The 1973 Topps baseball card set is most famous for breaking tradition by issuing cards past the typical player numbering limit of 520. From 1963 to 1972, Topps issued cards for active players and managers numbered from 1-520. In 1973, they decided to continue numbering players past this threshold, coining the term “high numbers” for cards #525 and above.
This expansion allowed Topps to include more minor leaguers, recent call-ups, and veterans who appeared in only a handful of games in 1972. In total, the 1973 set included cards #1-642, creating an additional 122 “high number” cards beyond the norm. These novel late additions captured the attention of collectors and helped popularize the hobby of chasing complete vintage sets including all variations.
Some key aspects of the 1973 Topps high numbers include:
Player Composition: The additional cards focused on filling out rosters, including lesser known players who didn’t warrant a standard low-numbered card. Many depicted minor leaguers making their MLB debut or veterans nearing retirement with only a game or two played in 1972.
Design Differences: The high numbers kept the same design elements as the base set but used a slightly lighter border color and slightly thinner font for the black player names at the bottom. The photograph size was also reduced slightly to make everything fit in the smaller card frames.
Rarity: With fewer copies printed, many of the high numbers are much rarer than the early numbers. The final few cards featuring very obscure players can be quite difficult to acquire in mint condition today. Conditions biases also tend to impact high numbers more significantly than early issues.
Complete Set Value: A 1973 Topps set with all 642 cards graded Gem Mint 10 is worth over $100,000 due to the rarity of preserving the high numbers in top condition over nearly 50 years. Even well-centered but lower graded sets still command premium prices of $10,000+ when 100% complete.
Key Cards: Some notable high numbers include #543 Joe Morgan (#528 in 1972), #547 Don Sutton (#531), #548 Willie McCovey (#535), #549 Tom Seaver (#537), #641 World Series cards, and #642 manager cards. These help bridge the player count gap between annual issues.
Impact on Hobby: Being the earliest viable vintage set with significant “bonus” cards, 1973 Topps helped establish the fun aspect of pursuing complete vintage rosters including variations like stars in high numbers. This highlighted the archival nature of sports cards capturing a season and minor organizational changes from year to year.
The groundbreaking high numbers of the 1973 Topps set opened a new chapter in the tradition of baseball card production. While causing collectors headaches with their rarity, they also increased hobby enjoyment by adding the novel pursuit of finishing full vintage rosters with all included player iterations. This helped popularize the set and sealed 1973 Topps’ place as a landmark issue in the history of sports card manufacturing and collecting. Their design tweaks and limited print runs established a collector appetite for variations that lives on today.
