Topps is considered the original and most collectible brand of baseball cards in the trading card industry. Since the early 1950s, Topps has been producing high quality cardboard collectibles featuring photos of Major League Baseball players. Some key aspects of Topps’s pioneering work in the baseball card space include:
In 1938, the Brooklyn-based Topps Chewing Gum Company began experimenting with including famous faces of celebrities on their chewing gum wrappers. The early success of these marketing inserts led Topps to ramp up production of these novel collectible trading cards throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1951, Topps landed the exclusive license from Bowman Gum Company to begin producing dedicated baseball card sets featuring current MLB players.
That first Topps baseball set released in 1952 featured over 500 cards highlighting many of the game’s biggest stars like Willie Mays, Robin Roberts, and Jackie Robinson. The iconic design of early Topps baseball cards from the 1950s and 1960s prominently featured the players mugshot photo on a colorful solid background with basic career stats. These straightforward designs helped ensure kids and collectors alike could quickly identify their favorite players.
Some notable highlights of Topps first decade producing MLB trading cards include issuing the very first rookie cards of future Hall of Famers like Ted Williams in 1938 and Mickey Mantle in 1951. The popularity of the Topps cards grew exponentially through the 1950s, benefiting from America’s postwar economic boom and increased interest in baseball on television. By 1960, Topps had firmly established itself as the clear No. 1 brand in the baseball card market sector.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Topps continued annually cranking out sets featuring the league’s top talent with photography and designs becoming more dynamic and colorful each year. In the late 60s, Topps introduced innovative subsets highlighting achievement milestones like 300-win pitchers or 3,000-hit club players. The 1970s saw Topps experimenting with larger photo dimensions, embossed logos, and oddball promotional subsets for the likes of Nolan Ryan and Hank Aaron.
One of Topps’s most ambitious projects was undertaking the mammoth task of photographing and issuing cards for all 26 Major League teams as part of their 1982 set – a first for the industry. Other Topps innovations through the 1980s included adding rookie cards for notable female athletes, inserting factory-sealed uncut sheet of cards into wax packs, and debuting special anniversary logos. The company’s use of modern photography and attention to quality control kept their products the envy of competitors.
Competition started to heat up in the 1990s as rival brands like Fleer and Upper Deck sought market share. This forced Topps to innovate even more with experimental parallel and premium inserts highlighting relics or autographs of the game’s icons. In recent decades, Topps has continued mixing retro design motifs and secure licensing agreements that allow them to create licensed sets tied to MLB postseason events and All-Star festivities.
In 2007, The Topps Company was sold to former Pepsi executive Michael Eisner, fueling further expansion beyond just sports cards into other collectible brands. They also began offering insert hit rates, autograph checklist previews, and special limited jersey card promotions exclusive to hobby retailers. Topps remains the definitive brand of baseball cards due to their commitment to upholding über-premium production values and photography combined with creative new collecting incentives.
Whether it’s finding that elusive 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie or scoring a hit from one of their modern multi-sport memorabilia sets, the thrill of the hunt for fans old and new alike continues with Topps baseball cards 70+ years after they started. Their successful formula of blending tradition with progressive innovations that excite collectors is a big reason why Topps cards remain a cornerstone of nostalgia and the most coveted baseball trading cards on the market.
