Vintage Galore and an Oddball Set On My Want List Received in Trade

Wednesday saw a large box inside my mailbox that held 846 Cubs cards. This came from T.J. in Schaumburg, Illinois and was I impressed by the contents inside.

A generous mix of eras ranging from vintage to current with some junk era. One of the first cards I pulled out was an oddball I had never seen. As I flipped the card over I knew exactly what it was and it's been on my want list for weeks.

Another Cubs blogger wrote about the 1978 SSPC All Star Gallery set. He had been searching for the set and finally found one listed on eBay. After a quick eBay search I also found one, but had a question for the seller. It was unclear if the Cubs cards were still intact in the Magazine. My message was ignored, so in turn I ignored doing business with this seller.

Pleasantly surprised box from T.J. included 20 of the Cubs cards: Willie Hernandez, Herman Franks, Donnie Moore, Woodie Fryman, Dave Rader, Hector Cruz, Ray Burris, Bill Buckner, Dennis Lamp, Joe Wallis, Gene Clines, Bill Caudill, Greg Gross, Mike Krukow, Mike Gordon, Steve Ontiveros, Mick Kelleher, Bruce Sutter, Rudy Meoli, and Larry Cox.

There was a pile of vintage, including some 1960's cards from Ken Holtzman, Ted Abernathy, Don Kessinger, Bill Faul, Byron Browne, and Arnold Earley.

Next year, Topps Heritage will feature the 1970 Topps design. I'm really excited about the next 10 years of Heritage based on this decade of design. I could do without 1976 and 1979. Not a fan of those two sets. The 1970 design isn't high on my list either, but it's a classic set.

From gray border to black border here's a pile of 1971 Topps. Probably the most condition sensitive Topps set of the product's lifetime. That black border is tough. 

1972 Topps is another classic set from the 70's and I enjoy the floating heads Cubs team card.

My favorite set of the 1970's isn't the popular opinion of many collectors that tend to lean toward 1972 and 1975. I'll run with 1973 Topps. The generic shadow fielder in the bottom right corner just screams early 70's. 

And as we go further into the 1970's, here's a couple Ray Burris cards.

I had the chance to meet Burris in January. He's a really nice guy, great storyteller and check out the sweatshirt he's wearing. Loyola Ramblers! 

Thanks for the awesome trade, T.J. In return I'm working on a box of players from his want list from the White Sox and Red Sox World Series teams.