Has a Set Grown on You Over Time?

[JollyElm]

I know the title of this thread seems to be asking if you've had some sort of cardboard borne malady overcome you, but I digress.

For the longest time, I had always hated the 1960 Topps set. Its crowded, horizontal design was a nightmare, virtually all of the player photos were dreaded headshots, the rookies had the terrible circle design of the 1959 set, and the manager cards didn't fit into it at all. They looked like they were stolen from some other never-produced set and just thrown into the mix...but then something very enlightening happened. When Bobby was organizing one of his PSA group submissions, I started flipping through my 1960 album to see if I had anything worthwhile (ended up getting a PSA 8 Whitey Ford, a PSA 4.5 Yaz RC, a PSA 8 Gene Conley variation and a PSA 5 Mantle), and I kept flipping, and then going back and forth really looking at the players and BOOM!!!!!!! I suddenly realized that I actually loved this set. Headshots always bother me terribly, but these are coupled with the (often weirdly cropped) inset photos, so there's an oddly comforting portrait quality to them. Sort of like your mom getting professional family photos from Sears back in the day. Plus, a huge number of these pictures were taken inside the old, magnificent stadiums. The crowds are very sparse (obviously due to the pics being taken during warm-ups), so you see the structures themselves and not just a muddy sea of blurry faces in the background. Since the sky isn't prominent in too many shots, it really brings the viewer right into the ballpark itself. I find that fascinating. And the color treatments of the cards - the backgrounds of the inset photos paired with the alternating hued letters of the player names - along with the cool logo placement, creates a real dynamic look and feel to the cards. I frickin' love them!!!!

Here's a bunch of random screengrabs from ebay...

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Has any set you formerly hated ever grown on you to the point that you really enjoy seeing the cards now? If so, give the initial reasons for the hate, and (not to sound too much like a hippie) the reasons for your newfound love.

[CobbSpikedMe]

I always used to hate the 1954 Bowman set. I don't know why but I think part of it had to do with the fact that I used to only see examples of the cards in mail order catalogs with black and white photos and they always looked terrible. Then one of my OBC buddies sent me my first ever actual 1954 Bowman cards and I fell in love with them right away when I had them in hand. The colors are awesome for some reason. And the images are cool too. I remember one of the first ones I had was Jim Gilliam and I just thought it was an amazing looking card in person. I've been slowly working on the set ever since and always get excited when I pick up a new one.

[Exhibitman]

Most definitely. 1952 Topps. I never really cared for it; I was a 1954 guy. I grew to appreciate it over time. Unfortunately, I came to appreciate it too late in the game to get a Mantle card.

There are probably more sets I've come to dislike over time, like 1975 Topps, which annoys the heck out of me. I mean, they couldn't even make all the players from each time the same colors.

[Peter_Spaeth]

52 Topps definitely.

[wdwfan]

I've always hated the oversized sets. I'm very CDO, and I don't like the way they look in toploaders. But today I picked up a couple of 56s, and I bought 2 54s earlier this week. So they're starting to grow on me.

I like the sets because they're not as big as something from the late 1950s, early 1960s. I think it'll be a bit easier to build these larger sets. Now if there were only a way to store them in pages. They don't fit in the 9 pockets, and you can't use regular toploaders because you can't use a penny sleeve. So not sure how to store them.

[PolarBear]

I had to think through this for awhile but ultimately, I still like what I originally liked. Nothing really grew on me. I can see why you hated the 60 set though.

[Jim65]

Originally Posted by wdwfan

I've always hated the oversized sets. I'm very CDO, and I don't like the way they look in toploaders. But today I picked up a couple of 56s, and I bought 2 54s earlier this week. So they're starting to grow on me.

I like the sets because they're not as big as something from the late 1950s, early 1960s. I think it'll be a bit easier to build these larger sets. Now if there were only a way to store them in pages. They don't fit in the 9 pockets, and you can't use regular toploaders because you can't use a penny sleeve. So not sure how to store them.

They make 8 pocket pages that fit the 1952-56 Topps cards.

[Vintagevault13]

Originally Posted by wdwfan

I've always hated the oversized sets. I'm very CDO, and I don't like the way they look in toploaders. But today I picked up a couple of 56s, and I bought 2 54s earlier this week. So they're starting to grow on me.



I like the sets because they're not as big as something from the late 1950s, early 1960s. I think it'll be a bit easier to build these larger sets. Now if there were only a way to store them in pages. They don't fit in the 9 pockets, and you can't use regular toploaders because you can't use a penny sleeve. So not sure how to store them.

Ultra Pro makes makes vintage toploaders/sleeves for 52-56 Topps if you want to go that route.


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[Gr8Beldini]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

There are probably more sets I've come to dislike over time, like 1975 Topps, which annoys the heck out of me. I mean, they couldn't even make all the players from each time the same colors.

Agree about 1975. I like them because I'm nostalgic (one of first cards I collected as a kid), but who took those pictures?! The shadows across the faces of prominent cards... I know little or nothing about photography, but I know enough not to position the subject with the sun behind him. Jim Palmer, Tom Seaver & Reggie Jackson are ruined as well as Don Baylor, Rusty Staub, Felix Millan (etc. etc.). Also, the picture they used for the most prominent player in the set at the time - new HR champ Hank Aaron - was bizarre. They couldn't find a better photo than THAT to airbrush?

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

I would say '62 Topps. I always hated it, but not so much now. I am relaxing my condition OCD, and I think the green tints are awesome!

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[4reals]

1949 Bowman has grown on me.


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[rats60]

1949 Leaf. I thought it was so ugly that it was the one post-war set that I didn't collect. As time has gone by I have added some of them to my collection and have grown to appriciate them.

[PolarBear]

Originally Posted by 4reals

1949 Bowman has grown on me.


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If any set has "grown" on me, it might be this set. Although it's really more a product of me having ignored the set at first, then discovering it later. However, the whole name/no-name format annoys my OCD.

[Rich Klein]

77 Topps which to me has always been a near perfect set in terms of simplicity and ease of collecting. And several good Rookie Cards to boot.

[JimC]

I'm with you on the 1960 set. I used to think it was cheap looking but now I love it. Number one for me is probably the 34-36 Diamond Star set. I dismissed them as too simple and ugly for a long time but when I started paying more attention to the portraits and especially the backgrounds it really grew on me.

[hcv123]

working on a lot of Pirate team sets pre and post war. Initially had no intention of working on T207 - then had it highlighted by a board member who I bought some T206's from - At first glance didn't like it, then it definitely grew on me and has been added to the list.

[jchcollins]

I see that I chimed in with ‘72 Topps when this thread was first started, but I didn’t add any pictures.

Man, I thought these cards were so hokey in the late 80’s when I was about 12. Today I think their awesomeness quotient cannot be overestimated. Here are some of my favorites:










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