Favorite set of each decade Football and Baseball 1950's thru 1980's

ClockworkAngel

I thought for fun we could pick out what is our favorite set from each decade based on eye appeal and design. I am going to start in the 50's and end in the 80's because in the 90's, well, there are about a million to choose from. And I am doing Football and Baseball only since they are by far the 2 most popular sports amongst hobbyists

Baseball

1950's
1957 Topps
I love the simplicity of the '57's as compared to most off the almost cartoonish stuff of the decade. A large, clear picture with a simple bio on the bottom. It's the first and only issue of the decade that really stood out to me amongst the others. I love the Mantle in this set and it's on my Bucket List in high grade.
Honorable Mention to the 1955's

1960's
1963 Topps by a landslide
These cards really come to life in front of you. I love the variations in coloring on the bottom half with an action B/W circular photo along with the portrait. I think this set does a little bit of everything without doing too much.

1970's
1971Topps
No shocker here as I imagine this would be a popular choice. The Black Beauties are gorgeous and the set I look for when searching for HOF high grade stars for my collection

1980's
1986 Donruss
Without a doubt, the most beautiful set ever produced IMO and also the most underrated. I remember at 12 years old when these came out I was amazed at the quality, glossyness, beautiful blue borders, etc. It just has a very classy feel to it that holds up to this day. The Canseco card was immediately the card to own and was an instant classic. Today, this set gets lost in the shuffle because of overproduction, but mainly because there just isn't any star power. Canseco is one of the most hated athletes in the world, which leaves us with no Hall of fame rookie cards unfortunately. Honorable mention to 1984 Donruss, 1985 Donruss, and 1987 Fleer, another gorgeous set. Topps lost it from 1984 on, but I quite like their 1983 Topps design, which brings back memories of 1963.

Football!
1950's
1956 Topps-Just because...not really crazy about any of the designs of the 4 years

1960's
1962 Topps-
Love it as much as the 1971 Baseball. The Black border just works. Great designs and action shots and portraits. All came together. Lots of good choices from the Large 65's to the 1969's and even the 1966's have a cool look to them

1970's
1971 Topps
Not a great decade for Topps football as most of these years were uninspired, boring, and looked like they were done with the least effort. I would pick 6 sets of the 60's over any of the 70's. I went with 1971 Topps just because I love the contrasting colors and as a Steeler fan having the Mean Joe Greene and Bradshaw RC's in there so hard to find nice makes it so appealing

1980's
1985 Topps
In case you haven't noticed I love the black border cards. Again, not much of a decade with the lack of competition Topps had, though it helped that Topps finally got the logo rights back in 1982. Ironically, the legendary Joe Montana rookie might be part of one of the worst sets Topps ever produced as 1981 Topps football has to be the most boring set ever

Hopefully this is something fun some of you are interested and the thread doesn't turn into overanalyzing, nitpicking, criticizing, and lame insults like too many threads seem to do

72skywalker

I will do baseball only because I don't collect much footbal.
1956 Topps- The design was great i thought.
1960 Topps- I liked the sideways design
1975 Topps- gotta love the colors
1981 Topps- Mostly because I bought so many as a kid and I like the hats on the side. i am sure others will disagree.

epatmythes

BASEBALL
1956 Topps - Absolutely love the design, the only vintage set that has been a constant staple of my collecting efforts
1965 Topps - Clean white bordes, dig the pennant design theme, one of the few vintage sets to me where the design just screams baseball
1971 Topps - Tough design decade, have to go with the eye popping black design
1987 Fleer - I simply like the cleanliness of the simple, blue bordered design... the cards just pop

FOOTBALL
1957 Topps - Interesting split design with action & portrait shots... doesn't hurt it that, as a Packers fan, it hosts RCs of Bart Starr & Paul Hornung
1968 Topps - Again, another slight Packers bias. The design overall is okay, not impressive, but I love the distintive design added to the SB teams (Packers & Raiders)
197X Topps - I really don't have a favorite from this decade... they all seem boring... like the Payton RC in 76, but wouldn't have any interest in collecting that set
1989 Score - Simple, clean design, HOF RC packed... close race with the 1986 Topps (love the green/white borders), but it's gotta be this set

PowderedH2O

Baseball: 1950's changes on a regular basis for me, but I am going to say that I love the wood grained beauties of 1955 Bowman the most.

