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Preparing for a world of pain


A few weeks ago, Robert from $30 a Week Habit sent me an email asking me if I was still planning to build the 1967 Topps set.

I sent him a return email that said I am planning to do nothing of the sort. I am not insane. Please find whoever told you that scurrilous rumor and correct them immediately. The whole idea is preposterous.

Heh.

OK, I actually did admit to "planning" to build the '67 Topps set. But when I say "planning," I'm using all kinds of air quotes and saying it very sarcastically so you don't know whether I'm attempting to collect it or not.

And there's a good reason for my actions.

I'm afraid of the 1967 Topps set.

It's scary. It's mean.

Not only is the set 50 years old and filled with legends like Clemente, Mays and Mantle, but the high numbers are about as sadistic as they get. I've completed the 1971 Topps high numbers and the even tougher 1972 Topps high numbers and neither are as intimidating as the '67s. Do I want to pay 75 bucks for a Red Sox team card? Fifty dollars for a Tommy John? Have I mentioned that Tom Seaver's rookie card is a high number in this set?

No. No, I am not planning to build this set. I've taken the quotes off now.

Now do you believe me?

Robert didn't believe me.


He sent a stack of 80 or 90 cards from the '67 set instead.

Guess who's planning to build the '67 set!

Oh, boy, am I in for a world of pain.

I've never considered trying to complete a set from the '60s basically because those sets were before my time (and unlike the 1956 set, no one gifted me a bunch of cards from any of those sets when I was a teenager). Consider the '67 set. I was crawling around in diapers when kids were collecting that thing. I mean who are these guys?


Really. Who are these guys? I'd never heard of any of them until pulling them out of the envelope.



Not these guys either.

I've got some research to do!


But the reason I want to build this set is because it's the ideal set for getting to know '60s ballplayers. (All of the above guys are very '60s, by the way).

I ranked this set in the top five of Topps sets ever made and one of the reasons was that it gives collectors a window into '60s baseball unlike any other set. The design is simple (yet colorful) with more room for '60s backgrounds than any other Topps set.

Yeah, it's guys I don't know a lot about, but this set makes me want to know 'em.


Yeah, it'll be a world of pain. But it'll also be a world of Yankees I've never heard of. How is that possible? I thought New York trumpeted the name of every pinstriper as if they were God's greatest gift. What a weird time '67 was.



A world of players I only know as managers.



And managers I didn't even know were managers.



And stadiums I'll never visit.



And World Series I'm glad I never saw.



I'm learning that '67 knew how to do two things very well:

Turn a Summer into Love and make a checklist that's damn collectible.



So who cares if I knew these guys ...



... when they were these guys (OK, so Woody/Woodie looks the same).

I'm jumping into this strange '67 world.

It will be a long time before you see a want list for this set.

And it will be a long time before I go on one of my online shopping sprees and consciously pick up '67 cards.

But I think I'm finally ready for this world of pa ... er, world of fun.


With cards like this, resistance is futile.

Comments

Mark Hoyle said…
I finally put this one to bed last year. The high numbers are definitely killers. Just bide your time one usually pops up every so often at a reasonable price. All in all my favorite set. Go get em
Mark Hoyle said…
I gave a few dupes when you get a listb
acrackedbat said…
How old might you be upon 67 completion?
GOGOSOX60 said…
I don't think any human being alive has ever seen the 1967 Brooks Robinson card. One card I wish Topps would reprint in the Archives as a Brooks collector!
Daniel Wilson said…
Awesome stuff from Robert! Good luck on the set!
Mike Matson said…
The only way I'll see that Jenkins is digitally lol I think it's well out of my price range
steelehere said…
Best of Luck. Looking forward to future posts on this set.
Don said…
Good luck on the quest. I completed the 69 set last year, and it was fun. I'm thinking on starting the 64 set. Why, I don't know but I like the way it looks.
Commishbob said…
Oh man you're in for it now.


Hey I have some '67s. Lemme see what I can do.
LOL, here is my want list:

