How many team set collectors are out there?

[frankhardy]

I was just wondering how many of you guys are team set collectors? I have already sent a message out to a Dodgers team collector, but I was wondering how many here focus on team sets of their favorite team?

Much of this post I have copied from the above mentioned private message. I just thought I would start a thread about this topic and mention what I have and what I am working on. Maybe if I get the time, I might scan some things and post them.

If you collect team sets, what are some of your accomplishments and what are some goals that you are working on?

With me, I started out in the summer of 2002 wanting just to get all of the Topps base Cardinals team sets from 1952 to the present. I thought it would take forever with a limited income. However, I started buying up collections, keeping the Cardinals and selling the rest. Before I knew it, after about a year, I completed the whole run. I then started working on vintage Bowman and haven't looked back.

Here is basically a run down of what I have.

1951 to 2014 Topps (base and traded/update)
1948 to 1955 Bowman
1989 to 2014 Bowman
1960, 1961, 1963 Fleer
1981 to 2007 Fleer with Updates (2007 being the last year of Fleer)
1981 to 2005 Donruss with The Rookies (2005 being the last year of Donruss)
1988 to 1998 Score (1998 being the last year of Score)
1989 to 2009 Upper Deck (20090 being the last year of UD being MLB licensed)
2001 to 2014 Topps Heritage
2001 to 2007 Bowman Heritage (2007 being the last year of Bowman Heritage)
1951 to 1998 Topps Test Issues, Inserts, and misc (except what is listed in my want list below). This includes sets that are too many to list here.
1981 to 1993 Fleer Misc. (ie boxed sets, stamps, stickers, etc) This includes sets that are too many to list here.
1983 to 1995 Donruss Misc. (This includes a complete 1990 Donruss Aqueous plus 5 Blue/White including Ozzie Smith)
1947-66 Exhibits
1962 Exhibits Stat Back
1963 Exhibits Stat Back
1953 to 1955 Red Man
1952 Berk Ross
1961 to 1963 Post
1963 Jello
1970 to 1983 Kelloggs
1975 to 1979 Hostess
1996 to 2014 Topps Chrome and Chrome Refractors (all except for that pesky 2001 Retrofractors #146 Fernando Tatis that I have been searching for over 3 years!!!!!!)

I have (on purpose) not started issues like OPC, Leaf, Stadium Club, Ultra, Tiffany, Fleer Glossy, Pinnacle etc. I will do those eventually.



Here is my current want list, which is basically from the SCD catalog and any other research that I have done.

1955 Topps Hocus Focus - Wally Moon (a nice impossible card to start it off) (I do have the 55 and 56 Haddix!)

1955 Topps Stamps - Joe Cunningham, Alex Grammas, Harvey Haddix (like I will ever even see one of these)

1961 Topps Dice Game - Stan Musial, Bill White (it's ok to dream isn't it?)

1966 Topps Punchouts - Curt Flood (pretty much impossible!)

1967 Topps Discs - Orlando Cepeda (it's not getting much easier)

1967 Topps Stand Ups - Orlando Cepeda, Tim McCarver (still not getting easier)

1968 Topps Plaks - Orlando Cepeda (finally, one that is doable maybe if I can find one in the next ten years!) (I have the McCarver and the Checklist!)

1969 Topps 4-in-1 Stickers - Steve Huntz & Mike Torrez Rookie Stars (with Carl Yastrzemski) (I have the rest)

1970 Topps Candy Lids - Richie Allen

1972 Topps Candy Lids - Lou Brock, Bob Gibson (I have Torre)

1973 Topps Comics - Joe Torre

1990 Topps Folders / Sport Shots / Portfolio / Duo-Tang Pedro Guerrero

1997 Topps ProShooters Marbles Ron Gant

2001 Topps Retrofractors 146 Fernando Tatis


Fleer Oddball

1967 Fleer Logo Emblems & Cloth Patches (tallboys; test) - Cardinals Logo Emblem (1966 w/l record; save all 19 cards), Cardinals Cloth Patch, Cardinals Trio Cloth Patch

1968-70 Fleer Cloth Patches - Cardinals (orange; blue bordered logo)

1969 Fleer Pennants & Stamps - Cardinals

1970 Fleer Iron Ons - Cardinals

1970 Fleer Team Logo Decals - Cardinals

1973 Fleer Team Logo Decals - Cardinals

1976 Fleer Iron Ons - Cardinals


I would be interested in your thoughts about team sets. People are always talking about not having a collecting focus. Well, if you have a favorite team, there is no better way to combine collecting along with keeping up with the history of your team and keeping current with your team. I have enjoyed it greatly.

