Another one bites the dust

It was just a couple of weeks ago that I was celebrating the completion of my 1973-74 Topps basketball set, well, it's time to celebrate another completed set, this time it's of the 1976-77 Topps basketball variety.

Heading into the COMC Black Friday sale, I was three cards away from completing the set, two of which I was able to get during the sale (an badly needed upgrade was gotten as well), and the final card was... well, you'll find out about that a little further down. For now, I just want to get to the cards:

In case you've forgotten, Rich is here to remind you just how cool the old ABA red, white, and blue balls (no jokes please) were... and still are.

Having had six (I'm not counting the '69-70 season) very successful seasons in the ABA, it's a bit of a mystery to me as to why Rich only ended up playing for one year in the NBA following the merger of the two leagues in 1976. Since that particular info hasn't been, and still isn't, available online, I'm thinking that the only way to find out about his "one and done" in the NBA... will simply be to write to him and ask.

This is a great in-game shot featuring Phil getting off his patented "zenhook" over the great Wes Unseld.

You might be surprised (sarcasm) to learn that, to date, Phil Jackson is still the only NBA player to have been born in Deer Lodge, MT. This card had been eluding me for quite some time  now, so it was very nice to finally be able to cross it off the checklist.

This was a badly needed upgrade, as my other one looks like someone had spilled coffee on it at some point in time. As you can see in the scan, this card came with a wax stain, said stain has since been removed.

Unfortunately, Gail no longer holds the Lakers consecutive free throws made record, that honor belongs to Kobe Bryant (boooo!), with 62.

After being left just one card away from completing the set, I decided that I wasn't going to wait any longer for a cheap copy to be added to the site, so I turned to eBay. After a few short weeks, I was able to plunk down a virtual five spot and officially wrap this one up!

Hondo is shown guarding Dave Bing, one season later they would be playing together after Dave joined the Celtics. That next year would also be the last for the two of them, as both of the future hall of famers would retire after the 1977-78 season.

The card does have a wax stain on the back, but that doesn't really bother me, as I'm just happy to have finally completed the set. I would still like to upgrade two cards (Sam Lacey and Charlie Scott) at some point, but for now, I'm content just basking in the glow of this most recent accomplishment.


Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.