1967 TOPPS: 8x, 13, 15, 23x, 30, 32x, 33, 34, 45, 52, 53, 56, 69, 73, 77, 82, 83, 86, 90, 105x, 106, 132, 139, 148, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 209, 212, 214, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233x, 234, 235x, 236, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 267, 270, 271, 272, 274, 275, 276, 277, 279, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 301x, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326x, 327, 328x, 329, 330, 331, 332, 333, 334, 335, 336, 337, 338, 339, 340, 341, 342, 343, 344, 345, 346, 347x, 348, 349, 350, 351, 352, 353x, 354, 355, 357, 358, 359, 360, 361x, 362, 363, 364x, 365, 366, 367, 368, 369, 370, 373, 374, 375, 376, 377, 379, 380, 381, 382, 383, 384, 385, 386, 387, 388, 389, 390, 391, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 409, 410, 411, 412, 413, 414, 415, 416, 417, 418, 419, 421, 424, 425, 427, 428, 431, 432, 433, 434, 435, 436, 437, 438, 439, 440, 441, 442, 443, 444, 446, 447, 448, 449, 450, 451, 452, 453, 455, 456, 457, 458, 459, 460, 461, 462, 463, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468, 469, 470, 471, 472, 473, 474, 475, 476, 478, 479, 480, 481, 482, 483, 485, 486, 487, 488, 489, 490, 491, 492, 493, 494, 495, 496, 497, 498, 499, 500, 501, 502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 507, 508, 509, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, 541, 542, 543, 544, 545, 546, 547, 548, 549, 550, 551, 552, 553, 554, 555, 556, 557, 558, 559, 560, 561, 562, 563, 564, 565, 566, 567, 568, 569, 570, 571, 572, 573, 574, 575, 576, 577, 578, 579, 580, 581, 582, 583, 584, 585, 586, 587, 588, 589, 590, 591, 592, 593, 594, 595, 596, 597, 598, 599, 600, 601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608, 609.

Now for the good NEWS, I have a lot of dupes! Email me.
I have always wanted to build a vintage set. While the 60s are probably out of reach for me, I've toyed with the idea of a 1970s set or even an early 80s set. But they're just outside of my price range right now. Great package from Robert; what a guy!
Greg Zakwin said…
Good luck fellow Greg! As has been mentioned....the high numbers are just murder. Tough and stupid pricey.
Unknown said…
Good luck! '67 Topps has always been one of my favorite card designs. Love it! Not only does it have a lot of great players but it feels very spacious and clean, kinda like when one's out on a baseball field and you have all this space and freedom around you. Beautiful.
BobWalkthePlank said…
/checks eBay for pricing of high numbers......oh boy. Godspeed!
Old Cards said…
I was one of those kids collecting the 67 set while you were in diapers. I have about three fourths of the set and like so many others, have very few of the high numbers, because I quit collecting at the end of the summer. I will never complete this set, because I refuse to pay $100+ for Mike Shannon and $50+ for Norm Cash. Both good players, but not superstars and not worth the money. Mike Shannon's 69 card is the identical photo and goes for $2. I know, I know, scarcity determines value thanks to "investors".
GCA said…
This is my birth year set. I haven't tried it myself, but my buddy is ten cards away (all high numbers including Brooks). But don't despair, I found him a few high numbers for under ten bucks. You just have to shop around. As long as you don't want minty fresh gradeable copies, you'll be fine.
Unknown said…
oh my good luck with the pain / undertaking/ set building. May your wallet forgive you!
Fuji said…
That Fence Busters card is fantastic! Gonna need to track down a copy for my collection. Best of luck with this set.
AdamE said…
Even I need a 1967 Red Sox Team card.
Tim Ellison said…
I don't know how many stadiums they shot '67 Topps in. The usual New York stadiums, of course. I think Connie Mack and RFK, too. Not sure what else! Some of the Pirates cards confuse me because they seem to be wearing home uniforms in what does not look like Forbes Field (as in #586 Manny Jimenez). Maybe they were taken during an exhibition game!
Stubby said…
I love '67. It might be my all time favorite. But I can't handle that much pain. Even in completing my run of Mets--and doing so 30 years ago--'67 was murder. Wes Westrum could not be found anywhere at any price. For years. Years, I tellz ya. Outside of a few expensive Ryan's, Westrum was the card I could not find to complete my Mets run. The one that haunted me and kept me up at nights. Oh, I got him. Eventually. But it was a nightmare. OTOH, I lucked out on the Seaver rookie. Got it at a show for $17. I said to the guy, "OK, what's wrong with it?" "Look at it," he said. "It looks like it's been chewed up by a lawn mower." Hey, I've seen cards that looked like they'd been chewed up by a lawn mower...including a few that actually were. This was not one of those. Mostly, I saw one creased corner. $17 and that puppy was mine. But I'd never tackle the whole set. I started once, then said to myself, "Who am I kidding?"

Jason, there's one 60's set that's a fun and relatively (I said relatively) easy build. 1965. The high numbers aren't nearly as scarce as other years. You've got Mantle, Perez, Carlton and Catfish as the money cards and all can be found and purchased in decent condition without breaking the bank. Clemente, Aaron, Koufax, Rose and Mays are (relatively) mid-range priced in this set. Most everything else (including the Morgan rookie) can be found for (relatively) cheap (I got my VG Morgan rookie for $1.90). I think I paid about $50 for a beaut of a Mantle, and that was way more than I paid for any other card in the set (though, in fairness, I already had the Perez rookie decades before I decided to build the set...and, to me, it's a Kevin Collins rookie card). Some could stand to be upgraded, but the set's finished. If you want to build a 60s set, that's the one to tackle.