Topps Baseball Cards: A Brief History

Topps Chewing Gum, Inc. is an American company best known today as a maker of collectible trading cards. However, Topps got its start in 1938 producing chewing gum. In the late 1940s, Topps began experimenting with adding small square pieces of cardboard with images of famous baseball players to small stick packs of chewing gum. This innovation helped popularize modern trading cards.

In 1952, Topps obtained the exclusive rights to produce baseball cards from the players union and began issuing full size (2.5 x 3.5 inches) sets designed for the first time to be collected and swapped rather than discarded after the gum was chewed. This marked the advent of what we now know as the modern baseball card collecting hobby. Some key sets and developments in Topps baseball card history included:

1952 Topps: The very first modern set issued by Topps. It contained 382 cards of current players and managers. This is considered the first year of the modern era of baseball card collecting and cards from this set are some of the most coveted and valuable in the hobby today.

1955 Topps: Considered a classic set. It featured the rookie card of icon Mickey Mantle as well as the last cards issued of legends like Satchel Paige. The design and specifications set the template for Topps baseball designs for decades to come.

1957 Topps: Another classic set best known for featuring the rookie cards of future Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, and Billy Williams. Quality control issues led to short print variations that are extremely rare and valuable today.

1961 Topps: Notable for being the first set to feature team logo designs along with individual team checklists enclosed in every pack to aid set completion. Also notable for stars like Willie Mays having their final rookie card issues.

1962 Topps: Known as the “bat barrel” set due to the bat-shaped graphic repeating on most cards. The design was polarizing but was revived with fanfare in 1992. Notable for being the first color photograph set although most images were still black and white.

1964 Topps: Highly regarded as one of the most attractive vintage Topps designs. Known for its clean and iconic layout with a blue banner across the top third of each card. Featured the rookie cards of Hall of Famers like Joe Morgan and Dick Allen.

1965 Topps: Another memorable vintage design, known for its “ball in glove” shaped graphic repeating on most cards. Featured the rookie cards of future stars like Reggie Jackson and Ken Griffey Sr. Notable for being the first set to have uniform player statistics included on every card.

1967 Topps: Known as the “action photo” set due to all photos showing the players in action shots rather than posed portraits. Featured bright multi-colored team lettering at the bottom. Rookies included future Hall of Famers Carlton Fisk and Reggie Jackson.

1968 Topps: Notable for debuting a “laminated” coating over the photos to make them appear glossy. First extensive use of action photos rather than posed portraits throughout the set. Featured rookie cards of Nolan Ryan, Carlton Fisk, and Bill Madlock.

1970 Topps: Known for its large color team logo obliterating much of the front of each card. First set to be issued in wax wrappers rather than gum packs, signaling the passing of the era where cards accompanied bubble gum. Had rookie cards of Hall of Famers George Brett and Dave Winfield.

1972 Topps: Considered the highpoint of the post-gum era Topps designs. Known for a minimalist layout with only the player’s name and team in a rounded rectangle at the bottom. All-time classic photos including cards featuring Ron Santo’s action pose and Johnny Bench’s iconic home run swing image. Rookies included future stars like George Foster.

1973 Topps: Notable for having part of its production run come sans trademark “Professional Baseball Card” text on the front due to a legal dispute. Highly collectible variations emerged from this error. Featured team logo stickers enclosed with each card to personalize the collection.

1975 Topps: Known as the “high number” set as cards numbered from 481-700 were produced but many distributed separately from the original series 1-480 cards. Due to scarcity of the high numbers, these late-series cards included the rookie cards of Mike Schmidt, Howard Johnson, and Ricky Henderson. They are exceedingly rare and valuable today.

1978 Topps: Celebrated for its innovative “pie cut” photograph shape. Featured zoomed shots of players through the years before this became standard. Iconic cards included Nolan Ryan’s no-hitter image and a rookie card of Don Mattingly with his distinctive thick mustache intact.

1980 Topps: Considered the pinnacle of the 1980s design era with its futuristic frame patterns. Crisp action shots and rookie cards of Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken Jr. Longtime collectors favor this vintage set.

1984 Topps: Known for its enormous team logo in silver foil which nearly enveloped the entire front of many cards. Had memorable rookie cards of future Hall of Famers like Dwight Gooden and Ozzie Smith arriving on the scene in 1984.

1992 Topps: A highly anticipated redesign with the modern “bat barrel” pattern not seen since 1962 back in vogue. Foil stamping accented the borders and photographs. Iconic rookie cards of future stars like Edgar Martinez and Jeff Bagwell.

1998 Topps Chrome: Introduced the hobby’s favorite parallel insert set done entirely with “chrome” finishes and refractors. These new technology cards from the late 1990s set off a boom in inserts, parallels, and refractors.

That covers just some of the major highlights from over 60 years of Topps baseball card history. From humble beginnings as additions to stick of bubble gum to becoming a multi-billion dollar trading card industry leader, Topps helped start and continue to shape America’s favorite sport card collecting hobby. Iconic card designs, fun and scarce variations, and memorable rookie cards introduced keep collectors coming back year after year to Topps baseball.