Have you ever finished off a set with a whimper?
 

A while back I finished off the Tom Barker Game Set (a great set with nice photos of plenty of HOF'ers). Was my last one Cobb, Wagner, perhaps a rookie card of Alexander or the infamous Joe Jackson? No, it was the rather pedestrian (or slidestrian) action card of Runner Sliding, Hugging Base.

Anyone else finish off a set with something mundane instead of a Hall of Famer, star player or short print?

Brian (pictured finisher not mine...way too nice)

I recall two "modern" sets that had cards that drove me crazy. In 1970, I had to wait until returning to school in the fall to find someone that had the 1970 Seattle Pilots team card. That was the last one I need to finish that set.

A few years later, I remember trading several Hank Aaron Highlight cards and a Tom Seaver to get the bane of my 1974 set, Willie Crawford. Ironically, in my searches and box openings, I had given Willie the same middle name that Boston fans would apply to Bucky Dent later in the decade. To this day, I cringe whenever I see that card.

When I put together my 1965 Topps set, the last card I needed was Joe Nossek. It took me 2 extra years to find one in mint condition. :(

I almost always finish a set with a common. Not by choice, but some are just hard to track down. HOFers are the easy part the majority of the time.

Finished a 1970 Topps set yesterday...went to a show..paid two dollars admission and walked out with a two dollars Orlando Cepeda.... set complete.
Didn't buy one other card... not like me !

This has been my experience as well.

Perhaps doing it in reverse regardless of card availability might be more enjoyable.


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I know this is all post war but still kind of interesting. Ironically three of the last sets I completed (1952 Bowman, 1954 Red Heart and 1956 Topps) all needed the same player, HOFer Enos Slaughter. This was not y plan or design but rather nothing more than coincidence. I wanted to finish the 52 set with Mantle but a deal too good to pass came along with about 10 to go.
Oh well. Such is the oddities in collecting.
Drew

I first became a real baseball fan in the late summer of 1963. The Cardinals were chasing the Dodgers down the stretch and my dad was cheering for Stan the Man to pull off one last hurrah. I became a Cardinal fan for life then and the next year I started buying Topps cards to the dismay of my parents. Always scrounging for a nickel to buy a pack of cards. 1964 Topps set will forever remain my favorite. I couldn't get Willie Mays to save my ass and nobody else could either except for one guy who was a Mays fan. I think I signed over my first son in trade finally. The 7th series was very tough. I was able to score a box in a nearby town while spending the weekend with my grandma. I wound up needing about 40 cards and worked on getting them for ten years. Finally got down to one. Pete Rose. I went 15 years with a 1964 Topps set complete without Rose. Sorry Rose fans, but I hated him way before the gambling stuff. Finally broke down and bought a Rose for about 10 bucks in the 90's. Very much a letdown to complete that set. Now I am working on the same set autographed. Already have Rose.