Tuesday, February 13, 2018

epilogue

This blog is at its end and I am no closer to believing I have completed this set than I was when I started this blog six years ago.

There was no set that I revered more as kid than 1971 Topps. Growing up as a brand-new card collector five, six, seven years after the '71 set was released, the set seemed not only old, elusive and desirable but the coolest thing to ever appear on cardboard.

I started buying packs of baseball cards during a pretty awesome year for cards, 1975. And my idea for what a card should look like has always been 1972 Topps, a perception created by homages to the set when I was a kid.

But '71 was in a class by itself. I had never seen anything like it.

The '71 set was unique until '85 Donruss, '86 Topps, '87 Donruss and various Bowman sets. I was in awe of the colorful type on a midnight black background. I noted the e.e. cummings style. I loved the first action photos to appear on individual players' cards.

I started this blog on the verge of completing this set as proof to that kid long ago that I indeed would complete the '71 set, a set in which it seemed impossible to own even 50 cards way back when. But I did complete it. All 752 images on this blog are my cards. They are proof.

I don't hold the attachment to this set like I do the '75 set, which is why I didn't devote all the counting, list-making and labeling to this blog like I did with the '75 blog.

If you can believe the labels -- and I admit I was haphazard with tallying -- there are 32 airbrushed/blacked-out caps in the set (I have a feeling there are more). There are 45 cards with floating heads on the back. There are 44 rookie stars cards. There are just 17 manager cards.

The team sets range from a low of 25 to a high of 35.

But those are just numbers. This is a set that defies categorization. It should be taken as a whole as one of the most interesting, mysterious, brilliant sets ever made. Some of the photos may not be the best -- they speak to an older age and a chaotic age -- but those borders certainly make up for it and stamp it as an original.

I hope you've enjoyed my look at the set as I discovered many facts about the people who played the game before I started following baseball.

Thanks for following along and commenting.

And for those of you who come to this blog in the future, please know that there has never been another set like 1971 Topps.

Right on.

21 comments:

  1. Congratulations on completing the set and the blog about the set. I have to say I learned a lot.
    I also bought a nice starter lot of 1971's a few years back as a result of this blog and one day hope to complete this set as well.

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  2. I've really enjoyed this blog in these past few months that I've been in the cardblogging world. I'm currently working on a 1972 set, but I'm finding the idea of working on 1971 also very compelling. For now, I'm just picking up some of the 1971 stars.

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  3. Thank you for all the years of work that went into this blog. I don’t remember how I found it, but once I did, I was hooked. 1971 was my second year of collecting, and this blog brought back all great memories, almost to the point of being able to feel the excitement of once again holding an unopened pack of ‘71s from Paula’s Luncheonette on Union Turnpike in Queens, NY. I’ve looked forward to every post here, and I’m sad to see such a good thing come to its inevitable end. 752 cards wasn’t enough!

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  4. I've enjoyed this blog immensely. It really is a great set. Well done Greg, What's the next one going to be

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  5. This was a fun blog to follow. Congrats on completing both the set and the blog!

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  6. Congrats man! Your tenacity and dedication to the set and blog are to be commended!

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  7. This is one of the most impressive set based blogs of one of the more daunting sets to collect. Having this record and your amusing running commentary is what baseball card blogging is all about. Thank you so much for all this.

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  8. I came across your blog several years ago and have followed it regularly, checking for new posts. The 1971 Topps set was my first and I have all the same memories of opening new packs as an 11 year old kid. This blog motivated me to begin building my own set, and I'm getting there but long way to go. Oh well, the longer it takes the longer the fun lasts.
    Am sad to see the '71 blog come to an end. Hope you will do more in the future, you have a knack for this, very well done.

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  9. Thanks for this blog! The '71 set was my first too--back when I was five years old. But I still remember going to the neighborhood grocery to get them with my mom and siblings. I'm going to miss the new entries--I'll have to start over from the beginning.

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  10. Each of your blog entries were looked forward to. Thank you for your excellent work.

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  11. As a proud owner of the 71 set since 1985,I loved reading your take on it ,so many things I never noticed. Thanks for the blog.

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  12. I wasn’t even born yet, but this is still one of my favorite sets across all sports. As a teenager in the early to mid-1990s (pre-interwebz), I was trying to put the set together. Unfortunately at some point in college I needed the money and sold off what I had. Perhaps someday I will start putting it together again.

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  13. Allow me to join others in thanking you for this blog. I began reading this blog shortly after its inception, when I began collecting the '71 set. This was my favorite set as a kid. For me, it just had a "wow" factor unmatched by any other. Your insights and perspective on these cards has certainly added to my enjoyment of this set.

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  14. Good Morning,
    I usually do not right to a blogger but, this is my exception. Its a great glog and my favorite set of all time ( STILL IS ) and collected this as a kid. I was 13 at the time and after collecting the 68, 69, and 70, to me 71 hit the ultimate Jackpot . No question plus had other sets to boot. The 71 Supers, 71 Scratch Off and 71 coins. It was the motherlode for a kid. I have less than 70 to fill by book and of course, all high numbers. Again, a great blog and sorry to see it end.

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  15. A thousand salaams to you for your work on this project. There wasn't a word I disagreed with, the project was well-researched, and I'll enjoy going back to this site time and time again. Thank you again, kind sir.

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  16. I've created a website to celebrate Italian Americans in baseball. I'm hoping folks will visit it and enjoy it and comment. One player per page with stories, BB cards, stats. I'm over 365 players and counting...and adding 1 or so a day.
    It's at https://baseballamore.com
    Looking forward to hearing if you like it!

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  17. When I first ran across this blog it reminded me of the fact this was my favorite set. As a result, I recently completed a 71 set of my own.

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