That figures, just when I was beginning to question whether there was anything left in the "Joy of a Team Set" series, a natural topic falls in my lap a day or two later.
I picked up a few cards for my 1970 Topps set quest over the last few weeks, most of them within the past week. Here's a pic:
All of these are noteworthy, although I suppose I don't have to say that when set-building. That's the beauty of set-collecting! Want to make every card feel special? Build a set.
But to spell it out a little more, the Jerry Koosman Sporting News All-Star is the second-to-last of that subset I need. Just Denny McLain left. The Hal Lanier, Jim Merritt and Jim French cards are all higher numbers, which is where most of my wants reside. I receive all three from a collector on Twitter, Mike, and they're from his childhood collection. Awesome!
The Abernathy is cool because the stats on the back begin at 1955 and Topps includes all the minor league stops, too. But the Mike Hershberger card, which I obtained from another Twitter collector, Tim, is the reason for this post.
I didn't realize it until filing this card on TCDB but that was the last card I needed to complete the Pilots team set! I've completed a Pilots team set, you guys! That's one of the main milestones on the way to finishing the '70 set!
The Pilots have reached cult status and have an almost mythological hold on many collectors. I'm sure some have completed this team set with no intention of finishing off the rest of the '70 set. I'm sure there are Pilots fans left, who went to Sick's Stadium and rooted on the exhibition squad, but more than 50 years after their demise, there seem to be plenty of Pilots fans to go around whether they were alive in 1969 or not.
I was alive then -- watching a new show called Sesame Street. The Pilots were before my time. I grew to know them like many fans did, by reading "Ball Four." If it weren't for that book, many of the guys on the cards would be a mystery to me. Even then, the ones I know most are the ones whose careers lasted long enough to show up on cards in the mid-to-late '70s. Guys like Tommy Harper, Mike Hegan, Diego Segui an Marty Pattin.
But enough babbling, let's get the Joy Of A Team Set routine under way! It truly is a joy this time!
Favorite cards runners-up: 5. Dave Bristol, 4. Steve Hovley, 3. Greg Goosen, 2. Steve McNertney
Favorite element on the back:
Ah, that beanball humor. I HOPE the same guy didn't get hit five times. Also, what kind of thing is that to put on a pitcher's card??
Least favorite element on the back: When I started collecting cards in the mid-1970s, Topps included what town or city a player was born in, along with their birth date. But prior to 1973, that didn't happen and it still throws me off.
Famous error card: 1970 Topps is fairly free of error or variation cards, most of them concern the checklists.
Team's claim to fame: The '70 set represents the 1969 Pilots, for the most part. It was the only year they played. By the time kids were pulling Pilots cards out of 1970 packs, the team had move to Milwaukee and were known as the Brewers.
Favorite name of player I am not sure exists: Buzz Stephen supposedly pitched in two major league games -- for the Twins in 1968. But that was good enough for a Pilots card two years later!
Players I've talked to: Ted Kubiak was the manager for the short-season Class A team in town in 1995. I interviewed him a couple of times. Interesting/odd dude.
Former or future Dodgers: John Kennedy, Danny Walton.
Worst-conditioned card: Dave Baldwin has beat up corners and edges and slightly detectable fold marks. It's a contender for an upgrade, but it's a high-ish number and the cards still looks decent so I don't know if I'll ever get to it.
Best card in the set:
It's the Cardboard Appreciation Hall of Famer, the one-and-only Seattle Pilots team card!
You should've seen that coming.
Some might say finishing off the Pilots team set is no big feat. You won't find a Pilots player in the Sporting News All-Star subset or on any league leaders cards.
And, as far as the 1970 set completion progress, there's still the matter of obtaining Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Ernie Banks, Ron Santo and, of course, Nolan Ryan.
But set-building is filled with little joys along the way and this is a big one. I'm happy with this and will be for awhile.
Comments
I completed my upgraded 1970 set around 2010. It took ages to find a Segui card in NM. It's the 2nd card in the set. Because 1969 was the only year of the era that didn't have team cards, topps must have decided by the high series not to worry about brewers cards.
The other interesting thing is Seattle trained in the Phoenix area, and a mountain was (I believe) in the outfield view. You can see it on several pilots cards in 1970. For the pilots cards where the photo was taken during the 1969 season, many were from Yankee stadium since topps is based out of NY.
I think, other than the pilots team card of 1970, the only pilots card that got separately listed was 1969 lou piniella, who was on his third different duo rookie card and third team (1964, 1968).
In the late 1980s, I remember having to pay a small premium for pilots cards. It doesn't appear beckett bothers anymore.
But are those pages from the same era? No Ultra Pro Platinums?