The Premier League is the top tier of the English football league system. The Football League was originally founded in 1888. In 1992, the top 20 clubs in the Football League First Division broke away from the Football League to form the Premier League. They did so in order to take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal. Currently, the Premier League operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Football League. At the end of each season, the three lowest placed Premier League teams are relegated into the Football League Championship, and the top two teams from the Championship, along with the winner of a playoff involving the 3^rd to 6^th placed Championship clubs, are promoted in their place.

In 1998, during the 100th season of the (English) Football League, football journalists chose the top 100 players who played all or part of their professional career in what is now known around the world as the English Premier League. For the remainder of 2012, and throughout 2013 (as suggested by a fellow blogger and soccer card enthusiast http://chucksusedcards.blogspot.com/2012/09/collecting-focus-2012-votes-are-in.html), my collection will be focused on the Football League 100 Legends list (please see below).

Here is the list (presented chronologically, in order of first Football League appearance):

Player -- Club(s) -- (Years Active)

1. Billy Bassett - West Bromwich Albion (1886-1899)

2. Archie Hunter - Aston Villa (1888-1891)

3. John Goodall - Preston, Derby, New Brighton, Glossop (1888-1904)

4. Steve Bloomer - Derby, Middlesbrough (1892-1915)

5. Billy Meredith - Northwich Victoria, Manchester City, Manchester United (1893-1925)

6. Bob Crompton - Blackburn (1896-1921)

7. Billy Foulke - Sheffield United, Chelsea, Bradford (1894-1908)

8. Alf Common - Sunderland, Sheffield United, Middlesbrough, Arsenal, Preston (1900-1915)

9. Sam Hardy - Chesterfield, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest (1902-1926)

10. Bill McCracken - Newcastle (1904-1924)

11. Viv Woodward - Tottenham, Chelsea (1908-1915)

12. Clem Stephenson - Aston Villa, Huddersfield (1910-1930)

13. Charles Buchan - Sunderland, Arsenal (1910-1929)

14. Elisha Scott - Liverpool (1912-1934)

15. Dixie Dean - Tranmere, Everton, Notts County (1923-1939)

16. George Camsell - Durham, Middlesbrough (1924-1939)

17. Hughie Gallagher - Newcastle, Chelsea, Derby, Notts County, Grimsby, Gateshead (1925-1939)

18. Harry Hibbs - Birmingham, Bristol City (1925-1939)

19. Alex James - Preston, Arsenal (1925-1938)

20. Eddie Hapgood - Arsenal (1927-1939)

21. Cliff Bastin - Exeter, Arsenal (1927-1948)

22. Wilf Copping - Leeds, Arsenal (1930-1939)

23. David Jack - Plymouth, Bolton, Arsenal (1919-1935)

24. Stanley Matthews - Stoke, Blackpool (1931-1966)

25. Ted Drake - Southampton, Arsenal (1931-1939)

26. Joe Mercer - Everton, Arsenal (1932-1954)

27. Raich Carter - Sunderland, Derby, Hull (1932-1953)

28. Peter Doherty - Blackpool, Manchester City, Derby, Huddersfield, Doncaster (1933-1954)

29. Frank Swift - Manchester City (1933-1951)

30. Tommy Lawton - Burnley, Everton, Chelsea, Notts County, Brentford, Arsenal (1935-1957)

31. Wilf Mannion - Middlesbrough, Hull (1936-1956)

32. George Hardwick - Middlesbrough, Oldham (1937-1956)

33. Johnny Carey - Manchester United (1937-1954)

34. Stan Mortensen - Blackpool, Hull, Southport (1938-1958)

35. Neil Franklin - Stoke, Hull, Crewe, Stockport (1946-1958)

36. Trevor Ford - Swansea, Aston Villa, Sunderland, Cardiff, Newport (1946-1961)

37. Nat Lofthouse - Bolton (1946-1961)

38. Tom Finney - Preston North End (1946-1960)

39. Alf Ramsey - Southampton, Tottenham (1946-1955)

40. Len Shackleton - Bradford Park Avenue, Newcastle, Sunderland (1946-1958)

41. Jim Dickinson - Portsmouth (1946-1965)

42. Arthur Rowley - West Bromwich Albion, Fulham, Leicester, Shrewsbury (1946-1965)

43. Billy Liddell - Liverpool (1946-1961)

44. Billy Wright - Wolverhampton Wanderers (1946-1959)

45. Jackie Milburn - Newcastle (1946-1957)

46. John Charles - Leeds, Cardiff (1948-1966)