[brewing]

I'm currently pursuing a Topps run from 1952-2000 of Detroit Tigers. I'm down to my final 3 cards. Cards from the base set only. I don't like the oddball sets.


Also going after all Tiger cards from the Monster. 4 shy of that pursuit.


I may chase the 1948-54 Bowman (I dislike the 55's).

[frankhardy]

Originally Posted by brewing

I'm currently pursuing a Topps run from 1952-2000 of Detroit Tigers. I'm down to my final 3 cards. Cards from the base set only. I don't like the oddball sets.


Also going after all Tiger cards from the Monster. 4 shy of that pursuit.


I may chase the 1948-54 Bowman (I dislike the 55's).

Four cards from T206 - nice. Any Cobbs?

What do you need for your Topps run?

[brewing]

Originally Posted by frankhardy

Four cards from T206 - nice. Any Cobbs?



What do you need for your Topps run?

I need the Cobb green and bat on (both will have to wait due to $$). Along with the Jennings 1 hand and port.

1961 B. Fischer (have 1 lined up), 62 Colavito AS, and 66 MacFarlane.

I stopped at 2000 because I stopped my sets there too. Reason being, storage space and apathy.


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[HOF Yankees]

I am currently collecting the 1959, 1960, 1962, and 1968 Yankee Team sets, these sets don't have to be the usuall topps, bowman, or leaf, the player and year matter more but I would like to someday get the topps, bowman and leaf cards. I am still a ways away from completion

[dembums]

I collect Brooklyn Dodgers Topps and Bowman (main sets complete)

Dave:

Are you gonna go after any oddball sets of the Dodgers? There are several with many Dodgers (NY Journal Americans, Berk Ross, Stahl Meyer, Red Man, Red Hearts, Wilson Franks, etc.)?

Ben

[JCM2009]

Great thread. I collect only Cleveland Indians cards. I have all Topps and '48 - '55 Bowman except for the '49 Satchel Paige which I am looking to acquire soon...I hope. Really enjoy the Goudeys, Play Ball, Red Man, T206, Batter Up or any oddball card issued before 1970.

Also been building a comprehensive checklist using Excel over the past several years. Its has been a challenge and a lot of fun.

[toppcat]

Originally Posted by dembums

Dave:

Are you gonna go after any oddball sets of the Dodgers? There are several with many Dodgers (NY Journal Americans, Berk Ross, Stahl Meyer, Red Man, Red Hearts, Wilson Franks, etc.)?

Ben

Only a couple of those-I have the Red Hearts because I just love the look of that set and I have an Erskine from the Wilson Franks. Not sure if I will go after the others.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Nice run of "Cards" Shane....I took on another of the tougher team sets(due to some of the stars) to build...the Yankees. Minus a few Mantles from the early to mid 50s(52-58), a handful of mid 50s stars, and the 52 Hi #s, this run of Yankees Topps (regular issue/traded)cards is complete through 2010. Although most are regular issue, I have added some non regular issue cards to the run like the 77-79 BK cards of Yankees that were not pictured as Yankees in the Topps regular issue set. In a much less organized fashion, I collect any other Yankee cards from whenever to present....they are just not as organized as the Topps run I am working.

[frankhardy]

Originally Posted by savedfrommyspokes

Nice run of "Cards" Shane....I took on another of the tougher team sets(due to some of the stars) to build...the Yankees. Minus a few Mantles from the early to mid 50s(52-58), a handful of mid 50s stars, and the 52 Hi #s, this run of Yankees Topps (regular issue/traded)cards is complete through 2010. Although most are regular issue, I have added some non regular issue cards to the run like the 77-79 BK cards of Yankees that were not pictured as Yankees in the Topps regular issue set. In a much less organized fashion, I collect any other Yankee cards from whenever to present....they are just not as organized as the Topps run I am working.

