i need 0 of 525 of 456 2002 206 cards

the title of this post is a very roundabout way of saying i completed the 2002 topps 206 set! i finished it off - all 456 cards plus the 69 variations - in early 2021 with a couple of online purchases to get the final few cards i needed. like this joey votto card:

a votto card in 2002! actually, the votto is not from 2002, as the third series of this set was issued in 2003.

i took a liking to this set when it was first issued (the first series, anyway) back in 2002. part of my interest in it stemmed from the fact that i was unlucky with my pursuit of the first topps heritage set in 2001. i had preordered a box of 2001 topps heritage when it was first announced - before we knew of short prints and what not - but my seller passed away and i was pretty much last in line to be accommodated and never did get that box or my money back. by that time, boxes were way more expensive and here i am twenty years later with my set still incomplete.

anyway, when this set came out, i decided to pursue it the way i had originally intended to pursue heritage. i thought is was great to have cards with this design in the modern size. i was still all in when topps issued the second series, although that release included a bunch of variations, and then the aforementioned third series came along, and it had more variations plus short prints.

here are a few more of the first year players who, like votto, were in series three and were among the last cards that i obtained. the first year player cards were slightly short printed in series one and two, but i don't think that was the case in series three. however, some came with variations.

james loney first year player with sky variation

curtis granderson first year player

bj upton first year player with people variation

mark prior red background short print

larry broadway first year player

sergio santos first year player gold

wes bankston first year player blue and with sky variation

khalil greene first year player red variation and green

there were some stars from earlier series that i was missing, like this albert pujols card from series 1

but the majority of what i needed came from series 3.  such as, barry bonds without elbow pad variation short print

sammy sosa blue jersey short print

jason giambi batting short print

nomar garciaparra one bat short print

ichiro blue jacket short print

derek jeter blue short print

chipper jones short print

alfonso soriano without wristband short print

gary carter retired short print

fergie jenkins retired short print

harmon killebrew retired short print

roberto clemente retired short print

and robin roberts retired short print

the roberts card sticks out like a sore thumb due to its photographic quality. it's sort of like the cards topps included in the 1953 archives set from the 1990s for players like duke snider that weren't in the original set except that this is more puzzling.

the reason that most of my final needs were from series 3 is that i slowly chipped away at this set and went from low number needs to high when filling out sportlots orders. every once in a while i found a card that i needed at a show or on comc or even in a trade, but most of the cards i acquired in the last few years came from sportlots.

i don't think i would build this set if it were issued today - i recognize the variations and the short prints for the nonsense that they are now, and there has certainly been t206 overload in the last decade - but 19 years ago i was sold on it.  feels good to have it complete!