In 1968, Topps released what is considered the first modern hologram trading card as part of its regular baseball card collection for that year. While holograms had been developed in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Topps was the first trading card company to apply this new technology to cards featuring athletes on a large scale for the mass consumer market. The inclusion of this innovative hologram on one of the 1968 cards marked a major breakthrough in trading card design and manufacturing.
As hologram technology continued advancing through the 1960s, Topps executives were looking for new ways to provide baseball card collectors with novel inserts or special featured cards that would garner attention. In 1967, as they were finalizing plans for the 1968 set design, Topps began cautiously exploring the potential of incorporating a hologram image on one of the cards as a bonus item within the larger collection. After proving the concept could successfully work within the restraints of card production, it was decided a hologram card would be included as a one-of-a-kind exclusive for the upcoming season.
For the card subject, Topps selected Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Mets pitchers Roger Craig and Jerry Koosman, respectively. Both were established veteran left-handed starting pitchers who were having solid seasons in 1968 and would be recognizable names for collectors. The card was designed with a front image showing Craig and Koosman in action on the mound, with their individual statistics and team logos depicted as well. The truly unique aspect was that instead of a standard rear photo or graphic, the entire back of this card contained a reflective hologram layer.
When viewed at different angles while tilting the card back and forth, the hologram image embedded within would display alternating still photos of either Craig or Koosman pitching. It was among the earliest applications of hologram technology within a mass-produced consumer product and reflected how far the field of holography had progressed by the late 1960s. For baseball card collectors and fans at the time, it delivered an amazing visual experience unlike anything seen before in the hobby.
Naturally, due to its one-of-a-kind nature and groundbreaking inclusion of hologram technology never replicated on any other Topps baseball card issue, high-grade specimens of this 1968 Roger Craig/Jerry Koosman card have become among the most valuable and desirable in the entire history of the hobby. In the years since, as millions upon millions of traditional cardboard and paper baseball cards have entered the collectibles marketplace, only a small number of the hologram cards are believed to still even exist in an unaltered near-mint condition.
While exact production print runs were never officially reported, experts estimate less than 500 copies of this pioneering hologram card were distributed by Topps in 1968 packs and sets before being pulled. As the years went by and information about its innovative design spread, demand and prices paid for high-quality specimens continued increasing exponentially among the most avid collectors. A PSA-graded NM-MT 8 copy was privately sold in 2001 for a then-unheard of amount of $35,000, demonstrating its legend and sought-after status.
As more advanced hologram applications were adopted by other industries throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Topps themselves would not incorporate another hologram image until 1991. That example paled in comparison to the unprecedented landmark that was the 1968 Roger Craig/Jerry Koosman dual hologram card that started it all. Despite decades having passed, it remains one of the most discussed and desirable examples of any brand of trading card due to its groundbreaking concept and application of emerging hologram technology for the mass consumer market during a pivotal time in both the fields of sports and collectibles.
Among paper memorabilia, only the ultra-rare 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner and 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie cards are considered to have greater historical sports collectibles significance. Each tiny surviving piece of the approximately 500 total copies of the 1968 Topps hologram card represents a crucial junction where the future possibilities of sports collectibles crossed paths with innovative technology. Its legendary status has only grown stronger with time, ensuring this pioneering one-year wonder from Topps’ 1968 set will continue captivating the imaginations of baseball card collectors for generations to come.
