Mike D's 1976 Topps Binder Project

[Mike D.]

I'm hoping folks will tolerate me using this thread to track my latest project.

Inspired by a friend who is working a half dozen Topps sets of various years and putting them in binders for easy viewing, I'm going to undertake a similar project of my own.

I'm going to build a "binder set" of 1976 Topps - the Topps set from the year of my birth!

So, what is a binder set? It's got non-high end, non-graded cards, perfect for flipping through without risking any major investments.

I'll probably aim for an average of EX for the set, with a range of VG-NM depending on what I come up with. Some of these cards might be a bit dinged up. At 43, I'm a little dinged up too.

To add to the fun, I'll likely pick up graded copies of some of the more interesting stars from the set. If I get a graded copy of a card, I'll still get a non-graded for the binder, but may allow for lower grade there to help keep costs in check.

Depending on what I get for duplicates, I may even dabble in some TTM autograph chasing.

I think this will be fun. My 7 year old son will be helping me with the sorting, so it's a nice father-son project!

Now...the 1976 Topps set has 660 cards. Here is the checklist.

The biggest rookie in the set is Eckersley, with cards of Hank Aaron and Nolan Ryan among the more expensive cards in the set.

[Mike D.]

A quick review of my collection turns up exactly ONE ungraded 1976 Topps card, George Brett's second year card, #19:



Other than being pretty OC, it's not in bad shape at all.

So, ONE down....659 to go! To eBay!

[Mike D.]

The first item I needed to procure was the binder and pages.

1 BCW 3" Black Baseball Card Storage D-Ring Album Binder & 50 Pages 9 Pocket - $23.28 delivered

25 Ultra PRO Platinum 9-Pocket Hologram Card Album PagesBinder Sheets - $7.16 delivered.

That's a nice binder and enough pages to hold the entire 660 card set (with one page to spare!)

Total spent on binder set: $30.44

Total spent on graded: $0

[Mike D.]

Next, to pick up some starter lots to get me, well, started. I figure I'll have a lot of sorting ahead of me, then I can start to fill in gaps.

Lot of (495) 1976 Topps Baseball Cards Avg Ex BV $410 Brett Schmidt Yount Yaz - $109.02 delivered



Hey look...it's got a Brett in it! My first duplicate!

Total spent on binder set: $139.46

Total spent on graded: $0

[Mike D.]

Next up:

1976 TOPPS BASEBALL - 100 CARD LOT - ALL DIFFERENT - SEE LIST - EXC-NM - $18.08



These look to mostly be commons, but they're in decent shape and no dups!

Total spent on binder set: $157.54

Total spent on graded: $0

[Mike D.]

One more lot before the big sort starts:

1976 Topps Baseball Assorted Commons Lot 289 Different VG to NM - $31.62



Seemed like too good a price to let them go!

Total spent on binder set: $189.16

Total spent on graded: $0

[Mike D.]

1976 Topps PSA Graded Cards

Before starting the project, I do have a handful of 1976 Topps cards that are graded.



For this project, I'll target PSA graded cards only, PSA 7 and above, with no qualifiers. For most, I'll probably target PSA 8, with the exception being for those that 8's get a big pricey.

At some point I'll get photos or scans of the graded cards.

[Mike D.]

Newly Acquired PSA Graded

One more post before I go off and start slogging through piles of 1976 Topps commons....a couple recent PSA pickups:

1976 Topps #202 A.L. ERA Ldrs. Palmer/Hunter/Eckersley PSA 8 - $15.52 delivered

1976 Topps Baseball Card #347 Ted Williams All Time All Star PSA 8 - $21.39 delivered

1976 TOPPS NL RBI LEADERS #195 PSA 8! BENCH - $10.46 delivered

Total spent on binder set: $189.16

Total spent on graded: $47.37

[wdwfan]

Love the idea of doing it as well as the idea of keeping track of it.

