The 1979 Topps baseball card set was the eighteenth consecutive year that Topps produced the flagship baseball card set. As with previous years, Topps utilized their standard design format of individual 3.5 inch by 2.5 inch paper cards printed with a photo of each player on the front and statistics and brief biographical information on the back. The cards were issued in waxpaper wrapped packs of 5 cards each, with 22 cards making up a full set.
The 792 total cards in the set broke down as follows – there were individual cards depicting each of the 26 Major League teams from the previous 1978 season. This included full team photos on the front with roster and statistics on the back. There were then individual cards for all players on Major League rosters as of Opening Day 1979, as well as any players who had been traded or released since the end of the previous season. Prospective callups were also included if they had appeared on a previous Topps checklist.
In total there were cards for 756 individual players in the 1979 set. This was slightly higher than the 728 players included in the 1978 set, reflecting more player movement between seasons. The player cards were arranged alphabetically by the player’s last name. In addition to the team and player cards, there were also insert cards featuring the MLB league leaders and award winners from 1978, golden anniversary cards commemorating players’ careers, and manager/coach cards for the 26 big league teams.
One of the most notable rookie cards featured in the 1979 Topps set was that of Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, who had just finished his first full season with the San Diego Padres in 1978 after being drafted number 1 overall in 1973. Other top rookies included Donruss years Steve Carlton (Cardinals), Dave Stapleton (Red Sox), and Al Holland (White Sox). Veterans with their earliest Topps cards include Bill Madlock (Cardinals), Fernando Valenzuela (Dodgers), and Jerry Royster (Giants).
In addition to the standard design format carried over from previous years, the 1979 set also retained the same orange color designation used on the borders and fronts of cards since 1974. This helped collectors quickly recognize the year of the cards compared to earlier blue and white Topps sets. The design was relatively simple but allowed sharp, high quality action photos of each player to take center stage. Aside from normal production variations in centering and corners, the 1979 Topps cards remained in high demand by collectors for decades due to the strong players, photos and classic design.
While no longer the primary source for new cardboard after the rise of Upper Deck and other competitors in the late 1980s, the 1979 Topps set remains a very important issue historically. It captured the rosters and players of a pivotal moment in baseball just prior to some major franchise shifts and emergence of many future Hall of Famers. The set endures as one of the most fondly remembered from the early era of the national pastime being documented annually on pocket-sized pieces of colored paper. It represents a snapshot in time that brings back memories for many lifelong collectors and fans.
