In other words: Welcome!This is my new blog. It is a tribute to the Muhammad Ali of card sets, the G.O.A.T. of card sets, the 1975 Topps series.
I love the '75 set for its over-the-top color, its uniqueness, its ability to stand out against all other sets. But mostly, I love it because it is the first set I ever collected. Those were great times to be a 9-year-old boy.
But you know all that. I've babbled about it enough on Night Owl Cards. So much so, even, that I've finally carried out on my threat to start a blog devoted to just the 1975 set.
Now, I don't have much of an idea of how this blog is going to work other than that I will be featuring each card of the set in order from No. 1 to No. 660. But unlike some very fine blogs devoted to a single card set, I will not be doing a lot of research for each of these posts. That is because: first of all, several blogs, like the Project Baseball 1976 blog and the 1980 Topps blog, cover many of the same players that are in the '75 set, so I don't want to repeat their fine work.
Secondly, I don't have the time to do that. So, mostly, this will be nostalgic musing about each card. I hope that you will muse along in the comments. This is meant to be a trip back in time, even though I admit I don't remember a whole lot about it. I was only 9 after all!
As for the look of the blog, the '75 set is the inspiration, particularly the Oscar Gamble card that you see at the very top. So that's what you can blame for all the wild colors. I promise you my home does not look like this.
The site is still a bit under construction (including additions to the blog roll -- I ran out of time!). Feel free to lend any advice. I'll be winging this whole thing as I go anyway, and I probably won't be posting on a daily basis. But I hope you enjoy. Especially you kids out there who didn't catch the set the first time.
Keep on truckin'
I feel totally honored to be follower number 3 on your new blog!!! Very great topic-I know you love the 75's and I love reading and seeing them. I plan on starting on 75 as soon as I can finish 78,79 and 74. Those years are all pretty significant for some reason. Anyway, I love your blogs, so I will follow no matter how many you have. Good luck on this new endeavor!!! Oh, I started a new blog myself-details soon...
ReplyDeleteThis was the last set I collected as a kid. Not a bad one at all to stop with. I'm looking forward to your posts.
ReplyDeleteIn 1975 I was a couple years out of the U.S.ARMY and had things other than baseball cards on my mind! It is a great old set though!I see you started out with a very cool Tribe card, I do remember watching him play. Good luck on your new project !
ReplyDeleteDig it!
ReplyDeleteThe first set I collected was 1974, but 1975 was the first one that I was able to complete. Several cards need to be upgraded--I'm working on that little by little. My favorite subset is the MVP one. It'll be cool to see them when they come up.
ReplyDeleteWill you be doing multiple cards on each post? My 1976 blog still has about 420 or so cards left. At one card a day that means it won't be finished until late 2010/early 2011.
I'm looking forward to the nostalgic musings --- hope I can add to them in the comments section once in a while. :)
Very, very cool. This is going to be a fun ride!
ReplyDeleteMatt ~ I'll be doing only one card per post. I like the idea of each card getting a post, and it's all I have the energy for, to be honest.
ReplyDeleteYa gotta love Oscar Gamble. I should really do him for my blog sooner than later, even though his hair was rather tame by '82.
ReplyDeleteThis is gonna be great. My all-time favorite "vintage" set. It doesn't have a boring moment.
ReplyDeleteYep, my first set was 1974, how ever the joys of collecting blossomed when the 1975 cards hit the streets.
ReplyDeleteIn Chicago we had a foot of snow on April 2sd 1975 and the next day was sunny and decent enough to walk about half a mile in the new fallen snow to a convenience store to buy about 20 packs of new cards.
Good luck, I can almost taste the gum again!
Awesome - Great new Venture. Way to take it to the next level. And we want to see some Minis!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the blog, the '75 mini set was the first I completed so I'll be following this every day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for kicking it off with Oscar, that afro is a force of nature. Can't wait for my all time favourite baseball name - Pete LaCock.
Wow what a monumental task you have ahead of you, but a super fun one. I too collected the '75 set as a kid and I'm about the same age maybe a year older (I was 10 in '75). Since I have two older brothers who both had baseball cards at one time I don't have any defining "that was when I started collecting baseball cards" moment or "1st card".
ReplyDeleteI recall as a kid really liking this set, as well as the '74 from the year before. At one point I traded away many of my '75s through the years so I don't have as many as I first did. I never had the complete set but at one time must have had between 100 and 200 which to a kid would be almost a full set LOL.
A few years ago I grew a little tired of the set, but now I'm on the upswing of the pendulum and am liking it again.
Congrats on the blog so far. I look forward to catching it from time to time if I don't read it daily.
-Kirk "CaptKirk42" (on various card related forums)
No shout out to the famous 88 Topps blog? Yuck.
ReplyDeleteThis blog is Awesome! 1975 was my first year collecting as well. In 1976, when I was getting REALLY serious about collecting (at the ripe old age of ten) I sent money to Topps, or someone for the complete 1975 set. For some reason I was sent two. In 1989 I sold one of them (both were pure mint!) to buy an engagement ring for my now-wife. When people ask what a complete mint 1975 Topps baseball card set looks like I tell them to look at my wife's left hand.
ReplyDelete1976 was my first real (collected/built) set and has all the notable childhood memories associated with them, but 1975 will always be special. Thanks for a GREAT blog. I'm now a regular.
Hello Night Owl!
ReplyDeleteI just started a '74 Topps blog and found yours just afterward. Yes, the '75 set is groovy! I started collecting in '71 when I was seven, but '74 was my huge year as I collected almost the entire set from wax packs, mostly from the Little League snack shack after games.
I remember not being able to wait for the '75 set to come out, and it was sooo different from the others. Being west coast, we got mostly mini's and a smaller quantity of regular size. I was so frustrated with all my mini's falling out of my hand when I had a stack of all my cards I almost threw them all away. I'm glad I didn't. I didn't get all of the '75 set, but collected a big chunk of it.
This Oscar Gamble shot is classic. His 'fro was the absolute best of all time, especially with the cut-away helmet letting just one side pop out. I got my first home run ball off his bat in the right field Oakland bleachers in '84 when he was with the Yankees. A regular left field bleacher bum, we switched to right field to heckle Dave Winfield as it was his first appearance in Oakland after going to jail for killing the seagull in Toronto. So I've got great memories of both Gamble and the '75 set. I'll be commenting now and then as I go through your far out site.
My '74 blog can be found at:
http://1974topps.blogspot.com