74 was the first year I really collected as a kid. I'd bought about a pack a year from 69-72, moved in late 73 to a neighborhood where some kids collected cards, so I bought a few late 73 packs. (High numbers?! What?! Our neighborhood store had the all in one set packs)
The Aaron specials made me aware of older cards for the first time.
And the Washington cards probably made me interested in variations.
And one of the local stores carried not only cards, but pages and binders.
(Both horrible, but at the time all there was)
The best day was Mom bringing home a rack with Aaron on the front, along with 4 or 5 others. The store put them on sale late in the year for less than half price. Of course I opened them all.
I got close to the full set, within maybe a hundred or so, and gradually finished it off later.
The last one was the Schmidt. Finally found one at a nice price when they started getting cheaper. Maybe mid 90's?
Still don't have all the Washingtons, but I do have the Alou no position.
Anyone else recall a rumor that the A's manager card had a question mark instead of a picture? That had me searching for a month or two back then.
It's about the only set I still have in a binder. And even though I could I've never really given much thought to upgrading any of the cards. I suppose eventually I'll do a second set in really nice condition.
Steve B