BTW, some ebay sellers have pretty decent deals of lots from the 1970s. I'm thinking of doing a 1975 Topps set (my birth year). Right now I'm working on 62 and 58, but neither are binder ready (only a handful of each). Also I've been chasing "binder" sets as well as Ex-Mt to NM is what I look for. I know one guy who will buy the card no matter what they look like even if they're bent/creased, bad corners whatever. He says he'd rather have it in bad condition than not have it at all.

Good luck with your chase. I'll try and keep up with it.

[Vintagevault13]

Looking forward to watching your progress. I collect 70’s sets and love binders. Looks like you will make quick work of this set .


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[Mike D.]

Thanks @wdwfan! The journey is definitely more important than the destination here!

One of the things that made '76 attractive was the lack of high dollar RC's. No such luck with '75. '75 is such a "70's" set from a design perspective!

[Mike D.]

Originally Posted by Vintagevault13

Looking forward to watching your progress. I collect 70’s sets and love binders. Looks like you will make quick work of this set .

I'm expecting the commons will go quickly, but the stars will take a bit longer. Ain't that always the way?!

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Mike D.

I'm expecting the commons will go quickly, but the stars will take a bit longer. Ain't that always the way?!

Unless you're me. Nearly every set I've finished the last few cards were commons, or were cards of stars that were good enough to not be in commons boxes, but not good enough for the showcase.

[seanofjapan]

There is no more satisfying a feeling than being the collector of a set in a binder with blank pockets for cards you need to go in and then getting one of those cards and sliding it into the pocket reserved for it.

[Mike D.]

Originally Posted by steve B

Unless you're me. Nearly every set I've finished the last few cards were commons, or were cards of stars that were good enough to not be in commons boxes, but not good enough for the showcase.

Yeah, you may be right. I just sorted the first two lots down in 100's (the 3rd lot should arrive Friday) and I have more stars than I expected.

It'll be fun to see what's missing, what I have for dups, and which cards will need upgrades (I noticed a bunch of checklists and team cards that have been checked off - I think I'll need to upgrade those).

[Mike D.]

Originally Posted by seanofjapan

There is no more satisfying a feeling than being the collector of a set in a binder with blank pockets for cards you need to go in and then getting one of those cards and sliding it into the pocket reserved for it.

I'm really looking forward to it. As soon as the third lot arrives, I'm going to dive in and see where it takes me!

[timber09]

Best of luck and enjoy the journey!

I started a similar project a few years ago with 1973 Topps - still working on the last handful of cards but it's been a blast so far.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Mike D.

Yeah, you may be right. I just sorted the first two lots down in 100's (the 3rd lot should arrive Friday) and I have more stars than I expected.

It'll be fun to see what's missing, what I have for dups, and which cards will need upgrades (I noticed a bunch of checklists and team cards that have been checked off - I think I'll need to upgrade those).

Building sets is a lot of fun.

It's probably easier now than it used to be.
My 1988 Topps set was built from packs bought new, and big box lots. The last card I needed was Canseco. which had slid to being a 25-50 cent card by that time. Nobody would put one in the display case, and they were never in the commons boxes. Everyone had them, probably lots of them. But they were all buried in a box in the back room somewhere. And understandably, nobody wanted to mine the back room for a monster box of 88 Topps to sell one card that might not even be in there.

Finding one once I realized it was the last card I needed took 2 years... not that I looked really hard, but I did look a lot harder than I usually do.

I sort of work on all sets continually. Some I have finished, most not. I still haven't finished 1973... which I started in 1973...
74 took until maybe the late 90's and I don't have all the variations yet.
75, not yet
76 not yet
77- 83 finished!
All the older stuff I've been "working on" since sometime between late 77 and maybe 1984.

I describe my pace as glacial.

[Rickyy]

I love this set also! Your Brett is not bad...many of them are diamond cuts or really tilted...

Ricky Y

[Mike D.]

Thanks everyone for the stories and encouragement!

