Posted By:
john/z28jd Just this Saturday I received my winnings from 19thcenturyonly's last auction, 4 Old Judge cards that officially put me over the halfway point to a player set. Since I can't afford 1 Cal Lg card(forget 18 of them) I am going for what seems like the unattainable goal of 503 different players. I've basically been collecting the set for 7 years and on a budget,but its good to see other people who have the patience to set a goal and reach it.
I got my first Old Judge card about 14 years ago,a Joe Mulvey from the Larry Fritsch catalogue. I added a few here and there for the first 7 years but I was collecting the T206 set at the time. For those going for that set,stick with it,its worth the time put into when you do finish. Took me about 13 years to get every card from Magie on down and all the back brands(unless you think for some reason the Ty Cobb back is a t206 card).
When I finally did start collecting Old Judges only, I went for a Pirates team set of just the 1887 players. Then when I finished that I started buying all of the Pittsburgh players and some extra poses of a few players. As of right now I'm only missing Deacon White for the full team set. I've also tried to pick up as many team examples as I can,Im really only missing the toughest ones but do have a few of them teams with only one player that represents them. To people who need a Larry Corcoran card,Im really sorry,I have a problem and I know it...just completed my 25 man roster of Corcoran cards with the last one on ebay.
About 3 years ago I decided to go for a player set and thats where I am now.I'm not in any rush to finish the set,I might buy two a month and finish it in 10+ years,I might hit a wall and just not find a player for a long stretch that I need and try for all of the poses of Pirates players to hold me over.
Whatever happens,happens so as I sit here right now, 253 down and 250 to go,I encourage anyone who is collecting a set they like on a budget and thinks they've set a goal too lofty,keep going,the worst thing that can happen is you don't reach the goal because you just gave up and you wonder what could've been. Finishing a set over a long time is a great reward,when I finished that t206 set I basically felt like a kid again back in 1987 when I got a Teddy Higuera card to finish my 1987 Topps set I put together thru packs and trades.