The Irritation of an Incomplete Page

This is not the post I had planned for today, but I ran across this in a binder while looking for a different binder which I still haven't found yet, so it's either this or nothing today so deal with it. Here's a set of Mickey Mantle reprints.

Yes, I know. Mickey Mantle is the 21st century equivalent of those advertisement cards for the Topps Puffy Letter Sweatshirt. Damn things are everywhere and you can't get rid of them, not even with poison, fire or nuclear force. This set is from 1996. Back then reprint cards were uncommon and Mantle cards were actually sought after. Especially original Topps cards that you weren't ever going to be able to afford. Reprints (and these have original backs, not the lame write-up that today's reprints have) of The Mick were fricken' sweet 15 years ago. So look and enjoy, I'm going somewhere with this.

I got the whole dam set EXCEPT the 1959 card. Pulled all of these suckers out of packs too. No trades, no purchases from card stores or eBay, all packs. Granted, they were cheap Wal-mart mini packs that cost 50 cents initially and maybe a dime or a quarter when they went on clearance, but all packs. Hear me kiddos:

IT IS INCREDIBLY HARD TO BUILD A SET USING PACKS ONLY

So now I've got a set missing just one card. However, necessity is the mother of shenanigans:

Good 'ol Finest! Close enough.

(seriously though, if anyone has that damn '59 I've got doubles or triples of about half the set. I'll hook you up)