this is my checklist

yes, this ratty (well, not that ratty) old marked-up checklist belongs to me.

it's from 1971 topps, and it came my way yesterday thanks to reader jim.  this was, i believe, the third package i have received over the last few years from jim, who is (gasp!) a giants fan!  can you dig it?  anyway, he knows i am trying to put together a condition non-sensitive 1971 set, and he sent a few cards my way.  awesome.

the checklist above, fully marked on the back, is an accurate reflection of my set so far.  thanks to jim, i now have the two cards i was missing from the first 132 - the checklist itself (card number 54), and this card, number 131 in the set, so go ahead and fill in all of those boxes, kid.  it's the truth.

blefary got himself a nice card.  a horizontal yankee, with in-game action!  it pushes all the right 1971 buttons.  seriously, this is a cool card.  i am also partial to the a's cards in this set.  back in 1980, i fully bought into 'billy ball' and adopted the a's as my american league team.  as a result, i went back and tried to complete all of their topps team sets since they moved to oakland.  ok, and the 1965 cards from when they were still in kansas city.  so, the a's cards from 1971 are some of the first black bordered cards i owned, aside from the dodgers, and i thought they were the coolest things thanks to the in-game action that topps bestowed on them but denied the dodgers.

speaking of action, here's the card for game 3 of the nlcs between the reds and pirates

this photo would work well in 1973 topps, as the umpire's derriere gets the prime photo real estate.

there were no dodgers in the lot, but there was a twin - cesar tovar

tovar, who passed away just about 20 years ago, had some good seasons for the twins.  in fact, he led the american league in hits with 204 in 1971.  more likely, however, we remember tovar as one of the few players (four?) to have played all nine positions in a single game.

and, just because jim is such a nice guy to send me these cards, i'll go ahead and show a giant.

yes, that is certainly a giant rookie cup.  oh, i hadn't noticed that gallagher played for the no-cals.

thanks jim!