Ouch! Yankees team sets! I could not imagine. The Cardinals are tough enough. Not only are the Yankees stars in the base set expensive, but if you take the route I have taken and go with some of the harder sets..... boy oh boy...that will be tough!

Just a question for you guys - why are you stopping at 2000 Topps and 2010 Topps?

One thing that I have done to keep expenses down is that I am not too picky on condition for the older vintage cards. I do have some nice ones, but I don't mind a low grade vintage card to keep the price down. From memory, my 1948 Bowman Musial rookie and my 1965 Topps Carlton rookie are both in very low grade. I might upgrade one day, but I may not. I am more about completion than I am about quality.

[Beatles Guy]

I'm less than 10 away from a complete Topps and Bowman run of Cardinals from 1948-1985. Working on the pesky '52 high numbers now.

[frankhardy]

Originally Posted by Beatles Guy

I'm less than 10 away from a complete Topps and Bowman run of Cardinals from 1948-1985. Working on the pesky '52 high numbers now.

Alright! A Cardinals collector! Those high numbers are pesky! What about condition? Why are you stopping at 1985 and not going all the way to present? Just curious.

[Ksquared]

I collect Orioles Topps cards (regular set cards). I need about 7 to finish my 1954-2013 run (a few Brooks Robinson cards and a few Boog Powell cards that I just need to go out and get). I have about 150 graded and rest are raw. Just finished the 1971 and 72 sets graded by PSA, working on 54 set and thinking of starting 1970 and/or 1975. I also have the Orioles in T206 and a few other oddball sets but stopped short of collecting all the oddball/non-topps sets. I also started collecting Orioles players on racks and cello packs as well.

Jim

[Beatles Guy]

Originally Posted by frankhardy

Alright! A Cardinals collector! Those high numbers are pesky! What about condition? Why are you stopping at 1985 and not going all the way to present? Just curious.

Condition I am somewhat flexible with as I go back, average is Ex-Mt. No lower than VG though. As for modern Cardinals, I do the Heritage set every year, but most of the modern stuff does not interest me.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by frankhardy

Just a question for you guys - why are you stopping at 2000 Topps and 2010 Topps?

Two words explaining the stopping at 2010...pure laziness. I started this run in 2010 and in the excitement of starting this, I completed the run on the recent end, but have been to lazy to come back and add to the recent end since all of my focus has been on the "tougher" end of the run. Some day I will come back and buy the team sets to finish the recent end(and keep up with it).

[jasonc]

Seriously thinking about starting a team set of the Orioles (Fav team)
I imagine the best way to tackle it would be just like complete sets, acquire a lot of the teams cards like for instance 80% of the cards from some of the years at first - and this would be more fun then buying the whole team set at once.

Another thing to consider is the for the O's, at least in 1954 and 1955 for example, it wouldn't be too bad buying them card by card (not too many high priced cards there, if they are mid-grade or lower)

I too agree with what was said here, I am getting kind of burned out trying to go for the complete sets of 4 or 500 cards, and it is not exciting acquiring the commons to me. This is something I am going to try.

So question for the OP and others, is a good way to tackle this is buying a "lot" of cards (80%) from a certain year? or buying a compete team set, also since collecting a team is more what you like, are you concerned with condition?

I do have some of the high priced cards out of the way (I have a lot of Brooks already, so this would be interesting. Also, I am going to about 1979, because after 1980, I have the complete sets anyway.

[brewing]

Jason, team sets from 1974-1979 are easy to find and cheap (78 may be difficult for you).
You can find team lots for the earlier years. The high#'s will be the biggest stumbling block and those will have to be bought individually.
Condition? How deep are your pockets or how anal you are will answer that.
I highly suggest doing it, it's very rewarding.


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[frankhardy]

Jason,

I agree with Brent. Some of the more modern sets you can find the entire Orioles team set. If you are doing just Topps, you should finish that fairly quickly. But be warned, the bug might just bite and you will start expanding. I recommend going for all of the mainstream issues. I would start with Topps, then go with vintage Bowman. Then, you can go modern Bowman, Fleer, Donruss, Upper Deck, Score. All of those will be fairly easy. Then, you can branch out and start doing some of the harder stuff to find. Just a suggestion.

