The Card That Defines My Collection

 Hello and welcome to the first post of my new blog, which is dedicated to chronicling my Tampa Bay Buccaneers collection, player-by-player and set-by-set.

A few years ago I decided to condense my team collection, streamlining it for the sake of space. The idea was twofold. Create an all-time roster project, as well as an exemplar project.

Part one is the A-to-Z Project- my attempt to get one card of everyone who has spent time with the Buccaneers. Ideally, that means a card showing them in a Tampa uniform. If no such card is available, then a college card is preferred. An NFL (or other professional league) card w/ another team is the last resort. Another requirement is that the card must be either a Rookie Card or from the group of the player's first cards with Tampa. 

The second part of the collection is the Exemplars. For this, I want an example from each set produced that includes a Bucs player. This includes regular issues, as well as oddball, regionals, food-issues, and insert sets. With parallels getting out of hand, I'm deciding on a set-by-set basis. Older sets are a yes; newer sets, I will add them if I come upon them for a really good price, but they are not a priority and I won't search them out.

The card that I'm featuring today is one I have long considered the card that defines my collection, and really my collection journey.

First, it represents my early years as a collector. I began this hobby in the summer of 1976, the same year Topps released the iconic design found on this Winston Chrome card. And while the design may reflect an entirely different time in the hobby, the Chrome finish doesn't. It's modern and represents the back half of this journey. Together, they tell my story as a collector. No words needed. 

THE SET: 2015 Topps Chrome- 1976 Topps Football insert set

NUMBER OF CARDS IN SET: 35

PACK ODDS 1:24

CARD NUMBER: #76-JW

NUMBER OF BUCS IN SET: 1