47. Ivor Allchurch - Swansea, Newport, Cardiff (1948-1968)

48. Danny Blanchflower - Barnsley, Aston Villa, Tottenham (1948-1964)

49. Bert Trautmann - Manchester City (1949-1964)

50. Jimmy McIlroy - Burnley, Stoke, Oldham (1950-1968)

51. Tommy Taylor - Barnsley, Manchester United (1950-1958)

52. Cliff Jones - Swansea, Tottenham, Fulham (1952-1970)

53. Johnny Haynes - Fulham (1952-1970)

54. Duncan Edwards - Manchester United (1953-1958)

55. Jimmy Armfield - Blackpool (1954-1971)

56. Terry Paine - Southampton, Hereford (1956-1977)

57. Bobby Charlton - Manchester United, Preston (1956-1975)

58. Jimmy Greaves - Chelsea, Tottenham, West Ham (1957-1971)

59. Denis Law - Huddersfield, Manchester City, Manchester United (1956-1974)

60. Gordon Banks - Chesterfield, Leicester, Stoke (1958-1973)

61. Dave Mackay - Tottenham, Derby, Swindon (1958-1972)

62. Bobby Moore - West Ham, Fulham (1958-1977)

63. Alan Mullery - Fulham, Tottenham (1958-1976)

64. Geoff Hurst - West Ham, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion (1959-1976)

65. Nobby Stiles - Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Preston (1959-1974)

66. Johnny Giles - Manchester United, Leeds, West Bromwich Albion (1959-1977)

67. Billy Bremner - Leeds, Hull, Doncaster (1959-1982)

68. Frank McLintock - Leicester, Arsenal, QPR (1959-1977)

69. Alec Young - Everton, Stockport (1960-1969)

70. Martin Peters - West Ham, Tottenham, Norwich, Sheffield United (1960-1981)

71. Tommy Smith - Liverpool, Swansea (1962-1979)

72. Norman Hunter - Leeds, Bristol City, Barnsley (1962-1983)

73. Pat Jennings - Watford, Tottenham, Arsenal (1962-1985)

74. Alan Ball - Blackpool, Everton, Arsenal, Southampton, Bristol Rovers (1962-1984)

75. Colin Bell - Bury, Manchester City (1963-1979)

76. George Best - Manchester United, Stockport, Fulham, Bournemouth (1963-1983)

77. Peter Shilton - Leicester, Stockport, Nottingham Forest, Southampton, Derby, Plymouth, Bolton, Leyton Orient (1965-1997)

78. Ray Clemence - Scunthorpe, Liverpool, Tottenham (1965-1988)

79. Malcolm McDonald - Fulham, Luton, Newcastle, Arsenal (1968-1977)

80. Kevin Keegan - Scunthorpe, Liverpool, Southampton, Newcastle (1968-1984)

81. Trevor Francis - Birmingham, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, QPR, Sheffield Wednesday (1970-1995)

82. Graeme Souness - Middlesbrough, Liverpool (1972-1984)

83. Liam Brady - Arsenal, West Ham (1973-1990)

84. Glenn Hoddle - Tottenham, Swindon, Chelsea (1974-1996)

85. Bryan Robson - West Bromwich Albion, Manchester United, Middlesbrough (1974-1997)

86. Alan Hansen - Liverpool (1977-1990)

87. Kenny Dalglish - Liverpool (1977-1990)

88. Gary Lineker - Leicester, Everton, Tottenham (1978-1993)

89. Ian Rush - Chester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield United, Wrexham (1978-1999)

90. Ossie Ardiles - Tottenham, Blackburn, QPR, Swindon (1978-1990)

91. Neville Southall - Bury, Port Vale, Everton, Stoke, Torquay United, Bredford City (1980-2000)

92. Paul McGrath - Manchester United, Aston Villa, Derby Co, Sheffield United (1981-1998)

93. John Barnes - Watford, Liverpool, Newcastle, Charlton Athletic (1981-1999)

94. Tony Adams - Arsenal (1983-2002)

95. Paul Gascoigne - Newcastle, Tottenham, Middlesbrough, Everton, Burnley, Boston United (1984-2004)

96. Alan Shearer - Southampton, Blackburn, Newcastle (1987-2006)

97. Ryan Giggs - Manchester United (1990-    )

98. Eric Cantona - Leeds, Manchester United (1991-1997)

99. Peter Schmeichel - Manchester United, Aston Villa, Manchester City (1991-2003)

100. Dennis Bergkamp - Arsenal (1995-2006)

These are my collecting goals for the remainder of 2012, and throughout 2013:

1. To obtain one “career-contemporary” card (a card issued while a player was still active) of every player on the list.
2. To obtain the first card on which each player appears (list to be established).
3. Variety. I would like to obtain a typecard from as many different sets as possible, while still remaining within the scope of my first collecting goal.