The 1985 Topps Super Baseball set was a unique and innovative sports card release from Topps during the mid-1980s. At a time when most card sets featured the same standard dimension and design from year to year, Topps broke the mold in 1985 with Super-sized cards that stood out from the pack.
Measuring a whopping 3 1/2 inches by 5 inches each, the 1985 Topps Super cards were significantly larger than the typical 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inch dimensions that had been the standard for decades. This made for cards with over 50% more surface area to include graphics, photos and statistics. Along with the increased physical size, the Super cards also featured die-cut outlines and innovative multi-layer designs unlike anything seen before in baseball cards.
Inside packs and boxes of 1985 Topps, collectors found both the traditional smaller cards as well as these Supers scattered throughout. In total, there were 80 larger Super cards produced that year which captured some of baseball’s biggest stars and best moments from the 1984 season. Some of the featured players included Ryne Sandberg, Wade Boggs, Don Mattingly, Roberto Alomar and Ricky Henderson. Iconic teams like the 1984 Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres who won their divisions that year were also highlighted.
In addition to larger photos and more stats, the Super cards introduced a distinctive embedded layer under the thin protective film on top. This secondary layer contained additional imagery, facts or highlights that were only revealed by tilting the card at different angles in the light. Some innovative designs also incorporated die-cut windows or openings in the card stock itself to peek at bonus content underneath. This lent an entire new element of interactivity and discovery for collectors examining their Super collection.
While initially popular with collectors excited by the novelty, the unconventional large size and multi-layered designs of the 1985 Topps Super cards did prove challenging from a practical standpoint. They did not fit as easily into traditional card storing systems like sheets, boxes and albums designed around the long-standing smaller dimensions. The extra layers and die-cuts increased the risk of damage from creasing or penetrating the card over time compared to the basic single thick stock of typical issues.
As the 1980s progressed, Topps attempted several more Super-sized large format issues in 1986 and 1987, but they ultimately proved to be a passing fad rather than revolutionizing the mainstream of the baseball card market. The 1985 Topps Super set remains an influential early experiment that pushed creative boundaries and showcased Topps’ willingness to break from the norms to attract collectors looking for something fresh and different during the heyday of the original sportscard boom era. Today, high quality preserved examples from the unique 1985 Topps Super release remain a nostalgic novelty prize for collectors and a distinctive chapter in the history of baseball cards.