A great resource is the SCD catalog and teamsets4u.com.

A few great places to buy besides Ebay are sportlots.com and comc.com. Those are great places to buy commons and minor stars.

[Cliff Bowman]

Since no other Cubs collector has had the courage yet to admit to it in this thread, I will be the first. I wonder if there is a "Cubs Anonymous" help program?

[Samsdaddy]

Originally Posted by Cliff Bowman

Since no other Cubs collector has had the courage yet to admit to it in this thread, I will be the first. I wonder if there is a "Cubs Anonymous" help program?

Cliff, Ron Santo and Billy Williams are my two all time favorite players. I try to get all Topps cards (regular, league leaders, all star, inserts) of both players.

Not to stray from the thread here but I would have had Santo in the Hall of Fame before Billy Williams. It is a shame Santo was not alive to see his enshrinement.

[Cliff Bowman]

Originally Posted by Samsdaddy

Cliff, Ron Santo and Billy Williams are my two all time favorite players. I try to get all Topps cards (regular, league leaders, all star, inserts) of both players.

Not to stray from the thread here but I would have had Santo in the Hall of Fame before Billy Williams. It is a shame Santo was not alive to see his enshrinement.

I knew another one of us would show up .

[jasonc]

Originally Posted by frankhardy

Jason,

I agree with Brent. Some of the more modern sets you can find the entire Orioles team set. If you are doing just Topps, you should finish that fairly quickly. But be warned, the bug might just bite and you will start expanding. I recommend going for all of the mainstream issues. I would start with Topps, then go with vintage Bowman. Then, you can go modern Bowman, Fleer, Donruss, Upper Deck, Score. All of those will be fairly easy. Then, you can branch out and start doing some of the harder stuff to find. Just a suggestion.

A great resource is the SCD catalog and teamsets4u.com.

A few great places to buy besides Ebay are sportlots.com and comc.com. Those are great places to buy commons and minor stars.

Thanks for the advice, starting out with Topps first. (I might even just stick with topps) BTW, I am aware of the teamsets4u.com site, excellent site for finding out the players from each set.

Also, from 2001 onward, I am thinking of going with Topps Heritage, I really like the look of those sets, those would go good in a binder with all of the O's by year, plus the challenge of the short prints. I am going to try and tackle the regular Topps first though.

[Jayworld]

Being a huge Padres fan (since 1974), I collect the Padres team sets, with a caveat:
I only collect years in which I don't have complete sets, and I stop at 1985. For me, that was the year that I started following MLB less and less, and once the Padres switched to navy in 1991, I lost a lot of interest in collecting the cards.

So, I collect team sets from 1969-1974 and 1980-1984. I do collect Donruss and Fleer in addition to Topps from 1981-84. I particularly like the 1981 Donruss Padres, as you have a mix of years uniforms (usually, the cards show the previous year's uniforms), so you get a mix of 1978-79-80 on the 1981 Donruss cards, including the rarely seen (and rarely baseball card depicted) yellow Padres jerseys from 1978 (1981 Donruss Broderick Perkins).

[jasonc]

Originally Posted by frankhardy

Jason,

I agree with Brent. Some of the more modern sets you can find the entire Orioles team set. If you are doing just Topps, you should finish that fairly quickly. But be warned, the bug might just bite and you will start expanding. I recommend going for all of the mainstream issues. I would start with Topps, then go with vintage Bowman. Then, you can go modern Bowman, Fleer, Donruss, Upper Deck, Score. All of those will be fairly easy. Then, you can branch out and start doing some of the harder stuff to find. Just a suggestion.

A great resource is the SCD catalog and teamsets4u.com.

A few great places to buy besides Ebay are sportlots.com and comc.com. Those are great places to buy commons and minor stars.

Thought I'd revive a thread and do an update.
Shifting my collecting focus AGAIN, and now focusing on my Orioles sets.

Like what was discussed here, I did acquire the modern Orioles Topps sets, in fact 1974 to present, and I was really happy with the purchase, thought I got a really good deal. Thanks for the suggestion.

