Okay, now I'm going to piss some people off! (LOL)
 

Big vintage baseball guy from 50s-70s but just have trouble finding much to like from the years 76-80 (81 I consider mondern with intro. of Donruss, Fleer).

Why I don't gravitate to these years:

1. No high numbers/sp's (Stopped in 73) to make the set building chase interesting
2. No bright color borders--bland white ones only--each year looks somewhat similar to me
3. Few if any MEGA big dollar HOF stars (part of this is due to production ramping up) but also scarce on 1st ballot HOF rookies
4. Big unwieldy sets with tons of commons perhaps due to expansion/more teams, etc.
5. Iconic stars like Mays, Aaron, Clemente retired out of picture by then

Anyway, there are a couple of diamonds in the rough with those years (Eck., Dawson, Molitor-Trammel, Murray, O. Smith., R. Henderson) but basically 99.9% of the cards I could care less about.....

What am I missing :)??

Actually, to answer my own question, there are two things I like. There are stars from my 80s youth (example Brett, Ryan, Rose, etc) that can be bought relatively cheaply in their younger days, and also, production quality was so terrible to find truly high grade examples is actually somewhat challenging. But still, the overall time era 76-81 just doesn't spark a fire, for me anyway, how about you?

I began collecting as a youngster in the late '70s. So, for me, there are quite a few personal memories involved with these cards. I don't actively build sets from those years; however, do find them tremendously appealing.

I don't think you'll make enemies with that post. Those years suck, save the few HOF rookie cards.

These are good cheap sets which was issued when my baseball collecting bug started. Actually, started in 75 and lasted until 80 in my prime formative years. They are not expensive nor collectible as vintage, but I still enjoy them nonetheless.

The fact that you have to include Eckersley and Dawson in that list (to make it reasonably long enough) proves your point :)

Let's not forget the Bird.....For a little colorful flavor

I agree to a certain extent. I believe Topps got very complacent with their product from the mid 1970's thru 1982. They needed competition and got it in 1981 from Fleer and Donruss (two crappy sets but got better as years went by).

A few additional thoughts:

I think the design of the 1980 set was very nice, but they blew it on the backs. All of the highlights mentioned were from 1978. It's like 1979 does not exist.

I don't judge a set by the number of rookie cards in it. I am an old fashioned set collector (1983 and prior) and find joy in collecting all sets.

If you were a youngster who started collecting in the late 1970's chances are the sets you grew up with are your favorites.

I find it amusing how many posts we’re getting lately about why what other people collect isn’t good. Are we really out of productive conversations?

I don't disagree on the whole, though I do like the '76 Topps set, and the little cartoonish position icons on the fronts.

Response
 

Mike, I kind of was using this topic starter to learn more about these sets and perhaps start to like them more, although clearly I have a strong opinion AT THIS POINT and was looking for a contrarian point of view.

One of the freeing things about collection over the years is NOT GIVING A CRAP if someone else likes your own preferences. I'm sure if I collected in the late 70s I would be more apt to like them

I would agree at least for me personally, the nostagia from the time you collected as a kid and the period specific memories do a lot for me. I would readily agree now that '86 Topps Baseball is one of the most boring sets ever conceived of, but I still love them and hold them dear because that's where I started.

I moved to a town with a card store in late 77, and had collected cards since very late 73.
I made a bit of "trade cash" by sorting 1978 sets from vending for the dealer.

So I have a lot of reasons to like the 78 set.
78 was a big year! chilly willee discs, Papa Ginos discs, RC cola cans, Hostess cards, Star wars..... cards were everywhere. Went to my first show early that year.

My main years collecting were 77-maybe 83?

But I can understand someone not liking the sets, by then Topps "art" dept was pretty much just mailing it in on most sports cards. I think a lot of the HOF players that have rookies in those sets are a little under rated, and the cards are too, so that there aren't any expensive cards in the sets doesn't bother me much.

