Some additional details on the breakdown and contents of the 1971 Topps baseball card set:
The set features cards numbered from 1 to 660, with each card devoted to an individual MLB player or manager. No duplicate or subset cards were included.
In addition to active players, the set includes “manager” cards featuring the head coaches of all 24 MLB teams that season. This brings the total number of individual subjects featured to over 680 when accounting for players and managers.
Rosters include all players who appeared in a MLB game at any point during the 1971 regular season or postseason. Minor league players or prospects who had not yet debuted are not featured.
Photography for the cards came from recent action shots provided by MLB teams and Topps photographers. Topps’ patented design during this era placed the photo on a colored graphic background with stats on the reverse.
Some of the notable rookie cards included in the set are Carlton Fisk, Reggie Jackson, Dave Cash, Ron Cey, and Tommy John. Future Hall of Famers like Johnny Bench, Hank Aaron, and Gaylord Perry also had cards in the set from 1971.
The American and National Leagues were each represented equally with cards for teams like the Baltimore Orioles, Oakland A’s, Pittsburgh Pirates, and San Francisco Giants among the league leaders in the number of players included.
The final cards in the numerical sequence, cards 658-660, were the required blank backs Topps inserted in sets of this era. These have photos on the fronts but statistical placeholders on the backs until the official season stats were compiled.
Aside from the main 660-card series, Topps also issued add-on sets like Traded and high-number issues to account for in-season player transactions and call-ups that occurred after the initial series was finalized and sent to printers.
As the dominant card manufacturer of this time, Topps secured exclusive contracts with MLB, MLBPA, and individual teams to photograph, market and distribute official league-licensed cardboard for the cherished pastime of baseball card collecting. The inclusion of every significant MLB player and coach of 1971 into the core 660-card set demonstrated the comprehensive nature of Topps’ annual documentation of each baseball season through this unified collective roster of stars, prospects and nostalgia. While industry competitors like Fleer would later challenge Topps’ monopoly, the company solidified its position as the preeminent chronicler of the national pastime with accurate, expansive releases like the 1971 set.
To this day, the 1971 Topps baseball card set remains a beloved product among vintage collectors. Key rookie cards, iconic images of the era’s biggest names and the complete team-by-team representation continue to make it a worthwhile investment grade addition to any baseball memorabilia or collectibles portfolio. When considering all the important details that encompassed Topps’ mission to depict 1971 MLB in full that year, 660 cards and subjects was the exact number needed to satisfy collectors’ demand for a true “complete” set chronicling that specific baseball season between the white lines and beyond to the cards themselves.