1960's: Easy. 1963. Best baseball set ever.

1970's: 1976 - Something about the colors and the design have always attracted me to it.

1980's: 1985 Donruss. Those black borders with the hint of color, and the logos do it for me.

Football: 1951 Bowman is one of the finest sets ever made of any cards ever.

1960's: 1967 Topps has those cool colors and team names in the corners. Always a favorite of mine.

1970's: 1971 is gorgeous with the bright colors, cartoon figure in the corner, and the best backs ever.

1980's: 1989 Pro Set. Yeah, they aren't worth the cardboard they are printed on, but I was crazy about them when I saw them after years of crud from Topps.

Statman

For me -

Baseball
50's - 1956 - I always have loved this set and love the little action shots in the background. (runner-up - 1958)
60's - 1965 - my birth year, so maybe I'm partial (runner up - 1960 - love the 2 photos)
70's - easiest pick ever - 1972 - this is my most favorite set ever (runner up - 1970)
80's - 1983 (runner up - 1981)

Football
50's - 1956
60's - 1965 Tall Boys (runner up 1966)
70's - 1972 - good graphics (runner-up 1971)
80's - maybe 1988 - I don't really like the look of any 80's FB, though.

sayheykid54

My 1950's choice would be the 1953 Bowman Color. IMO this is one of the nicest sets of all-time.

BaltimoreYankee

Lots of love for '56 Topps on this board.

Here's mine (baseball only):
1950's: 1955 Topps (a little cleaner than '56). Also love '57
1960's : 1967 Going with a clean look. Love the large photo.
1970's: tie: 1971 for the black borders and 1975 (first set I ever put together, back in '75)
1980's: Taunt me folks, but 1987 Topps reminds me of the classic '62 set.

orioles93

Baseball
50s- 1959, love the colors and the design. First set ive put together 100%
60s- 1962, the wood borders look really nice in high grade.
70s- 1971, gotta go with the black borders. The cards really pop.
80s- 1984 Donruss, I love the whole design and simplicity of the cards. Great photos and the mattingly is a must have.

billwaltonsbeard

Baseball

50s - 1954 Topps
60s - 1963 Topps
70s - 1972 Topps
80s - 1980 Topps

ClockworkAngel

<< <i>
1970's: tie: 1971 for the black borders and 1975 (first set I ever put together, back in '75)
1980's: Taunt me folks, but 1987 Topps reminds me of the classic '62 set. >>



Yep, and don't forget the 1968 set. All 3 are very similar, yes?

Jakt

Baseball:
50s: 1953 - Classic look.
60s: 1968 - I just like it. So much that I'm building that set.
70s: 1973 - Some really great action shots this year.
80s: 1986 - The first year I really collected. The 80s version of the 71 set.

goraiders

Football
50's - 1951 Bowman
60's - 1965 Tall Boys -My favorite of them all
70's - 1972 - Love it!
80's - 1984-First set I put together as a kid,once traded 9 Jordan rcs. for 3 Dickersons Rc's.

Not even sure what baeball cards look like

bcubs

Football
59 Topps - Like all of the mugshots
69 Topps - The colors really make the player pics pop
77 Topps - The flag at the top with the team name screams 70's
84 Topps USFL - I wish Topps had been this creative with it's NFL issues, 85 USFl is a close 2nd

Baseball
57 Topps - Simple picture, not too much going on, what baseball used to be
67 Topps - Bright colors, good pictures
70 Topps - Have always loved the gray bordered cards and the backs are very easy to read
83 Donruss - That glove and bat across the bottom speak to me

mygotta

50's - I would say Topps 1952 set. I only own one card, but it has always been iconic for me.
60's - Topps 1967, I used to have a badly cut Rod Carew rookie. But I always like the design, very bold and simple. Plus I liked the feel of the card. Seemed smoother than other cards from around that time period and gave off a better print.
70's - It would be a toss up between Topps 75 and 77. I like them both for almost the same reason, the big letters on top. Makes for a simple design. The 75 has the two-tone border which I find attractive.
80's - I thought on this and I believe its 1985 Topps. Its when I really got into cards and every card looks great. Great border design and photos are dynamic and even iconic to me. The big cards that were released that year may have given some illusion that they were bigger than life cards as well. But I still love this set.

