The 1979 Topps baseball card set was the 118th different baseball card set produced by Topps and it celebrated baseball’s continued mainstream popularity in post-expansion era America. Following the sizable increases of teams and player availability that occurred in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Topps produced several best-selling seasons during this era that resonated with baseball fans.
The 1979 Topps set included cards for all 26 Major League Baseball teams at the time which consisted of 6 divisions – the American League East, American League West, National League East, National League West, plus the newly formed American League West division that included the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays who joined MLB as expansion teams in 1977. Some of the notable players featured in the set included Reggie Jackson, Mike Schmidt, Nolan Ryan, and George Brett who were among the biggest stars in baseball during that late 1970s period.
The design of the 1979 Topps cards featured a photo of the player positioned on the left side of the card with their team logo and uniform depicted. On the bottom right of each card was a yellow rectangle that displayed the player’s stats from the previous season. Above the photo was the player’s name and underneath was their permanent baseball statistics. One unique aspect of the 1979 design was the rounded corners on the edges of the cards which gave them a softer, more rounded appearance compared to the sharp corners of past Topps designs.
In total, the 1979 Topps set included 792 baseball cards consisting of 686 individual player cards and another 106 manager, coach, and team cards. The design featured horizontal wrappers with 5 cards enclosed inside vertical columns. Compared to modern era baseball card sets that can include parallels, short prints, and specialty inserts, the 1979 Topps issue had a fairly straightforward checklist of standard player and team cards without significant variations between packs. Popular stars of the day like Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt, and Nolan Ryan landed in the lower numbers of the set’s checklist.
The condition of 1979 Topps cards varies greatly today depending on how they were cared for and protected over the past 43 years. Heavily played cards in below average condition can still be found relatively cheaply in dollar bins or antique malls. But high grade specimens of stars and key rookie cards from the set have risen significantly in secondary market value in recent decades as the generation that collected them as kids in the 1970s ages. Rookies like Cal Ripken Jr. and Wade Boggs have seen the most dramatic price increases for their 1979 Topps rookie cards in top grades.
In the modern era, the 1979 Topps set is still pursued for completion by vintage baseball card collectors looking to check it off their want lists. The older photography and classic design give the cards a nostalgic appeal that transports collectors back to an earlier period in the sport’s history. And with the majority of the set’s noteworthy stars and rookie cards still affordable in lower grades, it remains an accessible vintage collecting goal compared to pricier earlier 50s/60s issues. Whether building full sets, chasing star roster cards, or seeking out valuable rookies, the 1979 Topps baseball cards remain a popular collectible over 40 years after their original release.
