And so it begins

I received enough of a push recently -- from three different directions -- to officially drop the green flag on starting my completion quest for the 1973 Topps set.

The first push came when I completed the 1972 Topps set. No other set to get in my way now.

The second push came when I lost my want lists. The rehaul now includes the 1973 Topps set and, man, I may have made a wrong call including names with all of the numbers! If that angry mass of text intimidates you and keeps you from sending me anything ever again, I completely understand.

The final push came when I received a package in the mail from the mystery sender again.

Last year I received a couple cards from him and then now this package that mostly included some 1973s. He apparently completed the '73 set already and was nice enough to send a few extras my way, but I don't know if I believe any of this because there's no name with the note he sent and no return address. Really, I don't mind if you want to be anonymous, just tell me so I'm not pestering other people who didn't send the cards.

Then again, this may be a case of my deteriorating brain forgetting someone who I'm supposed to damn well know.

But enough about my hang-ups, let's see some of the '73s.

Here are some '70s favorites to get my '73 completion quest off to a "rough" start. This foursome received plenty of love and care at one point. I plan on upgrading all four. But for now let's just enjoy that they're in my possession.

I may or may not do upgrade these two. The rookie subset appears in the final 60 cards of the set, which aren't exactly tough to find -- this is not 1971 or 1972 here -- but they can be an inconvenience. Check out possibly the worst airbrushing job ever on Mario Guerrero.

These fellows will head right to the 1973 Topps binder that I have not created yet. Jose Pagan is the penultimate card in the set! And it's already mine!

And let's not forget Reggie! A little paper loss is not going to deter me from officially placing this in my collection. Let's not be persnickety. It's Mr. October, on one of his worst-looking cards! 1973 Topps you beautiful disaster!

Mystery sender also provided five of the team checklists because everyone always forgets the checklists. I really appreciate this.

Not related to the '73s but also appreciated were two more Edward Vela art cards to go with the Pee Wee Reese I received from mystery man earlier.

Absolutely beautiful. Couldn't have selected two finer individuals for these two cards. I'm thrilled that I get to add this Ron Cey card to my collection, signed by the artist himself on the back!

So there you are, the 1973 set gets off to a mysterious start.

I know I'm going to want to start hacking into that giant want list soon. Now I know why I usually refrain from adding set want lists until I've made a decent dent in the thing.