As for football -

I cant speak of the early sets, but I would say in general 1976 Topps and either Topps 85 or 86. 85 for its bold and simple black border design. 86 for its rookie crop.

ChiefsFan1st

I dont really collect baseball so I dont know much about different looks/years.
But with that said, the one set that pops out in my head as very cool looking
is 1988 Fleer(I think thats right, white borders with streaks of red and blue if
im remembering the right year)

Football

50's- 1955 Topps All American
60's- ? toss a coin
70's- Has to be 1972 Topps
80's- 1986 Topps, off the top of my head, cant think of any card from any sport
as cool looking as these!!

olb31

Football -

1957
1969 - this is probably my favorite football set of all-time
1971 - 2nd favorite
1987 - most of them very plain including this one

baseball -
1957
1963
1975
Tie 1987 Fleer and 1983 topps

CARDSANDCOINS

Baseball
1956
1969
1972
1980

Football
1955 Bowman
1962 Topps
1975 Topps
1986 Topps

Nathaniel1960

Baseball:
50s: 1958
60s: 1960
70s: 1972 OPC Set
80s: 1986 Donruss

Football
50s: 1952 Bowman Large
60s: 1962 (1966 close second)
70s: 1971
80s: 1986

SidePocket

Baseball -
56 followed by 59
63 followed by 61

57 and 67 are close 3rds

mcadams

50's: 1951 Bowman
60's: 1960 Topps
70's: 1977 Topps
80's: 1984 Donruss

I'm most surprised by how many people chose 86 Donruss over 84. The photography in 84 was soooo much better.

Juggs

Mine:

Baseball
58 Topps - love the close ups. Simple, clean, cool cards.
63 Topps - Awesome design and I love the floating head rookies.
73 Topps - My favorite set of all time. I loved the dark figures representing the different positions.
80 Topps - Beautiful set. I love the All-Star cards, specifically Steve Carlton, Jim Rice, and Steve Garvey.

Football
Didn't collect anything from the 50's and 60's, so I'll start with the 70's.
79 Topps - My favorite football set. The Payton, Dorsett, and Staubach cards are some of my favorite cards that I've ever seen.
82 Topps - I loved the design and many photos were sweet too. I could've easily have said the 81 set, which is a favorite of mine as well, but whenever I get the chance to buy 82's, I cannot resist.

ABellPharmD

Baseball

1950s - 57 Topps closely followed closely by the 51 Bowman
1960s - the 1960 Topps set always catches my eye, followed by the 1963 Topps set
1970s - 75 Topps followed by the 71 Topps set
1980s - I really like the design of the 1983 Topps set followed by the 1985 Fleer set. 1989 Upper Deck then just blew my mind.

AC000000

Baseball:

1950s: 1953 Bowman Color, but 1956 Topps is a real real close 2nd. The images on the Bowmans are amazing for the period. But I always loved the imagery on the 1956 Topps.
1960s: 1965 Topps. Great imagery, great design with the pennants and great players in the set.
1970s: 1975 Topps. Loved the color design.
1980s: 1984 Donruss. C'mon, it's the greatest and best set of the 80s.

Football:

1950s: 1955 Topps All-American
1960s: 1963 Topps
1970s: 1971 Topps
1980s: 1986 Topps

ClockworkAngel

I love 1984 Donruss. In fact, the run Donruss had from 1984-1986 was awesome. All 3 of those sets are gorgeous. 1984 gets a lot of love because it was considered the holy grail of collecting for so long, but 30 years later I think the 1986 issue is a tad better

recbball

Football:
1950s: 1955 Topps All-American
1960s: 1963 Topps
1970s: 1977 Topps
1980s: 1989 Pro Set