I even visited her factory, which I lived within walking distance of in Brooklyn. >>



I ordered stuff from Renata Galasso magazines (see below). I'm sure I got her address from Sports Collectors Digest at the time. Good memories!

>>



I used to purchase my sets from Renata back in the 70's also....I still have an autographed Willie Mays poster from her....if my memory is correct it was a freebie if you were one of the first 1000 to order your set...when my daughter gets home I'll have to borrow her digital camera and take a snapshot of it...nice poster that is number 5/1000.

prscott933

<< <i>1988 Topps Darnell Coles. i remember finally getting it out of a wax pack from the supervalue and feeling like i had just won the lottery. man, i wanna be 10 again. >>



Mine too was 1988 Topps and the player was Tim Conroy. This card STILL catches my eye when flipping through old commons! What made it worse was that I was/am a Cardinals fan and it sucked that I couldn't get the team set.