At 8:29 PM +0000 6/25/05, John Kuhn wrote:

>I don't know if anybody was tracking the '71 and '72 24 player team
>sets on Ebay that closed last night. I had set my eye on several
>teams I fondly remember from my youth that didn't attract much
>attention early: the '72 Cubs, '71 Mets and a couple of others. Of
>those available, I wanted the Mets the most: it was the only
>original 2 sided version with Nolan Ryan as a Met, was personal
>favorite Tommie Agee's last good season, as well as local son Gil
>Hodges's last team.
>
>Things were looking favorable in mid-afternoon. I was prepared to
>spend 10 or 12 bucks for the Mets, and thought I might have a shot
>when the auction closed at 9:00 local time. Boy was I wrong.
>
>I believe a single buyer picked up all the available teams. My
>beloved Mets, (83-79, a third place team) sold for $23.00. I
>deliberately drove up the price a little for him, even after I
>realized he had fat bids on everything. Some teams went for well
>over $50-- the '72 Pirates and Mets, and surely a few others. If I
>knew in 1973 what I know now: make sure to buy the extra players
>(and look out for the IPO of Microsoft ten years later)!
>
>I've learned that when one door closes, one usually opens. I saw
>a '69 advanced full 24 team set opened last evening, so I can get my
>mitts on the real prize for me, the '69 team. Hopefully, last
>night's winner will feel a bit tapped after his coup, and he'll give
>us poor people a break.

Ha! Boy, do I relate! I too had my eyes on a couple of those teams. Like you, I
held out hope for getting a $10-to-$12 team -- in my case, the 1971 Royals and
Dodgers. I shouldn't be surprised by now that both second-place teams went for
over $20, but I was. And to think I owned the 20-card Royals once, but in the
process of moving five years ago, I ... I ... *threw it away!* ::sob::

The latest auction prices are why I believe Strat eventually will have to put
out a new version of the 1971 set. When gamers are willing to cough up more than
$20 for second-place teams and more than $30 for a mere division-winner (the
A's), someone at the game company sooner or later is going to crave a piece of
that action.

Well, good luck with the 1969 set. Two years ago I was really fortunate to grab
a mint-condition one for about $60. That season had a lot of really exceptional
teams -- the basic-version Twins was one of my favorites when I was a kid.

-Gary