I very much expect this still start as a sprint and end up as a crawl.

I'm chomping at the bit to get started sorting...waiting for the last lot to come in...but SO tempting.

I have been collecting mostly graded cards the last few years, with the exception of buying some junk era wax for fun (which I chronicled on another board)...but I miss the feel of old cardboard, the collection you can flip through, and not having to worry TOO much about condition.

[Mike D.]

Bad news - the 3rd lot I bought is late. Was supposed to be here yesterday, but judging by where it's, maybe Tuesday after the holiday.

Good news - I picked up another lot of 200 1976 Topps cards from board member mintacular - and they should ship out Tuesday.

So next week will be a good week at the mailbox for this project.

In the meantime, I may start sorting what I have a bit...I'm getting impatient.

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Originally Posted by Mike D.

Bad news - the 3rd lot I bought is late. Was supposed to be here yesterday, but judging by where it's, maybe Tuesday after the holiday.



Good news - I picked up another lot of 200 1976 Topps cards from board member mintacular - and they should ship out Tuesday.



So next week will be a good week at the mailbox for this project.



In the meantime, I may start sorting what I have a bit...I'm getting impatient.

Not that you need my approval, but I like what you are doing. I was born in 1973. After many years of collecting other eras, I am coming back to these. There's a lot of nice, affordable stuff from late 60s to mid 80s...baseball and football. I have a 1976 baseball set from past collecting efforts. I am starting this run with a '71 set. I have about 100 cards so far. It will be fun!

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[Mike D.]

Originally Posted by vintagebaseballcardguy

Not that you need my approval, but I like what you are doing. I was born in 1973. After many years of collecting other eras, I am coming back to these. There's a lot of nice, affordable stuff from late 60s to mid 80s...baseball and football. I have a 1976 baseball set from past collecting efforts. I am starting this run with a '71 set. I have about 100 cards so far. It will be fun!

I started collecting in 1987, but pretty quickly locked in on 70's and 80's era HOFers as a favorite. I've since branched into the 60's and dabbled in the 50's, but the 70's-80's does hold a special place in my collecting world.

[mortimer brewster]

I have been collecting since 1978. My goal is to collect every set from 1953-1983. I am like today's starting pitchers. I haven't completed anything. At my current pace I will finish in the year 2197. I think I'm going to run out of time.

[brob28]

I've put together all the '70s sets. Started with the '75's (regular and mini) and had a great time with it, all are in binders. Lots of childhood memories from that era. The last '70's set I completed was the '72 set. Not sure if it was the size of the set or just needing a change, but I definitely had set building fatigue by the time I finished that one!

Good luck, its fun to follow your progress.

[Mike D.]

Wow, you guys are light years ahead of me, set wise. I’ve never really been a set builder, but figured I’d try something different.

I’m going to REALLY fight the urge to start a new set project until this one is done or at least fairly close.

70’s sets aren’t too pricey, but some of those 50’s and 60’s sets must be pretty big investments to build!

[Bigdaddy]

I recently completed a '56 and '57 set - sets that I never thought I'd be able to do. Just follow the same course you're going with the '76 set, and it won't seem like that big of a hurdle. Just keep chipping away.

Death by a thousand cuts - or by 792 cuts. One card at a time.

[thatkidfromjerrymaguire]

Hey Mike, just wanted to say thanks for starting this thread, it’s fun watching other collectors complete their projects.

I’m still working (slowly) on my first binder set...a mostly EX condition raw 1952 Bowman. I’ve been at it for a couple years, and am about 75% of the way there.

There’s something special about seeing an entire set coming together in a binder card by card. While most of my set is raw, i’m Picking up the higher dollar cards graded...just because I want to ensure authenticity. But I’m still including them in four pocket pages at the back of my binder (and inserting reprints in their normal spot in raw pages).

I’ll be looking forward to watching your progress. Oh, and as a big Royals fan, I can’t think of a better card to start your set with than George Brett

[Mike D.]

