My First Project
 

I'm not sure where to begin, so I'll just get to it. My name is Tim and I'm from Southern California. Like so many on this board, as a kid I had quite the baseball card collection. Although I was born in the 60s, my earliest recollection of collecting baseball cards began in the early 70s.

I stopped collecting around 1983 and began collecting again in 1989 and stopped around 2001. From then until now, I bought a few cards and packs, but nothing consistent.

Now in my 50s, I found myself wanting to collect again; I just wasn't sure what I wanted to collect. I'm interested in pre war cards and will acquire some when a good opportunity presents itself, but I actually feel excited when I look at cards form the 70s and even more so when I think about getting started on my first project.

I was confused on what year to collect. My first thought was 1965 Topps, but after purchasing a few cards from that year, I put that idea on hold.

Since my first cards as a kid was from the 70s, I headed in that direction. After reading a lot of great posts on this forum, I was inspired to go with 1972 Topps cards. I'm not sure if I will do a complete set, but my plan is to collect cards of every player from my favorite team.

My favorite player growing up was Ron Cey, so I will begin my first project collecting the 1972 Dodgers Team set. I also plan to purchase other non Dodgers when I find a good deal or a card I feel I have to have.

I don't plan on purchasing a lot of graded cards, but again, if I find one I want that is graded, then I'll buy it.

I'll see how this project goes, but as of today, I'm thinking about building Dodgers team sets for 1970 to 1979. We'll see.

Thanks to all of you on this board as I can honestly say, you have inspired me.

Wish me luck.

Thanks.

Good luck! Big Dodger fan myself! What condition are you after? Very feasible goal though the 1973 Ron Cey will be costly.

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Tim,

Amazing to think you’ve been on Net54 for over a decade and posted so infrequently. We hope to hear more from you in the future.

Best of luck with this project, however you ultimately decide to define and pursue it. Searching for cards that have significance to you should be a rewarding experience. Enjoy and feel free to share photos of the cards you acquire.

Best regards,

Eric

Thanks Jason. I plan on concentrating on centering, which for this year can be tough. I'm pretty open and figure if I purchase a card and in-person it is less than what I expected, I can always upgrade. With that being said, NM-MT to Mint is what I would like.

The 1973 Cey card will definitely come at a price, so I'm not in a rush. Patience is what I need to practice.

Thanks gain Jason.

Much appreciated Eric. I know what you mean about being a member for so long and not posting. Years ago, I used to visit this site, but took a long break. For awhile I tried to log on, but my account had been disabled. Rather than follow up, I never pursued trying to get back on.

Recently, I emailed Leon and he couldn't have been nicer. He had me back on board in no time. I truly appreciate him doing that for me.

I am usually a lurker on any board I belong to. I simply read and learn; however, for this, I hope to find time to post my progress with my team sets.

Thanks again Eric.

Eric,

Looking forward to seeing your pickups. I’m basically a single player collector so it would be fun collecting some Cey items since he was your favorite. I know for me collecting something that’s near and dear you can’t go wrong.

Tim, I have a similar story to yours. Grew up in the mid to late eighties and early nineties. Collected as a kid from 87-93 and then abandoned ship until 2004 when I began my own focus on Dodgers collecting. I started with every team set from 1995 and worked my way back. I’m finishing up the 50’s and starting to dip my toe into pre-war. I’ve learned a lot along the way. If you ever have any questions regarding Dodgers feel free to direct message me anytime. I think the ‘72 set is a great spring board. It has a little bit of everything; great rookie cards, high numbers, a traded series, and if you’re so inclined, a much more scarce sub set of 72 cloth. In fact, I have this semi-high number Manny Mota dupe I’ll send for free to get you started if you want. Let me know...and remember, it’s not about the end...it’s about the journey!

~Joe

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Hi Joe. Great post and I appreciate your offer regarding the Mota card. I'll PM you.

It's nice to see you and a couple of other Dodger collectors here. Jason has also been very nice and helpful. I'm in no rush, so I'm looking forward to the journey.

Thanks again and I hope we can keep in touch.

Happy New Year!

Tim

Well, after making my initial post, work took over my plans to dig into this minor project;however, I've been able to acquire a few low end cards to get this team set going.

My first purchase was the Dodgers team card, which I felt was appropriate since the team is the theme of this project.

In purchasing these raw cards, I've already learned that in some cases, they look much better online than in person, but that's ok. My plan for a few cards, such as Garvey, Cey, Robinson, and a couple of others is to buy ones that are graded.

I will say that when I received these in the mail, a flood of childhood memories took over. Keeping that in mind, I'm fine with some of these not being the "perfect" card. The memories they brought back is most important.

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Wouldn't it be great if we could just bottle that feeling up of transporting back in time?! Then we wouldn't have to keep buying cards all the time to feel that over and over again!

It's been awhile since my last post, but since then I've added a few more cards to my 1972 Dodgers project. With these cards there are a few that I will look to upgrade, but I'll see what I need to do after my Garvey and Cey purchases.

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A big Thank You to Net54 member 4reals for sending me the Manny Mota card for free. Very nice of him and proves once again Net54 is a site with quality members. Thanks 4reals!!!!!

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As a fellow Dodgers collector, you can at least be comforted by the fact that you have really only a couple higher end cards to get to complete those sets.

The 73 Cey will probably set you back the most. At least it is not the 63 McMullen!!!

Good luck and enjoy. When you are ready for the next challenge, go for the signed team sets. That is where I am, although I have not checklisted them to see where I am missing specific cards. Perhaps someday I will. I am probably close to complete on most of those years, but surely need a few here and there.