My Top 30 Favorite Non-Sport Sets of all time, #10-2

Now, we get into the top 10. These are the best of the best, at least in my opinion. These are the sets that I either grew up wanting, enjoying, or didn't know existed but would have loved to have- or the new sets that were so great they made the list anyway. As always, the set percentage completion comes from the Trading Card Database, and you'll have to wait one more day to see the winner...

#10 1961 Milton Bradley American Heritage Picture and History Cards

American Heritage Steamboats #15

Milton Bradley,  the board game people, are not known for trading cards. But in 1961, they did some. These cards are post card size, but they are trading cards, not post cards. they came in 4 sets of 40 cards, Steamboats, Classic Cars, Trains and Airplanes. I am still looking for the latter two but I will only buy them in the original box. They are fantastic. I discovered them in 2012, when I found one of the sets on Ebay. I don't remember which one I got first without checking my records anymore. They gave cards to subjects that never got any others, that I am aware of, and the Steamboat set even includes local coverage. One of the drawings in that set about 20 minutes from where I live, along the Hudson River. I've written about the set before (another card from the Steamboat set was my choice for Favorite card of the 60s in the 30 Day Challenge). The car set is all photographs, the steamboat set is a mix of drawings and photos, as many of the ships covered pre-dated photography.

#9. 1996 DC Firepower : Outburst

DC Firepower: Outburst #18

These were the last non-sports cards I really remember chasing and collecting before I went NBA-only in late 96/1997. They make the list mostly because of the memories, and the fact that every single card is embossed. I always thought embossing was cool. Not as cool as a hologram, but cool. It's a fairly small set, only 80 cards, and I have only 56 of them, for 70%. Someday I'd like to finish off the set. It was also the last DC set issued for a while, or at least the last one I was aware of. That surely played a role in why I stopped paying so much attention to non-sports cards, but of course, I just realized that a little while ago. I didn't know it would be the last at the time it was issued.

#8 2012-13 Topps Star Wars Galactic Files

Galactic Files #546

Structurally, this is probably the best Star Wars set ever. It covered everything- even stuff that is best left forgotten, like the 6 foot tall green rabbit from the Marvel Star Wars comics. I mean, this even covered the Christmas Special! It was issued in two 350 card series, and most every major character and pretty much every character who got into the movies got a card...some of them got more than one card. The backs were somewhat simplified but were written in continuity (the one Disney threw away). I did boxes of both series and two of one of the series, since I lost the poster in the flood I had in 2015. The first sketch card I pulled out of a pack came from series one. These replaced Galaxy, which is a little disappointing. There is enough difference that both sets could have easily been supported. If you were a true fan of Star Wars before the Disney disaster, this set would have brought countless hours of enjoyment. I know it did for me, enough that it is the only set from the 2000s to crack my top 10.

#7. 1980 Topps Empire Strikes Back

Empire Strikes Back #92

Empire Strikes Back is not only my favorite movie of the Star Wars saga, it's also my favorite Star Wars card set. Running three series for 352 cards, of which I have 150, or 42.6%, it's actually the original Star Wars set I have the least of! Go figure, right? Actually, that's for good reason. The third series is significantly harder to find than the first two series. The first two used this design above, with red borders and words for series 1 and blue for series 2. But series 3 had a yellow border with green and orange accents. The first cards my brother gave me to start my non-sports collection contained a grand total of 1 card from the third series. In fact, when I was real little, I don't think I ever looked at the back and realized it was part of the same set, or at least, I don't remember thinking of it as part of the set. That was a long time ago. I might have forgotten. The Battle of Hoth is my favorite cinematic sequence in all of history, by the way. One thing I liked about this set set in particular is that it gave cards to the vehicles, somewhat interestingly the snowspeeder is shown in space. A lot of my Star Wars knowledge has been purged to make room for hockey, so I can't remember anymore if that was feasible for the Snowspeeder to be able to travel off planet. I think it might have been, actually.

#6. 1991 Topps Desert Storm

Desert Storm Glossy #59

For military cards, this set, to me, is the one I think of first. It's the most iconic. It brings me back to my early collecting days. Issued in three series, with an asterisk, totaling  266 cards, I have completed it. However, I got most of them in 2010, I only got a couple of packs worth when it was new, all from series 1. Series 1, in and of itself, could use a detailed breakdown post- it's available in no less than 6 versions, only 4 of which are really notable. There's the original release, with brown Desert Storm logo. There's the second release, which has the yellow logo. There's another release, which was a factory set with white backs, there was a 4th release, which had the yellow logo and some differences in the cards, and there was a glossy release, which had white backs. This scan comes from that glossy release. And I just pulled all that from memory so it may not be totally accurate, but I will do a breakdown post at some point illustrating them better. The second and third series got one release each. I had no real idea so many military cards existed but exploring this set opened my eyes to one of my favorite sections of non-sports cards.

