The 1992 Topps baseball card set featured major stars like Barry Bonds, Nolan Ryan, Greg Maddux and Cal Ripken Jr. It was the 71st year Topps produced baseball cards and included 792 total cards in the base set. Some key details on the 1992 Topps baseball cards include:

The design featured a white border around each photo with team colors and logos included. Statistics from the 1991 season were printed on the back of each card along with baseball trivia, facts about the player and highlight quotes. The set was popular among collectors due to the star power featured as well as legendary players still active like Ryan who was pitching well past 40 years old for the Texas Rangers.

Rookies included in the set that went on to have Hall of Fame careers were Chipper Jones (card #1), Jim Thome (#59), Darren Daulton (#226), and Jimmy Key (#407). Thome’s rookie card in particular is a highly sought after card today. Other notable rookies included Derek Jeter (#415), Troy Percival (#454), and Russ Springer (#788).

Veteran superstars that were featured included Bonds (#18 – who hit .292 with 25 HR and 76 RBI in 1991), Roger Clemens (#89 – 21-6 record, 2.62 ERA, 181 K’s), Wade Boggs (#100 – .328 average), Tom Glavine (#278 – 20-11 record, 2.55 ERA, 185 K’s), and Ripken (#474 – .272 average, 23 HR, 114 RBI, 3B Gold Glove in 1991).

Ryan’s card (#18) was one of the most popular as he was still actively dominating hitters at age 45 for the Rangers. His stats from 1991 included a 16-10 record, along with 225 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.43 in 234.1 innings pitched. Many collectors sought his card to commemorate one of baseball’s greatest pitchers.

Among the other most notable cards were Bonds (#18), Clemens (#89), Boggs (#100), Ken Griffey Jr. (#256 – .287, 25 HR, 88 RBI in 1991), Maddux (#310 – 18-11, 2.18 ERA, 181 K’s in 1991), and Ripken (#474). It was the beginning of Ripken’s consecutive games played streak which would surpass 2,000 games.

Insert cards in 1992 Topps included All-Star Standouts, Rookie Standouts, Turn Back the Clock, Franchise Favorites, Million Dollar Pitchers, Home Run Hitters and Top of the Charts. Parallel sets included 1992 Stadium Club, Studio, Elite and Triple Play. The flagship Topps set remained the most popular among collectors.

Design variations included an “ERA Leaders” parallel that featured select pitchers with purple borders and statistics focused on ERA. A “No-Name” back variation replaced player names with initials on the reverse. There were also errors like miscut cards, blue ink variations and sticker autographs. These anomalies increase the value for certain cards. The overall design held up well and is still a popular vintage set today.

In terms of chase cards, the Alex Rodriguez rookie PSA 10 gem mint is one of the priciest at over $300,000. Other expensive cards from the base set include a Ken Griffey Jr. PSA 10 ($4-5K), Roberto Alomar PSA 10 ($2-3K), Barry Bonds PSA 10 ($2K+) and Greg Maddux PSA 10 ($1.5-2K). Even common star players in Gem Mint grade like Ripken, Clemens, Boggs and Glavine command $100-250 raw or graded.

The 1992 Topps baseball card set is historically signficant for including future Hall of Famers like Chipper Jones, Jim Thome and Alex Rodriguez among the rookies. It also captured veteran superstars like Ryan, Bonds, Clemens, Ripken and Maddux during iconic points in their careers. The designs have held up well and variations add collecting interest even today for this highly popular 1970s-1990s vintage set.