The 2013 Topps Chasing History baseball card set celebrated significant milestones and accomplishments in Major League Baseball history. The base set included 330 cards focusing on iconic players, teams, records and moments. Some of the biggest legends of the game were featured prominently in this nostalgic and retrospective collection.
Topps’ designing concept for Chasing History was to pay tribute to baseball’s storied past. Each card depicted important statistical or historical achievements along with classicTopps design elements from the 1950s and 60s. Vintage coloring, font styles and imagery transported collectors back to the earliest days of the baseball card hobby. Some consider these retro design touches to be Topps’ most successful attempt to accurately capture the authentic nostalgia and aura of cards from the early ages of Topps sets.
Several subset categories were included to highlight baseball’s greatest players and their march up the all-time leaderboards. “Chasing 3000 Hits” featured cards for players nearing or having surpassed the elusive 3,000 hit milestone. Legends like Derek Jeter, Ichiro Suzuki and Adrian Beltre were depicted. “Chasing Home Run History” showed sluggers chasing the all-time home run records of Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth. Cards for Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and David Ortiz were included here.
“Chasing Pitching Perfection” honored hurlers who flirted with or achieved no-hitters and perfect games. Cards for Philip Humber, Matt Cain, R.A. Dickey and Justin Verlander made up this subset. “Chasing Hitting Feats” paid tribute to offensive achievements like Carl Yastrzemski’s 1967 Triple Crown season and Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. Icons Ken Griffey Jr., Tony Gwynn and Robin Yount were featured as well.
The set also included “Franchise Greats” subset cards honoring the all-time best players in the history of individual MLB franchises. Legends like Cal Ripken Jr. for the Orioles, Ernie Banks for the Cubs and Mickey Mantle for the Yankees led this category. A “Curses and Comebacks” subset recalled famous championship droughts snapped by the Red Sox in 2004 and Cubs in 2016.
Chasing History incorporated several innovative inserts at the high-end of the product as well. “Then and Now” paralleled photos of players from earlier in their careers side-by-side with more recent images. A “Hitting Milestones” insert spotlighted singular career accomplishments by all-time batting leaders like Pete Rose, Ty Cobb and Hank Aaron.
An “Icons” parallel insert set featured parallels focused on stars like Ted Williams, Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver. Autograph and memorabilia cards of modern stars and vintage players added tremendous value and collector appeal to Chasing History hobby boxes as well. Box toppers in the form of 5×7 photo variations provided random splash hits as a bonus.
The 2013 Topps Chasing History baseball card set succeeded wildly in its goal of honoring baseball lore and heritage. Featuring a who’s who of MLB immortals both past and present, the retro design aesthetic struck a major nostalgic chord with collectors. Even if they missed the actual baseball card era of the 1950s-60s that Topps emulated, fans could appreciate and connect with history through Chasing History. Its curated spotlighting of milestones, talent and folklore made the collection a fun educational romp down memory lane as well. For these reasons, Chasing History endures today as one of the most beloved modern issues from the venerable Topps brand.
