Completing another all-time favorite

 

By my count, I have completed 61 sets, discounting smaller insert sets.

 

Out of those 61, all but three are baseball sets, which shows where my devotion lies. Two of the non-baseball sets are the 1991 MusiCards, both the U.S. and U.K. versions.

 

The other is the 1977 Topps football set. I completed it this week.

 

 

The last two cards arrived in the mail, two linemen together. They weren't particularly difficult to find. I had just forgotten about them and in looking through my binder realized they were missing.

 

Now it is complete and I couldn't be happier. This is my all-time favorite football set ... by a significant margin. It's possibly in my top 10 or 15 sets ever made, regardless of sport.

 

I know some collectors find it too gaudy or possessing the same drawback that other '70s Topps NFL sets have -- no logos. The poses are corny. There are too many players without helmets. What's with all the weird sideline shots?

 

Those people clearly don't understand the '70s. All of the above "problems" are actually what makes the set so great.

 

The reason why I didn't notice the lack of logos when I was buying packs of the set in '77 -- or at least dismissed the lack of logos -- is because the set was so damn colorful. I loved the ribbon design and the combination of colors. It attracted me in a way that no other football set released at that time could. Who cares if the player isn't wearing a helmet when the rest of the card is so damn attractive?

 

This is a lesson that Panini finally realized for its baseball sets when it started releasing Chronicles. Make your cards/set as shiny, gaudy or wacky as possible and nobody will care about the logo issue.

 

But anyway, this is supposed to be an ode to one of my childhood favorites.

 

I accumulated maybe 100 cards from the set that year (only in 1979 did I buy more football cards). And below were some of my favorites at the time:

 

 

Falcons. Yes, these two in particular. I'm sure it was the bright red shiny uniforms. Let's just add to the color overkill. At least night owl will like it.

 

There was a period where Steve Bartkowski was my favorite quarterback. And I'd be annoyed each Sunday when his team didn't perform. They were letting him down!

 

 

Rams. Without a doubt. These two were favorites. The Rams were right up there with the array of football favorites I had back then. With no particular allegiance, I'd bounce between the Rams and Packers and Oilers and Vikings and Cowboys and Raiders. They all looked impressive to me.

 

 

You could've told me that Ray Guy was 7 feet tall and a linebacker. That's how I saw him.

 

 

Oh, and this card. I couldn't have told you one thing about Kenny Stabler when I saw this card. But I knew he was great.

 

 

Two more favorites, both cards I owned back then. I knew a little bit about Rocky Bleier. Didn't know anything about Archie Griffin. But I picked well.

 

But my overall favorite at the time were the Cowboys, particularly all these guys.

 

 

The Cowboys were massive in the late '70s and this was long before I realized it's not a good idea at all to like the Cowboys. But those cards appealed to me so much. Not one of those players is wearing a helmet or moving at all, but they're just so impressive and regal sitting there, or so I thought.

 

I also loved the red and yellow combination more than any of the others.

 

 

I don't know what that says about the Bills, who I ignored back then despite the same color scheme as the Cowboys. Ten years later, I'd be a Bills fan.

 

Now lets move on to some current favorites.

 

 

The Dan Fouts station wagon card, of course that's a favorite.

 

 

Dudes wearing hats. This is stuff you never see on a baseball card -- it's a baseball cap or else! Which is why I probably find it so amusing.

 

 

Is there anything better than a glasses-wearing ball-carrier? Chuck Muncie had my undying devotion.

 

 

Perhaps not on the same level as the 1977 Mark Fidrych card but when you get the All-Pro banner AND the 1,000-yard stamp, there is no doubt you are at the top of your game.

 

 

Speaking of which, they treated the premier quarterbacks in the game at the time right, particularly Stabler, Tarkenton and Staubach.

But the sideline shots are the best, pictures you don't exactly see every day.

 

An oxygen mask. Picture that on any other sports card.

 

A neck massage. I could use one every day. Those NFL players have it so good.

 

 

 

I've mentioned this card before (and many of the others on this post). The phantom NFL player is rising up behind you Jack! Watch out!

 

A giant of a man, Harold Carmichael was 6-7 and they can barely get him the frame.

 

 

 

Tell me a guy who looks like this could be a quarterback today.

 

 

One of my favorite things about NFL sets from the '70s is all the discovery. I followed the NFL as a kid only after the baseball season ended and not as avidly. I knew the star players but a whole bunch of dudes who played then didn't exist for me at the time. So that's why I look at the names of some of these guys and say, come on, this HAS to be a made-up name.

 

Oh, and, yes, I could go for one right now.

Topps artists worked overtime on NFL cards in the '70s, getting rid of all those offensive logos. So they could be forgiven in going a bit overboard in some examples.

 

Tell me, is there really a live human being in all of that artistry?

Although this set took more than a couple of years to complete, it wasn't murder on my wallet and no card really gave me problems. I expected Walter Payton to be the most difficult, but that arrived about midway through the quest.

The biggest stars, Bradshaw, Mean Joe, Theismann, O.J., nope, none of them were all that difficult.

In fact, the ones that were unexpected toughies were those pop-culture players that I've discussed before with baseball.

 

Guys like this. In fact, Brian Sipe is one of the few cards that I should upgrade in this set.

It feels great to finish my all-time favorite football set. Now that I'm done, I know I'll tackle that other football set I collected as a kid, from 1979. Expect to see a want list for that eventually.

But for now I'm just going to enjoy this set, in all of its outlandish color and disregard for logos. Another journey is complete.