Now to the fun part, building 1954 to 1973, at this point I am going about it slowly and concentrating on regular topps only. I would say I have about 30% of 1954 to 1973, most of Brooks and Frank except only a few, so I think I have an awesome start. Already have the Palmer rookie (mind you, probably a VG, but this project is a collection not investment)

Would like to hear other updates on how everybody's team sets are going, anybody else getting into team set collecting?

[frankhardy]

Jason,

Glad to see that you took the plunge on the Topps team sets. You will enjoy it. Have fun with 54 to 73!

Also glad to see another Cardinals collector go at it! Those 62 Jello's are really tough. I have 61 to 63 Post and the 63 Jello, but I only have one 62 Jello.

[mrmopar]

Dodgers collector here. Never a shortage of those for vintage, but they seem to be less popular in present day collecting circles. Fine by me though. I prefer Brooklyn stuff and thankfully grabbed up a fair amount in the early ebay days, because now I don't want to pay the premium for the stuff I don't have.

[toppcat]

Originally Posted by mrmopar

Dodgers collector here. Never a shortage of those for vintage, but they seem to be less popular in present day collecting circles. Fine by me though. I prefer Brooklyn stuff and thankfully grabbed up a fair amount in the early ebay days, because now I don't want to pay the premium for the stuff I don't have.

I would agree woth this. The Brooklyn premium is almost non-existent these days; it used to be a large fraction of the Yankees premium.

[Laxcat]

Easier(?) to do than most of the others. There are some tough issues out there. Luckily I had a very good starting, and quite nearly complete, collection.

[frankhardy]

I joined the datasbyte site for Cardinals collectors. I may build me a list of my collection on the site. Right now, I just have a spreadsheet. I can already see that some cards need to be added to the database. I will do that if I can find the time.

I think Randy (a Cardinals collector) needs to chime in on this.

[egri]

I'm currently working on a signed Boston Red Sox 1950-52 Bowman run. My favorite is the 1951s, so they've taken center stage while the other two are in a holding pattern for the time being. The two big-ticket ones I still need from that year are Steve O'Neil and Ted Williams.

[BaltOrioles]

I'm a Baltimore Orioles collector from 1954 to present. I've put together most of the team sets, along with many oddball issues, but collect more than just cards.

I really enjoy the Orioles team issued player postcards, team issued 8x10 photos, and programs (regular season, post season, spring training and exhibition games).

My current passion are programs/scorecards from all the Orioles minor league affiliates from 1954-2021. About 90% complete, but some really obscure 1950's programs still to find.

[tschock]

Mostly a set collector here, and it depends whether that is with or without variations. However I also have a few players I collect as well as more of an 'open ended' pursuit on pre-war cards.

I like the Heritage cards, but after the first year of Heritage I wasn't about to pursue a bunch of intentionally short printed cards to complete a set. So I resigned myself to collecting just the Giants cards for each year, which might have just a couple of SPs (to complete the 'base' team set), picking up any parallel or variations whenever without really 'pursuing' them (my 'open ended' approach). Doing a team set for the Heritage cards gives me a flavor of the product without the financial impact, which I can then use to focus more on vintage.

[frankhardy]

I just looked over my original post and it included my want list from back then. I have made some great progress as many of the want list has been filled. I certainly still need some of the more rare cards.

Here is what I have picked up since then from that list.

1955 Topps Hocus Focus - Wally Moon (maybe it wasn't impossible after all)

1967 Topps Discs - Orlando Cepeda

1968 Topps Plaks - Orlando Cepeda

1969 Topps 4-in-1 Stickers - Steve Huntz & Mike Torrez Rookie Stars (with Carl Yastrzemski)

1970 Topps Candy Lids - Richie Allen

1972 Topps Candy Lids - Lou Brock, Bob Gibson

1973 Topps Comics - Joe Torre

1990 Topps Folders / Sport Shots / Portfolio / Duo-Tang Pedro Guerrero

1997 Topps ProShooters Marbles Ron Gant

2001 Topps Retrofractors 146 Fernando Tatis

1967 Fleer Logo Emblems & Cloth Patches (tallboys; test) - Cardinals Logo Emblem (1966 w/l record; save all 19 cards), Cardinals Cloth Patch, Cardinals Trio Cloth Patch

