I'd better get moving

I received an email from David a week or so ago. He said he had some cards for me. I had traded with him before. He's a Dodger fan residing in New York, just like me. I figured he had some Dodgers to throw my way. And he did.

But what he mostly sent were 1971 Topps from my want list. Wow. And they weren't any old '71 Topps. They were mostly high numbers. The difficult ones. Seriously, with the exception of one card, the lowest numbered card that I received was #537. The majority were cards in the high 600s and 700s. Wow, again.

The crazy thing is that these 60 or so cards aren't the only '71s I've received recently. I just received some more today from another trade, including a card I thought it would take me awhile to land. AND some more '71s are on their way from another trade.

I am now up to having 84 percent of the set. I never ever thought I'd get to this point on this set so quickly. I mean the set is almost 40 years old, and it's known for being a bit of pain to collect. But I find myself staring at the most difficult cards to get much earlier than I thought I would. I thought guys like Mays and Aaron and Munson would be a distant project years down the line. They still may be with the cost of those cards, but there are a lot less cards between me and them. It's time for me to come up with a plan to get those cards, even in my pathetic economic state.

While I ponder my strategy (a Night Owl Cards telethon?), how about a look at bunch of '71s from David? Here is SOME of what I got:

A miscut beauty of Mike Jorgensen. People who send me '71s often apologize about the condition, because '71s are a hassle with the black borders. But I am always pleased with what people send me. Unless you used your '71 cards for paper airplane making or it looks like you attempted to lick the black border off the cards, then I don't care.

A card of one of the last Senators.

Four cards of backup/utility infielders.

A card of a guy INTENTLY focused on his target.

Two cards of a couple of old birds.

A card of the recently dearly departed.

A card of a player's solo card debut.

A card that sums up the Cubs' problems in the 1970s.

A card of the man whose participation in a controversial play during the 1969 World Series led to the establishment of the running lane along the first base line.

A card of the man who caught Dock Ellis' no-hitter, the one Ellis claimed he pitched while on LSD.

A card of the man who pitched the first game in San Diego Padres history. He struck out 12 and won.

A card of a team hoping that a lousy debut season meant no sophomore jinx. They did win 21 more games than in 1969. Still finished last.

A card of a future Los Angeles Dodger.

Two cards of former Dodgers. Although they are obviously still Dodgers in their respective photos.

A card of a future manager and broadcaster.

A card of a future hurler of a no-hitter.

Four cards of players whose best times were behind them.

Four cards of players whose best times were ahead of them.

Six cards of guys that, damn, I've never heard of before (the '71 set is 752 cards strong, and with only two subsets and the team cards, there may be more player cards in this set than almost any other Topps set).

Two cards of guys named Russ (not Russell).

Two cards of guys with awesome last names.

One card of a guy with an awesome first name. Or nickname, actually.

Three cards of guys whose names might be confused with someone else.

Six cards demonstrating awesome early '70s adventures in airbrushing.

And lastly, one final terrific card. Not as great as this one. But still fantastic.

David, man, thanks a bunch. Only 118 cards to go! Now, if I save a dollar a week, how many weeks will it take for me to land those Clemente/Mays/Aaron/Munson cards?