The 1971 Topps Super baseball card set has gone down as one of the most iconic and coveted releases in the entire history of sports card collecting. While it may not attract quite the same mania and dollar figures as some other vintage sets like the 1952 Topps or 1969 Topps, there is no doubt that the 1971 Topps Super set holds a special place in the hearts of many collectors due to its unique styling, photography, and the star power of the players featured. Let’s take a deeper look at what made these cards so special.
History and Design
Topps released baseball cards annually starting in 1952 and its 1971 Standard set followed the same familiar format collectors had grown accustomed to through the 1960s. For its 50th anniversary in the hobby, Topps wanted to do something bigger and bolder. The result was the parallel 71 Topps Super set which contained 100 oversized cards measuring an impressive 3 1/2 inches by 5 inches – far bigger than the standard 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch size used by Topps up until then.
The Super cards immediately caught eyes on the rack with their shiny gold borders, bursting player colors, and sharply focused action photography that really popped due to the increased available canvas space. Each card front featured the team logo in the bottom right along with a mini cartoon or illustration visually representing a key fact about that player. On the back, there was more statistical and biographical information than ever before. It was truly a step forward both visually and content wise.
The massive card size allowed for such innovation and the inclusion of more imagery, stats and details had never been seen on a baseball card before. While the 1971 Topps Standard set remains a solid and common vintage release, the Supers were something truly special in the eyes of collectors then and now due to how they revolutionized the visual storytelling possible on a small slab of cardboard. It set the bar high and influenced card designs even to this day.
Star Power and Short Print Rarity
When putting together such a premium set to mark their golden anniversary, Topps clearly wanted to feature the biggest names and biggest stars in the game at that time. The 1971 Supers flex serious star power by including the likes of Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Rod Carew, Johnny Bench, Tom Seaver, and many more future Hall of Famers.
The set is widely considered by experts to have some of the toughest short prints to track down of any Topps release ever. Only 10,000 full sets were produced, meaning certain players like Nolan Ryan (#85) and Joe Morgan (#98) have true mint versions graded and encapsulated by Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) or Beckett Grading Services (BGS) that can fetch five figures or more at auction.
Considering the immense talent featured and how ruthlessly tough many of the “keys” are to obtain in high grade, it’s no surprise serious collectors consider completing this 100-card masterpiece to be the crowning achievement after conquering other major want lists. It’s truly a who’s who of 1971 MLB immortals captured in their prime with fabulous photography on special oversized cards that continue appreciate in value at an impressive clip.
Condition Census and Record Prices
Nolan Ryan’s #85 card is often cited as the single most valuable and desired piece of the entire 1971 Topps Super set puzzle. Only a tiny fraction of the 10,000 printed are still in pristine, gem mint condition today – many speculate fewer than 10 copies. In January 2022, an ultra-rare PSA GEM MT 10 graded example sold for an astounding $468,000, setting a new record for the card and cementing its place as one of the priciest modern era sports cards in existence regardless of sport or player.
Other extraordinary true gem mint examples from the 1971 Supers that have crossed the six-figure threshold include a PSA 10 Willie Mays #56 that sold for $118,800 in August 2021. It’s believed there are only about a half dozen or so PSA 10 Willie Mays cards known to exist from this release. Another is a BGS/PSA 9.5 Jose Cruz #83 rookie card that was acquired for $105,000 by a passionate collector wanting to check off this impossible short print.
Some other specific PSA/BGS Population Reports of interesting 1971 Topps Super short prints include:
Joe Morgan #98 – Only one PSA 10 and three PSA 9’s known (Pop 4)
Nolan Ryan #85 – Pop 2 for PSA 10, 11 for PSA 9
Tom Seaver #66 – Pop 3 for PSA 10, 7 for PSA 9
Johnny Bench #23 – Pop 9 for PSA 10, 10 for PSA 9
Suffice to say, high grade specimens of these keys and the entire set are exceedingly scarce. Completing a true pristine 1971 Topps Super collection at the absolute pinnacle of the population report is the definition of a white whale conquest.
Legacy and Impact
By expanding photography and information on each card 50 years ago, the 1971 Topps Super set changed the entire baseball card collecting hobby forever. It showed fans, players and the card companies what was possible when creativity and premium production enhanced the experience. They set the standard for what fans expected visually from sports cards going forward and saw subsequent release attempt to match the glorious oversized innovation even if they failed to reach the mania and reverence achieved by these 100 golden tickets from ’71.
From innovation in card design that pushed boundaries, to procuring the rarest short prints possible, to tracking down true mint condition examples now worth six figures – the 1971 Topps Super baseball card set challenge has continued captivating collectors across generations. It exemplifies the best of vintage cardboard and is widely recognized among traders, investors and hobby historians as one of the most significant releases in the entire history of sports memorabilia. Its legacy lives on strong 50 years later and the hunt to finish this iconic rainbow set at the very top continues for passionate players worldwide.
