[djohn]

Something that has never been high on my priority list has been to finish the tall boy Topps sets from 69-70 and 70-71. I got my first 70-71 cards back in the mid-90s and liked them a lot, but rarely ever saw any around. Over the years when I would come across some in great condition I would attempt to buy a few. I planned to put together the sets, but never really made it a high priority. Well that all changed last week. I got a call from my local card shop, who knows that I like those sets, and he tells me that he got a complete set of 69-70 Topps along with a bunch of extras. This is rare as basketball cards are not that popular around here, and he rarely gets any in. I told him that I was interested and to hold them for me. I wasn't able to make it in until Monday this week, and while I was excited to see the cards, I was a bit disappointed as a few cards were missing from the set (including the checklist card) and the condition was inconsistent through-out (some cards were in Excellent condition, and some were beat up down in Poor condition). Well, we were able to make a deal for the entire lot and I was happy. When I got home I sorted the cards and ended up only needing 5 more to complete the 99 card set.
The story doesn't end there though. I get another call from the shop owner yesterday, letting me know that another large vintage lot came in that once again had a bunch of 69-70 Topps cards. I couldn't believe it, and asked him about the condition of the cards. He said they were similar condition to the lot I bought on Monday. I told him the 5 card numbers I still needed and he put them aside for me.
That brings us to today. I stopped by the shop this morning, and brought the set I had with me to see if there were any of the poor condition ones that I had that could be upgraded from the new lot he got in. Luckily quite a few were able to be upgraded including the Kareem (Alcinder) RC. I was able to make another deal, and now I have a complete set and the overall condition is a lot closer to EX. Best of all the checklist card I have is completely unmarked.
The only downside is that now I have a bunch of extra cards from this set, as I had already started the set, and I bought the entire first lot from the LCS including the duplicates (as I figured I could trade them with someone else working on the set to try and finish the set quicker, never expecting the missing cards to show up at the show days later). Is anyone else working on this set or interested in any. I haven't added them to ORG yet, as it will take time to get the condition of each card properly assessed before listing them.