Completed Set: 1978 Topps Baseball

Well, that was fast.

In January I posted a great meetup-and-trade experience that I had with Bo from Baseball Cards Come to Life! The box of cards he handed over to me that day contained a generous amount of 1978 Topps cards to start me on my set-completion journey.

And now, just a few months (and a few big trades) later, that initial stack of cards has turned into a total of 726. In other words, a complete set!

Not only that, but here's another example of how generous card collectors are:

Before I even finished setting up those trades and receiving all the cards, another collector reached out to me. Turns out he had a complete set of 1978s that he was willing to give me for a very, very good price, plus a small stack of Phillies cards that he needed. (Thanks Dan!)

So yes. That's right. Through the generosity of fellow collectors, I now have two complete sets. Amazing.

The 1978 design is one I've always enjoyed. It's the simple borders, unique script for the team names, and fielding-position-inside-a-baseball theme. Those straightforward, clean elements allow the photography—which in many cases is excellent—to really stand out.

And by excellent, I mean that in the 1978 set you've got some of the most classic of classic baseball card poses. Just look at these images and tell me that your baseball card senses aren't stirred into overdrive:

Robin Yount, #173

Nolan Ryan, #400

Greg Luzinski, #420

Jim Palmer, #160

They're superstars of baseball in superstar poses, captured on cardboard forever. And you'll find quite a handful of these types of cards in the set.

You'll also find plenty of cards that exemplify the ease and blue skies of springtime, like these:

Rick Manning, #11

Bob Grich, #18

Rich Hebner, #26

Bob Forsch, #58

And the dog days of summer, like these:

Dave Chalk, #178

Al Oliver, #430

Biff Pocoroba, #296

Dave Goltz, #249

  
Here's a card back, featuring the "Play Ball" game on the right-hand side:

In a previous post I wrote about why I like the Eddie Murray card from this set, so here are some other cards that I enjoy:

John Candelaria #190

Cecil Cooper, #154

Reggie Jackson, #200

Dave Winfield, #530

Ken Singleton, #65

I'm very happy that this set is checked off my list. Thanks very much to all of the readers, bloggers, and trading card forum members who've helped me complete it much more quickly than I could have imagined. Twice!