Topps released their “Field of Dreams” baseball card set in 1989 to celebrate the 1988 Kevin Costner film of the same name. The blockbuster movie, based on W.P. Kinsella’s novel “Shoeless Joe”, was a major pop culture phenomenon and sparked new interest in the history of baseball. Topps seized the opportunity to capitalize on the film’s success and nostalgia for America’s pastime by creating a unique retro-themed card set that transported collectors back to baseball’s early 20th century “deadball” era.
The 175-card set featured period-accurate designs and photography to make the cards look like they could have actually been issued in the 1910s or 1920s. Topps used a matte, cream-colored cardstock with lightly textured stock to mimic the feel of older tobacco cards. The fronts of the cards featured iconic black-and-white action photography of MLB players from the designated year, while the backs contained basic career statistics and biographical information in an old-fashioned font inside boxes outlined with fine borders.
Topps enlisted the help of noted baseball historian and author David Fleitz to ensure the card designs, statistics, and facts were as accurate as possible to the early decades of pro baseball. Special attention was paid to uniform details, ballparks, era-appropriate posed action shots, and typefaces/graphic designs matching the 1910s-1920s. Even the expiration dates on many player cards matched the actual year they retired or passed away. The level of authenticity made the “Field of Dreams” set hugely popular with collectors nostalgic for baseball’s early years.
The 1989 timeframe also marked significant anniversaries for several all-time MLB greats like Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Walter Johnson. Their inclusion in the set alongside rookie cards of contemporary stars like Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens allowed the “Field of Dreams” collection to span multiple baseball generations. The mix of past legends and present talent resonated strongly with baseball fans both young and old.
Several of the set’s inserts provided additional context and storytelling elements tying into the “Field of Dreams” movie. Postcards depicted iconic scenes from the film at the ghostly baseball diamond cut out of an Iowa cornfield. Turn-of-the-century tobacco advertisements incorporated figures like “Shoeless” Joe Jackson endorsing chewing tobacco or cigarettes. Highlights cards focused on storylines around Jackson’s mysterious career ending and other legends of the deadball era.
Perhaps most notably, the set featured the first cards for legendary “Black Sox” players involved in the 1919 World Series gambling scandal like “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, and Buck Weaver. Topps obtained the rights to use their names and images after decades of other card companies avoiding association with the disgraced players at the center of the fixed series that rocked the National Pastime. Their inclusion represented Topps’ effort to authentically portray the controversy and its context within the broader history of baseball chronicled through the “Field of Dreams” lens.
In addition, Topps created a limited quantity of rare parallel subsets like gilt-edged, sepia-toned, and embossed parallel variations inserted randomly in packs. These scarce parallel cards command high values today. The company also issued factory sets of the complete base collection and a diamond kings insert subset available only through direct order from Topps.
Upon release in 1989, the “Field of Dreams” set was exceedingly popular and cleaned out of store shelves quickly. The creative retro designs, movie tie-in, historical context, and mix of legendary stars from the past and present resonated massively with the baseball collecting community. Today, in near mint condition, common base cards from the set still trade for $5-10 while stars can range from $20-100. The inserts and parallels have increased substantially in secondary market value given the set’s strong nostalgic following.
While not Topps’ biggest issued set quantity-wise, “Field of Dreams” is hugely popular with vintage baseball card collectors and considered one of the company’s most creatively designed and visually pleasing releases. Its authentic period style, attention to detail, and ability to bring multiple eras of the game together through a romanticized cinematic lens have ensured the set remains a highly regarded classic over thirty years since its initial release. The nostalgia and tales of baseball’s early 20th century still resonate strongly with fans today seeking to reconnect with America’s pastime. In that sense, Topps’ “Field of Dreams” cards truly allow collectors to, like the film, “have the feeling that you’re doing something that you done before.”
