The top seven sets on my list are difficult to order because I like them all. The1972 set shows up as #7 but it could easily be in the top three for me. As a Cub fan, I remember having the Glenn Beckert card since childhood.
I like the unopened packs fro 1972. They are well constructed and it is easy to see who the player is on the inside.
I don't see as much curling in the 1972s compared to the other 1970 - 1980 offerings, skipping 1973 where there was no plastic coating and therefore no curling.
I always liked the layout of the back of these cards. There are a few variations in this set, but none seem too impossible to find.
As a kid, I had four categories of Kellogg's cards, especially after I started attending cards shows in 1976.
1. 1970 and 1971. None of my friends had many of these and if they did, they were never offering them in trades. At shows, I don't remember seeing Kellogg's cards much, but we were too busy looking at cards from the 1960s or older.
2. 1972 and 1973. Some of the neighborhood kids had them, but there weren't many duplicates floating around. I had a decent number of 1973s from cereal boxes and a few 1972s. There seemed possible to get in trades if you were willing to give up Cubs or White Sox cards from your collection.
3. 1974 to 1978. The core days of me getting them from cereal boxes. Lots of siblings meant lots of cereal at home. These also seemed easy to get since a few of the kids had convinced their parents to get them the entire sets through mail-in offers.
4. 1979 to 1983. I was still collecting cards during all of these days, but in high school and college I wasn't home enough to snag them from cereal boxes. I also spent a lot of my money at shows on all of the 1981 - 1983 wax that exploded with the introduction of Fleer and Donruss cards.
The player select was good, but with only 54 cards, there were a lot more limitations than in the first two years when 75 cards comprised a set.
This set also has the last Kellogg's regular issue cards of Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays. I have few memories of watching them play since I was nine during this season.