1974 is getting close

i have whittled down my 1974 topps set want list to a meager few.  i am hoping to complete the set this weekend at one of the local monthly card shows.  here are a few of the cards i have picked up over the last few months to get me to the precipice of completion.

can you tell the difference between tom seaver

and jon matlack?

another met card - yogi berra and his merry band of coaches

here's the dodger team card, set in dodger stadium.

that one was an upgrade for the set.  tommy lasorda apparently refuses to wear long sleeves.

former dodger dick allen shares space with hammerin' hank on this all-star card

speaking of which, i still need the bobby murcer/pete rose all-star card.  i do have the rod carew/rose league leader card

but am in need of the seaver/nolan ryan league leader card.  i have the other seaver league leader card, on which he is featured alongside jim palmer

it's nice to see so many hall of famers on the league leader cards.  one exception in 1974 was the victory leaders card which featured wilbur wood and ron bryant.  here's the back of that card

i haven't gone and done any research, but i wonder if the introduction of the designated hitter is partially responsible for the higher win totals in the american league.  meaning, pitchers in the american league were able to remain in close games longer due to the lack of a need to pinch hit for them, and so were more likely to earn a win in a comeback scenario.  actually, i scanned the back to show that the dodgers had three pitchers listed, even though there was a giant on the front.

moving on, here's rose's base card

looks like he pulled back a bunt attempt

i have had the 1974 mike schmidt card for quite a while, but i will show it here

simply because of the bullpen car in the background.

a few more hall of famers - gaylord perry

and harmon killebrew

the killebrew is an upgrade.  probably one of the first 74's i owned  was of the killer, and it was a well loved piece of cardboard, let me tell you.

does the killebrew photo come from old yankee stadium?  here's bobby murcer's card

is that the same dugout?  i'm not sure.

the last yankee card i needed for the set was thurman munson's

this is apparently a pretty popular card.  i wound up obtaining one as part of a bigger lot that i hope to strip down and sell or trade as parts.

one of the last 'common' cards i needed was that of mike phillips.  he's a giant so the back gets scanned.

the card makes me think of the collective troll, who collected cards with players wearing sombreros.  miss that dude.  it also reminds me of the back of bill russell's 1973 topps card, in which he (or a cartoon of himself) is also wearing a sombrero

nice to see that the topps art department didn't recycle the cartoon

back to 1974, here are a couple of hall of fame padres - willie mccovey

and dave winfield

that's winnie's rookie card, and thankfully he did not get the 'washington nat'l league' treatment like most of his teammates.  i still need four of those variations, but glenn beckert is not one of them

the tigers red border checklist was the last of those i needed

and i also have the jesus alou no position variation

i also couldn't resist picking up this miscut - terry forster's card seems to be foreshadowing his move to the dodgers

like i said, i am hoping to finish the set this weekend, so wish me luck.  i also have quite a bit of 74's to trade, if anyone is looking for something in particular.  just let me know!