The 1971 Topps baseball card set was issued during a year of transition for Major League Baseball. With expansion set to add teams for the inaugural season of 1972, Topps’ card designers had the challenge of including all existing major and minor league players while expanding rosters to fit the new teams. The finished 716-card set featured all existing MLB players along with prospects filling out the player quota.
Some key points about the 1971 Topps baseball card set:
Hall of Famers: The ’71 Topps set included future Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry and Brooks Robinson among active players. Rookies included future HOFers Johnny Bench, Luis Tiant, and Sparky Anderson (as a manager).
Design change: Topps tweaked the design from 1970, changing the team logo/text alignment at the bottom and enlarging the player photo slightly. They also added a white border around the front of many cards.
High numbers: The expanded rosters meant higher card numbers, up to #716 compared to #624 in 1970. This was necessary to include all existing players plus prospects assigned to the new teams for 1972.
New teams: The 1971 Topps set was the first to feature Kansas City Royals and Montreal Expos cards in anticipation of their inaugural seasons the following year. Players were assigned to these new teams if they were in those organizations’ farm systems.
Rookies of note: In addition to Bench and Tiant, rookie cards included Dock Ellis, Mike Garrett, Rollie Fingers, and future 300-game winner Don Sutton among others. Coach/manager Spark Anderson also had his rookie card.
Team checklist cards: As with 1970 Topps, cards #700-716 were team checklist cards rather than player cards. These recapped each team’s roster as depicted in the set.
Now, let’s break down some of the key rookie and star cards from the ’71 Topps baseball set:
#1 Johnny Bench: Widely considered one of if not the most valuable rookie card in the hobby due to Bench’s Hall of Fame career. High grade copies can fetch well into the five figures.
#91 Luis Tiant: Tiant’s rookie card from his days with the Minnesota Twins. He was yet to develop into the star pitcher he became while pitching for the Red Sox. Still a key rookie card.
#126 Dock Ellis: Ellis is best known for his 1970 no-hitter while allegedly under the influence of LSD. His rookie card captured him during his early years with the Pirates.
#145 Rollie Fingers: Fingers broke in as a starting pitcher but would later find stardom as one of the top closers in baseball history. Worth noting on his rookie issue.
#156 Mike Garrett: The Heisman Trophy winner made the transition to pro baseball and had a short MLB career. His football fame makes his baseball rookie mildly intriguing.
#169 Don Sutton: One of the top pitchers of the 1970s-80s, Sutton’s rookie card highlighted his early days as a teenage pitcher for the Dodgers.
#222 Hank Aaron: In his age 36-season, Aaron was terrorizing pitchers while pursuing Babe Ruth’s home run record. His ’71 card acknowledged his chase for immortality.
#247 Brooks Robinson: Arguably the finest fielding third baseman ever, Robinson was in his prime on the Orioles’ dynasty teams of the late 1960s-1970s.
#338 Juan Marichal: The Dominican hurler was one of the most dominating pitchers in the NL during the 1960s. His cards remain quite popular.
#389 Gaylord Perry: The knuckleballer came into his own in the late 1960s and made five All-Star teams during the decade. He perfected his craft well after his rookie years.
While not the most valuable set compared to rookie-heavy issues from the 1950s, the 1971 Topps baseball card checklist featured many future Hall of Famers and important franchises. Rookies like Bench and Sutton made their debuts alongside established superstars. It captured a pivotal time in the sport during expansion and maintained Topps’ stranglehold on the baseball card market.