I like '70s and '80s cards, but agree that the short prints and incrementally rarer series make the Pre-1974 sets more interesting from a collecting standpoint.

I was 10 when the 76 set was issued and it was the first time in my life that my Yankees won anything, so it was a magical baseball year for me. The set is a childhood favorite. I still love the design.

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...%20PSA%206.jpg

After all, every favorite set is preferred by those who like it best.

It sounds like any one of many posts from people who are in it for the money. There isn't a lot of money to be made in that era, aside from high grade cards, and that is a whole other category of collecting for the money in my opinion. I have always collected what I found interesting without regard for value, other than my budget didn't allow me to buy super expensive things when I was younger.

Now that I have the funds to potentially buy some of the better stuff, it has no interest to me at those prices. I bought my most wanted "big money" card finally within the last 2-3 years, when I found a "bargain" copy of the 33 Goudey Ruth #181 and really wish I had splurged much sooner and gotten it for much less. There are a few cards left that I always wanted that I will probably never own simply because I am not willing to spend the money they would cost (52 Jackie, 63 Rose are two prime examples that are probably not bank breakers for a decent copy, but just are not worth the money it would take). I have never done this to make money and am certainly not going to start now.

Starting in 1978, I have good memories of the player and cards in those mid 70s to very early 80s set. I will agree that everything got fairly boring (82-85). The 86 design was a mix up, but then they recycled 62 the following year and went back to boring for a few more years. I still like 74-81 as a great run of set designs.

Hey Adam, I was 10 in 1976 and started collecting in 1977, first baseball and then football in the fall. So I've got an affinity for the 1977 and 1978 sets. I especially remember opening wax packs and getting excited when I saw an All-Star logo peaking through the stack of cards.

Personally, the '76-'78 sets for me are royalty. They filled up the biggest part of my collection for years and were the cards I carried around and traded with the kids in the 'hood. Not a lot of rookies - though in those days, that was not what we were chasing. We got excited for Ryan, Seaver, Bench, Rose, Garvey, Carew, Reggie, Yaz, Schmidt and Stargell. Those were the cards of my youth.

Exactly!

I remember as a young kid in 1972 kids had cards at the bus stop and were touted around school. So the next year was my start - and all the way thru 1979. Nobody gave a bleep about rookie cards. Like a prior post mentioned, everyone wanted the stars - Reggie, Ryan, Seaver, Bench, Schmidt, Carew and the like. The ones I really wanted had the little "All Star" emblems. I was lucky and grew up half hour away from Anaheim Stadium and my folks took us to games - saw Nolan Ryan in his prime. My dad even made a special point to take me to the game where they officially clocked Ryan at 100.3 mph - still in Guiness Book! They clocked him when the ball went over home plate, not like now when they clock right after release. The ball slows down about 7-8 mph between mound and home plate. Like my grandmother said, "It's all about the memories."

Pat, the 1977 set is one worth giving a second look to. Particularly the all star cards. Brett is a beautiful card.

Do we really need rookie cards for a set to be nice? Take the rookies out of '75 and you have a real ugly set with bad photography. 1976 and 1977 are beautiful... just don't have the rookie star power. I say that's a good thing. We get to put together two vintage, beautiful sets, in top condition without breaking the bank. Look again. Check out that '77 George Brett card, and that '76 Aaron, and the '77 Reggie, and bask in the ugliness of the '76 Munson, and (perhaps the nicest card of the '70's - if not all-time), the '76 Johnny Bench, or the '77 Morgan, '77 Kingman, '77 Fidrych, which rivals the '76 Bench, '76 Aaron & Seaver Record Breakers, '76 & '77 Yount cards are awesome, as are the '76 & '77 Fred Lynn cards, '76 Fisk, '77 Seaver, '76 Palmer... I could do this all night. Ignore '76 & '77 and you really are missing something.

The 1976 Joe Morgan is one of my all-time favorite cards.