The Topps Company is well known as the most dominant force in the baseball card industry since the 1950s. They began producing modern gum and candy cards featuring photos of professional baseball players starting in 1951 after acquiring the photo rights from Bowman Gum. Those early Topps baseball card sets from the pre-1965 era established traditions and product lines that remain staples of the hobby to this day.
In 1951, Topps released their pioneering first complete baseball card set totaling 231 cards. Featuring colorful illustrated borders around black-and-white photos on a pinkish card stock, the ’51 Topps cards were sold in wax packs alongside Bazooka bubble gum. This established the business model Topps would rely on for decades of selling cards through mass market retail outlets like candy stores and gas stations attached to cheap gum. Players received no compensation for the use of their photos in this early era before union representation and licensing deals.
1952 was the first year Topps included the modern staple of stats and career accomplishments on the back of each player’s card. More visual innovations came in 1953 when the company shifted to incorporating the photos into the artistic borders instead of framing them separately. This cleaner aesthetic set the clear photographic standard most collectors associate with vintage cardboard. Topps also began serially numbering each card for the first time to aid in completion of the full sets.
Additional Topps highlights from the 1950s include exclusive agreements signed with both major leagues in 1954 that allowed the company to photo all big league players for the first time. This prevented competing brands like Bowman from featuring MLB star players on cards. The 1955 Topps set introduced the now-iconic pink backs on cards that remain on most Topps issues today. By the late 1950s, Topps had cornered over 95% of the baseball card market due to its unparalleled photo rights and production quality that blew away the competition.
Moving into the early 1960s, Topps cards became bolder with their large colorful graphics and more dynamic action shots of players both in and out of uniform. The 1962 set particularly stands out with its classic designs framed within bright solid borders resembling a baseball diamond while still prominently displaying each star’s stats breakdown. Behind-the-scenes candid photos also became popular on cards during this period showcasing players relaxing off the field.
Topps continued advancing technological innovations like their introduction of the clear plastic wrapper for series one packs in 1962 to better protect the cards inside from damages like scuffs or bent corners compared to the older wax paper. Card sizes also slightly increased and became standardized starting in 1963 at 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches, establishing a lasting dimension that would remain into the modern era.
The 1964 Topps card set was truly the swan song of the pre-color photography vintage period by maximizing bright primary colors and cartoonish figurative player depictions. The times were changing as Topps began transitioning to embrace the new reality of color prints in 1965 with cards loaded with vivid hues. This new application of modern printing techniques officially brought baseball cardboard roaring into the all-color modern age with designs that still amaze collectors today.
In summary, Topps’ baseball cards from the pre-1965 era established the grand traditions, business model standards, and quality production practices that built their long-term industry dominance. From Topps’ pioneering first complete sets of the early 1950s to the cartoon color experimentation on the cusp of the color revolution in 1964, these early cardboard issues defined the foundational aesthetics, appeal, and collecting patterns still pursued to this day. Topps truly forged the enduring path that makes vintage baseball cards such a nostalgic and significant part of both sports and popular culture history.
