Masochism Defined: Working on a signed set from the 1970s in the 2010s

Two years ago, I decided to work on getting the 1972 Topps set signed. I'm not sure if I had a stroke or what exactly it was that caused me to think this was a good idea. But I set forth to see how far I could get.

I knew going in that I would never complete it. 787 cards, the high numbers are short-printed, many are deceased (Roberto Clemente is on three cards in the set), many who charge (Willie Mays at $300 per? Not happening), some who can't even be found (Hello Mike Kekich; if you're reading this, I have a card I'd like you to sign).

Plus it's not just 787 sigs needed, but 861. Every team had a card with their "Rookie Stars" on it (two, usually three players), plus a few teams had more than one (Minnesota had one early and late). There were even a few multi-player multi-team Rookie Stars. The League Leaders all had three (and in one case four) players. Gil Hodges actually died before his card even came out; so it could have almost been 862.

And to make matters worse, I decided I should try to get the 2013 Mini 72 inserts signed too. So that's another 95. And the 2013 Archives cards in the design (another 48). So we're dealing with a project of 1,004 total signatures needed to complete it. AKA, not happening.

On the positive side, SCN has been a godsend. Over the past two weeks, I've pulled in about 60 that I need through trades.

This is where the Rangers Alumni events have been a goldmine. They bring in Bump Wills and Curtis Wilkerson quite often, and it seems that everyone on SCN has one or both of these guys on their want lists.

Also, plenty of these guys sign TTM for free, so it's not as bad as it could be (i.e. 100-card sets with Jeter, A-Rod, and all the big names).

Next week I'll have an update of who all I've gotten the last few weeks whether IP, TTM, or trade. I have one final IP outing to Frisco coming next weekend and at least one more baseball outing in September.