For a while now, I've been plugging away at a new project: A Hall of Fame Frankenset. Every card #1 to #799 features a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. The set is actually complete in the sense that there is a card in every slot. But there are a couple of "upgrades" I'm now trying to make on the set:
- Balancing the representation of players in the set. For example, right now I believe Sandy Koufax has two cards in the set and Carlton Fisk has 11. So, there's some work to do in that area.
- Adding some vintage cards to the binder. I am now on the lookout for affordable vintage cards of Hall of Famers. The acquisitions below should arrive in a few weeks from COMC. I was able to get them all for $2.50 or less. Most were less than $2.
With these additions, I'm closing in on 100 cards in the set that were issued before 1980. Not too shabby I'd say. The oldest card in the set, if you're curious, is a 1951 Bowman Billy Southworth.
There are a couple of cards featuring multiple players, one of which is card #731.
My goal is to have no multi-player cards, but I'd have to replace it with this one, which I can't find any cheaper than $6.25 right now, and I can't justify paying that for this card:
This has arguably been my favorite project I've ever worked on, and I think it will be an ongoing project. I recently snagged some vintage Hall of Famers from Diamond Jesters' Time Travel Trade that should arrive any day now, and I picked up another (Tony Perez) from Nick from Dime Boxes in a giveaway he did for his 11th blogiversary:
I also claimed a replacement from my Minnie Minoso player collection, because that 1977 Topps card went into the Hall of Fame Frankenset. The other gem of the group was my first Grover Alexander Cubs card. And the Billy Williams was a throw in. Thanks Nick!
Awesome project! If you haven't already, look at my tradelist on TCDB to see where I can fill the gaps for you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bo!
DeletePretty cool. I'm not as gung-ho on HOFers as many collectors but it's a proud moment when you pick one up.
ReplyDeleteFigured you'd appreciate the addition of the two 75s to the set! I especially am excited for the late career F Rob.
DeleteDo you have a public list up anywhere of numbers that you're looking to replace?
ReplyDeleteNot yet, but I should work on getting that transferred from paper to a list here somewhere. There are some wants scattered throughout my TCDB want list, but that's not as easy to navigate when dealing with a Frankenset.
DeleteAre you going to blog the Frankenset? It's been a while since we've had a Frankenset blog going in earnest.
ReplyDeleteMulti-player cards would strike me as a cool bonus, if every player on the card were in the Hall. Obviously not expecting Mark Bellhorn to get voted in anytime soon.
I should, but I failed in chronicling my first frankenset as much as I should have, so won't make any promises!
DeleteNice group of cards!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a cool idea. There are so many interesting frankensets out there. This is sort of my speed... plus you have the ability to pull out and put in new cards each year or so with new classes. Plus there are all kinds of cool ways to blog about this set (show off pages, break it down by players or teams, etc.)
ReplyDeleteKind of a bummer on card #731. Hope you're able to eventually land the McCarthy or maybe Topps will produce a card #731 in 2023 featuring a hall of famer.