1968-70 Fleer Cloth Patches - Cardinals (orange; blue bordered logo)

1969 Fleer Pennants & Stamps - Cardinals

1970 Fleer Iron Ons - Cardinals

1970 Fleer Team Logo Decals - Cardinals

1973 Fleer Team Logo Decals - Cardinals

1976 Fleer Iron Ons - Cardinals

That's been my progress since 2013, plus keeping up to date with modern (variations and SP's)

[brewing]

After completing the Tiger basic run of Topps, I have expanded. Started 1933 Goudey team set after a buying a common from a board member (2 away from completion).
Also have started working on all Topps cards that have a Tiger (LLdrs, etc).
Recently picked up my first T205 from a board member.


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[Wite3]

I know there are several other Phillies collectors out there...

I have a limited budget as a teacher but have managed to put together a vast array of Phillies from 1886 to 1989 (my cut-off). I do have a bit of stuff post 1989 but do not actively collect that. That being said, around 1991 I spent two years putting together a list of every Phillie card produced from 1880-1990. When it was finished, it was nearly 40 pages at a 8 font. Now it is down to just under 20 pages with a 10 font. I have examples of many sets but would love one of everything. I know I will never complete the list but there are still things on the list that are attainable even at my meager income.

My current list can be found here:
http://www.oldbaseball.com/wantlists/philwant.htm

When I am not buying T205s, I am searching the net for oddball Phillies.

Joshua

[dembums]

I suppose it all started in 87’ when, at eleven years of age, I traded a 1983 Topps Wade Boggs rookie, torn and taped, to my friend for a 1954 Topps Jackie Robinson. The Robinson card was in poor condition too, but admittedly, better off than the Boggs. However, residing in the burbs of Boston, and thus being Red Sox fans, one might begin to see why my friend would agree to such a trade. It’s not like we were scholars of the game either. We both knew that Robinson was famous, but neither one of us knew who the Brooklyn Dodgers were, or the significance of Jackie.

It wasn’t until the late 90’s, after working in an inner-city school for a year, learning about social-justice and the civil rights movement – that I really started to idolize (and yes, romanticize) Jackie Robinson and his team – the Brooklyn Dodgers. And it started with this one card – the 54’ Topps. I remember seeing below his name “outfield, Brooklyn Dodgers,” and imagining what the team must have been like, the city, the stadium, the fans. And thus began the journey – a decade of Dodgers. Collecting all Brooklyn Dodgers cards from 1947 (Jackie’s rookie year) to 1957 (when the Dodgers left Brooklyn and Jackie’s retirement).

Although approximately 220 cards acquired (in EX+ condition on average) and not even 50% complete, I have loved the journey. Specializing in one team’s cards issued over a decade, I feel I have developed some type of kinship with these cards, and of course, the people they depict. Time Travel with Card Board. They take you back to an era, which has in many ways gone to the ether, but yet reside in these little rectangular pieces of cardboard.

Pardon for my waxing a bit poetic,

Ben

[hcv123]

Hi all. I have been a Roberto Clemente collector for many years. My collection is almost complete - with the likelihood of my finding the remaining items I have my eyes out for being slim to none. Enter my 2 young sons - My older one is 7 and his favorite player is Roberto Clemente (Nolan Ryan - second) - anyway I was trying to think about how to get him (and my younger one) started with card collecting - I came up with and he agreed with a 1952 Topps Pirate team set (ultimately to expand to additional Pirate team sets) - So we are started - I know there are a bunch of Pirate high numbers and expect they will be quite a challenge - other than that just slowly enjoying the pursuit and teaching my sons about the fun of card collecting - we are collecting well centered mid grade (4-6) raw or graded cards.

[ALR-bishop]

Howard---I think it is great that your sons are entering the hobby and doing so with a project that you are involved with as well. Mine never got into baseball cards. One collected Star Trek cards for awhile ( and spoke Klingon), one hockey cards and one soccer cards, but none of them have kept an interest in card collecting. I wish now that I had made more of an effort to get one or more of them interested in what I collect