The 289 card lot I mentioned above finally arrived today, and the 200 card lot I am buying from a Net54 user shipped....so I see a LOT of sorting in my future, and hopefully some posts about my progress as soon as this weekend.

Total spent on binder set: $224.16

Total spent on graded: $47.37

[Mike D.]

Thanks guys for the supportive posts, and glad you're enjoying reading. I plan to post lots of pictures and updates once the sorting kicks into high gear.

One observation on the cards so far...you can tell this was during the "monopoly era", as quality control was clearly not something Topps bothered with...the centering is completely inconsistent, and generally quite terrible, on a majority of the cards I've laid hands on so far.

[Mike D.]

The 200 card lot I bought from a board member arrived today, and it looks great! Thanks again Pat!

The lot was highlighted by an Eck RC, which is THE key RC in the set, so great to get one of those checked off the list. Along with the other cards in the lot, it's in very good shape. There was a few other stars in the lot, and some commons I hadn't previously had.

So...I can finally GET STARTED!

[Mike D.]

Going in groups of 9 because, well, pages....

We're off to a good start, with cards 1-9 all being included the lots I picked up.

Card #3 (Mickey Lolich RB) is one I'll probably try to upgrade at some point.

Cards I'd consider buying graded are #1 Hank Aaron RB and #5 Tom Seaver RB.

Here's a photo of 1-9, plus a couple dups:



And since it's the first lot, in the binder...front and back:





It.....beggggggggiiiinnnns!

[Mike D.]

Numbers 10-18 (aka "page 2") are all present and accounted for.

#10 Lou Brock is an upgrade candidate, due to a crease.

The Brock is also a "pick up a PSA copy" candidate.



A few more dups with this lot:

[Mike D.]

Cards numbers 19-27 are all here as well, a nice little start!

None of these are obvious upgrade candidates, although I retain the right to change my mind upon future viewings.

The Brett is a PSA candidate, although that is a tough (expensive) card in better grades.



The dups:



Figueroa, Figueroa, Figueroa!!!!

[Mike D.]

On page 4, we hit our first missing cards, #'s 29 (Rick Burleson) and #35 (Tony Oliva).

No obvious upgrade candidates and no PSA purchase candidates.



And the dups:



So, guess we won't finish this thing in one go!

[Mike D.]

One more card missing in this lot, #41 (Tippy Martinez).

#38 Garry Maddox is a replacement candidate, due to a stain.

No real PSA candidates in this lot.



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Cards 46-54 are all here.

#46 Walter Alston, #48 Dave Conception, and #50 Fred Lynn are all upgrade candidates.

No real candidates for a PSA-graded purchase.



The dups:



Through the first 50 (well, 54) cards:

3 cards missing

6 upgrade candidates

[Mike D.]

The next batch is:

55 Gaylord Perry
56 Bob Tolan
57 Phil Garner
58 Ron Reed
59 Larry Hisle
60 Jerry Reuss
61 Ron LeFlore
62 Johnny Oates
63 Bobby Darwin

Missing from that lot is #60, Jerry Reuss. No upgrade candidates or PSA "to buy" candidates.



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Cards 64-72:

64 Jerry Koosman
65 Chris Chambliss
66 Gus/Buddy Bell FS
67 Bob/Ray Boone FS
68 Joe/Joe Jr. Coleman FS
69 Jim/Mike Hegan FS
70 Roy/Roy Jr. Smalley FS
71 Steve Rogers
72 Hal McRae

Hit a good number we're missing this batch. Cards 66, 68, 69, and 70 are all missing.

Also, the Boone F/S card could use an upgrade, so I need ALL the F/S subset. #72 McRae could use an upgrade as well.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Cards 73-81:

73 Earl Weaver
74 Oscar Gamble
75 Larry Dierker
76 Willie Crawford
77 Pedro Borbon
78 Cecil Cooper
79 Jerry Morales
80 Jim Kaat
81 Darrell Evans

Missing are #77 Pedro Borbon and #81 Darrell Evans.