#5. 1993 Skybox Simpsons / 1994 Skybox Simpsons II

1994 Simpsons II #S36

Both series used the same design so I am combining them into one. They are easy to tell apart because the "flip book" on the back is a different color background. Both sets are 40 cards plus inserts, and of the 80, I have 78. The two missing cards can be found on the right side column in my Top 10 Most Wanted. These were great, but you can tell they were early- the Human Fly gets a card, Tattoo Annie gets a card, but Comic Book Guy didn't. Some of the artwork is off, too, including here. (Ralph's feet are not that big). But they are hilarious through and through. Although small, these are the best Simpsons sets I know of, and have long been a favorite of mine. When I made my paper listings for non-sports cards in 2010, I do believe this was the first non-current set that got pen to paper. Even when the majority of my non-sports collection was packed so deeply away that I went more than a decade without seeing them, these have always been at hand, and I would go through them from time to time. I am slowly working on a master set of these two sets, but some of the rarer inserts don't come up very often, and usually sell for more than I want to pay for a single card- I refuse to go over $20 on one card, but my usual average purchase price for singles is $1 - which is why it's slow going.

#4. 1994 Marvel Universe

Surprised to see a Marvel set so high? I am, actually, but not totally... I mean, I always knew this set would be high, but I didn't really think it would make the top 5. Yet here we are. This set has so much nostalgia/sentimental value that I can't really put it into words. I didn't read a single Marvel comic from this time period. But I did watch the Marvel cartoons, which were pretty darn good if I remember correctly. It's been decades since I've seen them. That's probably what led me to collecting these. Secondly, the local grocery store carried cards at that time. They don't anymore. But every trip to the store my mom took led to cards. They carried these...they didn't usually carry NASCAR. That's how I got most of these. So many, in fact, that I am missing only 6 of 200 cards. I have so many memories of this set from the year it was issued, that it alone is enough to propel it to #4. I really need to complete this set some day. The inserts were worth noting too. My favorite is the clear cards, now unfortunately turning yellow, that used the artwork from the cartoons. I think I've got 8 of the 10 now (Suspended Animation). This set ended up in my storage unit, and thankfully was one of the first things we found. Some took some damage, but not horrible, mostly bending. (not bad enough to break the surface) They had been in plastic case, but the lid got broken, allowing them to spill out. Finding them again was one of the greatest thrills in the hobby. I don't know when they were found (since they were not new, they didn't get a date added to my paper listing) but I remember the thrill of it. I think it may have been 2012.

#3. 1953-54 Topps World on Wheels

World on Wheels #72

Remember how I mentioned, for 1955 Topps Rails & Sails, how it was part of a trifecta of vehicle themed sets Topps produced in the early-mid 50s? Here's the automotive set. I have always loved cars. I love classic cars more than anything, even more than I love cards, if you can believe that. So a classic card set featuring classic cars? It doesn't get much better than that! Well, it would, if they were easier to find. That's why this set is #3 and not #2. These cards are not easy to find, although easier now with the internet. Issued in two series, totaling 180 cards, I have 125 of them, or 69.4%. But my highest number is #159. The second series is VERY hard to find. I've never seen one in person. There are none for sale on COMC. (I checked, and purchased two 1st series cards, in the process of writing this post) I got lucky to have as many as I do, as I found somebody who had purchased a collection and it included a large portion of these. Even so...I had to pay for them in installments. It was worth it! I have not really hunted for these much online, like on COMC, but I should. I keep being drawn to cheap serially numbered cards, or much older sets I've generally never even heard of before. But I should...it's not like I'm going to find these in the wild. I used to go to card shows every week in the 1990s and I found a grand total of 3 cards from this set in all those years.

#2. 1952 Topps Wings: Friend or Foe

Wings #92

Surprising to see an airplane set ahead of a car set, isn't it? It's not really nostalgia factor...it's...what's the opposite of nostalgia? The memories of this vintage set are all new to me, for the most part. Sure, for a short time in the 90s a card from this set was the oldest in my collection. But from whenever I got that card in the 1990s until 2010, I didn't know what this set was, and being airplanes, I probably wouldn't have cared, other than old = cool. Ahh, but things change. As I mentioned, in 2009 I joined my local International Plastic Modeler's Society chapter and since then, I have begun to appreciate aircraft. It was at our annual show, in 2010, where I met the dealer who I got most of these, as well as the World on Wheels cards and others, from. And I like these more than World on Wheels for a couple of reasons. The set is larger, at 200 cards, and none are short printed, meaning it's easier to get them- and I have 179 of them, for 89.5%. They came to me at a time where I was just beginning to learn about aircraft, at the time something totally new to me. When I got the majority of most of these, I could not identify a single aircraft on sight. Now, I can, and even more, I can even tell by sound when a vintage WWII aircraft is flying by. (The Collings Foundation comes to my area every year). They have actual backgrounds, unlike World on Wheels.  Even more than that...when I almost died in 2013...coming literally 5 minutes away...these cards, which I had paid for before my diabetes turned into Keto...arrived right in the middle. I was so sick. Too sick to even get on to my computer...I could barely see...couldn't eat. But these arrived...and I managed to look through them then. It is, literally, the only good memory I have of that time period. These cards, including the one shown. When I was able to come home, the first thing I did with my card listing was list these cards. They gave me something to look forward to in a very bad time in my life. In a weird turn of events...even though I am pretty darn close to completing the set...I have not gotten a single new card from the set since. Maybe subconsciously I don't want to, because there is no way I will remember which ones are new and which ones helped me through that terrible time.  I don't know for sure. I want to complete the set, for sure, but that's 5 years now where I have not purchased a single card...and these cards aren't particularly rare or expensive. I could complete it easily. I just...haven't.

One more to go! Which set ranks as my all-time favorite Non-Sport set? Tune in at 5:00 EST tomorrow, as I have the post scheduled to go off then!