closing the binder on 1973

yes, it is true.  after about a year of seriously pursuing the 1973 topps set, i have come to the point of completion.

it's not a condition sensitive set, but it's complete.  i actually finished up about a month ago at the big annual card show here in town, but waited to officially update the want list until i had fished out the two cards i knew i owned but were not in the set binder from their hiding spots.  here are a few of the last cards i needed.

checklist love!

that is one nasty checklist.  high numbered and clean.  it was the most expensive 73 card i bought at the show by far - it was about $8.  for a checklist.  this one has walt alston (although listed as dodgers mgr/cchs) and that fantastically bad bill singer card listed on the front.  it brings up good card memories...

here's dock ellis

presumably sober and pitching in candlestick (?).  a quintessential 1973 topps card right there.

bill sudakis

is a former dodger who went on to the big apple for both the mets and yankees.  here he is in shea stadium which at times looks like dodger stadium which was by design as i understand it.

i needed a couple of rookie cards, too - this one has richie zisk on it

but was pretty cheap.  same goes for the steve busby rookie

although things might have been different if busby hadn't been injured.

i also picked up a lou brock card and a couple others at the show.  i told the dealer who sold me the checklist shown above that he had just helped me complete my set, and i admit that i was kinda hoping for a discount on the card.  he offered me a hearty handshake instead.

i mentioned that there were a couple of cards i knew i owned that still showed up on the want list.  i had to fetch them from my retired stars binder that i started back in the early 80's.  no sense in having too many cards in duplicate, right?

so, lou gehrig

and babe ruth

migrated over to the set binder.  gehrig was at one time my favorite retired player.  now that honor lies with steve garvey, but the iron horse is still in the top 5.  as for the babe, i first saw this card when i was about 10 (1980-ish) and was pleased by the fact that topps used a non-yankee photo (i think it comes from either a japanese tour or a barnstorming tour), while being thankful that it wasn't from his coaching days in brooklyn.  the young team collector in me would not have been pleased with that.

thanks to everyone who helped me along the way - i think i will now turn my attention back to some other neglected sets like my 1979 upgrade project, 1971 topps, 2009 upper deck o-pee-chee, 2008 upper deck timeline, and maybe even get back to 2001 topps tribute.