The Topps Company is synonymous with baseball cards, having produced the iconic cardboard collectibles since the early 1950s. Their original product came in the form of bubble gum cards, small pieces of cardboard inserted inside wax paper wrappers that also contained a stick of bubble gum. This innovative and affordable format helped popularize the hobby of baseball card collecting.
Topps began producing gum-backed cards in 1951 after realizing the potential of combining sports cards with an inexpensive children’s product like bubble gum. Their first complete set featured photos of players from the 1950 season on one side, with colorful illustrations and stats on the reverse. Each wax paper wrapper contained a stick of bubble gum and one card selected randomly from the full set of over 400 players.
The original Topps cards were printed using a lithographic process on thin card stock measuring approximately 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches. The front featured a black-and-white photograph of the player along with their name, team, and other identifying information in basic white text. The back contained stats, career highlights, and sometimes ads or puzzles. Early issues lacked uniform borders and sizing, giving them a looser, hand-cut appearance compared to the precision of modern cards.
Topps’ gum-backed cards were an instant success, appealing both to children for the gum and baseball fans looking to build complete sets. Their low price point of just a penny or two per pack made them highly affordable compared to more premium card issues of the time. Within a few years, Topps had cornered the baseball card market and established the format that would define the industry for decades.
Through the 1950s and 60s, Topps issued complete new sets each year, growing their photography and design quality. Notable innovations included the introduction of color photos in 1957, player autographs in 1960, and team logo designs in 1962. Sets grew larger each season as the MLB expanded, reaching as many as 660 cards by the late 1960s. Topps also produced special subsets highlighting All-Stars, rookie stars, and league leaders to drive additional sales.
The classic “pink wrapper” era lasted from 1951 through 1980, when Topps switched to waxed paper wrappers due to rising costs. By then, the gum-backed card had become a beloved American tradition, with kids and collectors eagerly awaiting the annual release each spring. Part of the excitement was finding rare cards, serially numbered parallels, and oddball errors tucked inside the pink packs.
The Topps design template evolved gradually as well. Through the late 60s and 70s, photos enlarged to take up more space on the front while stats were streamlined on the back. Color was introduced for team logos in 1968 and full bleed photos by 1975. Topps also began serially numbering their sets at this time. The basic pink wrapper format remained largely unchanged for three decades.
While the rise of premium card companies in the 1980s eroded Topps’ monopoly, they retained their position as the dominant MLB license holder thanks to longstanding agreements. Topps transitioned to waxed paper wrappers in 1981 and plastic coating on cards soon after. Their flagship set grew to over 700 cards as player payrolls and media exposure increased the sport’s popularity.
In the 1990s, increased competition from Upper Deck and other firms pushed Topps to pursue new innovations like parallel inserts, autographed cards, and oddball parallel sets. They also acquired the Bowman and Leaf brands, expanding into other sports. The nostalgia of the classic pink wrapper era remained strong with collectors. In the 2000s, Topps issued retro reprints of their 1950s/60s designs to tremendous popularity.
Today, Topps still produces the flagship MLB series while also holding licenses for NHL, NFL, Star Wars, WWE and other properties. Their baseball cards continue to be available in traditional wax packs as well as higher-end box sets. Periodic retro reprints and special parallel issues also pay homage to the iconic pink wrapper gum cards that started it all back in the early 1950s. Few brands can match Topps’ legacy of over 70 years defining the baseball card collecting hobby.
