My top 25 sets #3: 1973 Topps

No C in the middle

Set  1973 Topps
Number of cards in set: 660
Affordability:  6.5
Key RCs:   Mike Schmidt, Rich "Goose" Gossage
Is the set built?:  216/660 so far

What I like about this set:   I love the mix of posed shots with game shots.  I love the font that the players name and the team name is written in.  Shots like the George Scott card above are what makes this set different from any other set that contains action photos.  Instead of a more close up shot that would have made George the prominent figure in the card, a lot of the action photos could leave an unseasoned collector guessing as to who the actual player is in the photo.  Different. 

The card back for the '73 Topps set is probably my favorite card back out of all the sets I've collected so far.  The black lettering on a dark yellow background is very easy to read, the cartoon at the top is small yet big enough to contain enough pertinent information about the player.  Scott's card back cartoon says that his nickname is "Boomer", and it doesn't take over the card.   The players name and biographical information is right below the cartoon, and very easy to read as well.  Even the card number, contained inside a baseball, is big enough that it can be easily read.


 
What I don't like about this set:  The cheap ass in me hates that all the big name stars in this set are priced at double digits ($10+), but what do you expect for a set this old with that many quality players?

This is the one set where one particular aspect of the card (the card back), vaults it quite a few spots ahead of others.  There is something about these card backs that just drew me to the set, even though many may consider it very plain.  The Mike Schmidt RC books for $150 in NM, and will probably be the last card in the set that I will need to pickup.  It will be interesting to see how this set ranks as I obtain more of these cards, but so far I really like what I see, and with a bunch of Hall of Famers still to pickup, I imagine that my impressions of the set will only improve.

Thanks for reading, Robert