Needing an upgrade is #73 (the Weaver is a bit round and has checked off marks on the back).



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Cards 82-90:

82 Von Joshua
83 Jim Spencer
84 Brent Strom
85 Mickey Rivers
86 Mike Tyson
87 Tom Burgmeier
88 Duffy Dyer
89 Vern Ruhle
90 Sal Bando

Hey, the gangs all here! And no obvious upgrade candidates, to boot!



The dups:

[wdwfan]

Really enjoying following this along. I'm headed out of state for 10 days in a couple of days. When I get back, I'm guessing you'll be through sorting and getting ready to buy whatever needs you have.

I've posted a thread looking for '75s as I'm planning on doing a project like this, but I haven't gotten any response to it. But it's only been a couple of weeks. So hopefully I'll be able to get to work on my set when I get back from vacation. If/when I do, I plan on starting a thread like this.

[Mike D.]

The run up to 100:

91 Tom Hutton
92 Eduardo Rodriguez
93 Mike Phillips
94 Jim Dwyer
95 Brooks Robinson
96 Doug Bird
97 Wilbur Howard
98 Dennis Eckersley
99 Lee Lacy

Thankfully, this lot is all present and accounted for. Getting the Eck RC in the last lot I got was awesome. It and the Robinson are both solid, condition-wise.

No obvious upgrade candidates here. I have the Eck in PSA 7 already. The Robinson would be a nice one to get in PSA graded condition as well.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

As we pass the century mark:

100 Jim Hunter
101 Pete LaCock
102 Jim Willoughby
103 Biff Pocoroba s
104 Sparky Anderson
105 Gary Lavelle
106 Tom Grieve
107 Dave Roberts
108 Don Kirkwood

We're missing #100 (Jim Hunter).

#101 (Pete LaCock) and #107 (Dave Roberts) are upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Through the first 100(well, 108) cards:

11 cards missing

11 upgrade candidates

[Mike D.]

The next page:

109 Larry Lintz
110 Carlos May
111 Danny Thompson
112 Kent Tekulve
113 Gary Sutherland
114 Jay Johnstone
115 Ken Holtzman
116 Charlie Moore
117 Mike Jorgensen

116 (Charlie Moore) and 117 Mike Jorgensen are missing.

112 (Kent Tekulve) is an upgrade candidate.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next 9 are:

118 Darrell Johnson
119 Checklist 1-132
120 Rusty Staub
121 Tony Solaita
122 Mike Cosgrove
123 Walt Williams
124 Doug Rau
125 Don Baylor
126 Tom Dettore

We're missing 118 (Darrell Johnson) and 120 (Rusty Staub).

No obvious upgrade candidates.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

The next lot:

127 Larvell Blanks
128 Ken Griffey
129 Andy Etchebarren
130 Luis Tiant
131 Bill Stein
132 Don Hood
133 Gary Matthews
134 Mike Ivie
135 Bake McBride

The one missing card in this lot is 130 Luis Tiant.

135 (Bake McBride) is an upgrade candidate.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Next up:

136 Dave Goltz
137 Bill Robinson
138 Lerrin LaGrow
139 Gorman Thomas
140 Vida Blue
141 Larry Parrish
142 Dick Drago
143 Jerry Grote
144 Al Fitzmorris

137 Bill Robinson and 138 Lerrin LaGrow are both missing.

140 Vida Blue is an upgrade candidate.

The cards:



The dups:

[Mike D.]

Hitting 150:

145 Larry Bowa
146 George Medich
147 Bill Virdon
148 Stan Thomas
149 Tommy Davis
150 Steve Garvey
151 Bill Bonham
152 Leroy Stanton
153 Buzz Capra

The cards are all here. The Garvey is pretty solid.

147 Bill Vidron and 152 Leroy Stanton are both upgrade candidates, though.

The cards:



The dups: