One of the most interesting sets of its era, the 1972 Topps issue features a bold design that was reflective of the time, with bright, full-color photography.  The issue is filled with subsets and specialty cards, with "in action" photography of the game's greatest stars and a "Boyhood Photos of the Stars" subset that enabled youngsters to imagine what it would look like when they were on a baseball card someday; after ll, the superstar players looked just like normal kids!  The result of the subsets and the extraordinarily large player selection was Topps' largest set until that point, topping out at 787 cards.

Presented here is an extraordinary higher-grade set, carefully assembled by a diligent collector seeking out the finest examples he could find.  The cards are extremely sharp, the image quality largely clean and unblemished, and free of creases.  A condition breakdown of the set would be 1% MINT, 4% NM-MT, 13% NM, 40% EX/MT, 38% EX; and 4% VG/EX, with the primary condition issue related to slight centering issues.  We have selected 25 cards and submitted them to PSA; the results are as follows:  #45 Beckert (PSA NM-MT 8); #49 Mays (PSA MINT 9 OC), #55 Wright (PSA VG-EX 4), #79 Fisk RC (PSA EX-MT 6), #83 Jones (PSA EX-MT 6), #117 James (PSA NM 7), #122 Biitner (PSA NM-MT 8), #152 Clines (PSA NM-MT 8), #156 Twins Team (PSA NM-MT 8), #202 Spinks (PSA MINT 9), #270 Palmer (PSA NM 7), #299 Aaron (PSA NM-MT 8), #309 Clemente (PSA NM 7), #317 Hand (PSA NM-MT 8), #420 Carlton (PSA EX-MT 6), #435 Jackson (PSA EX-MT 6), #441 Munson (PSA EX-MT 6), #445 Seaver (PSA EX 5), #474 Baylor RC (PSA NM 7), #550 B. Robinson (PSA NM-MT 8), #595 Ryan (PSA NM 7), #709 Kaat (PSA EX-MT 6), #727 Laboy (PSA MINT 9), #751 Carlton Traded (PSA MINT 9 OC), #777 Wilhelm (PSA MINT 9).

Additional keys grade as follows: #37 Yastrzemski (EX/MT), #51 Killebrew (EX/MT), #80 Perez (VG/EX), #100 F. Robinson (EX/MT), #130 Gibson (EX), #132 Morgan (EX/MT), #195 Cepeda (EX/MT), #200 Brock (EX), #241 Fingers (EX/MT), #280 McCovey (EX/MT), #285 Perry (EX), #330 Hunter (EX), #410 Jenkins (EX/MT), #439 B. Williams (EX), #447 Stargell (VG/EX), #510 T. Williams (VG/EX), #530 Sutton (EX/MT), #559 Rose (EX), #567 Marichal (EX), #600 Kaline (EX/MT), #695 Carew (EX), #752 Morgan Traded (EX), #754 F. Robinson Traded (EX).

A beautiful set, carefully built by a diligent collector with a keen eye for quality, one of the finest Topps sets of its era, loaded with stars and Hall of Famers.  787 cards total.