The Topps Heritage brand is renowned for bringing back the look and feel of baseball cards from the past. In 2017, Topps Heritage celebrated its 15th anniversary by saluting designs from the 1970s. The vibrant colors and vivid imagery from that era were captured in this modern set of 525 cards.
Topps Heritage 2017 paid tribute to the 1974 Topps design. Like the originals from the 1970s, the cards featured a horizontal layout with the player’s photograph centered above their name and team. Solid color borders surrounded each image. For the first time ever, foil stamping was used on the card fronts to recreate the metallic team logo panel look of the 1974 design.
As with Heritage sets of the past, attention to detail was key. Card stock, textures, fonts, and production techniques aimed to immerse collectors in a total experience emulating the baseball cards of the 1970s. The cardboard stock had a distinguished high-gloss finish matching the slick paper found in 1970s packs. Uniform designs, ballparks, and equipment accurately portrayed each season being saluted.
The base set checklist highlighted the biggest stars and top rookies from across Major League Baseball in 2017. Superstar cards included Clayton Kershaw, Mike Trout, Kris Bryant, and David Ortiz in his final season. Rising talents like Corey Seager, Andrew Benintendi, and Aaron Judge received their Heritage issue rookie cards in this set.
Parallel and insert cards provided added layers of rarity and acquisition for collectors. The Rainbow Foil parallel featured a flashy multi-colored treatment on the cardboard fronts. A foil Stadium Club logo symbolized membership to an exclusive club within the hobby. Subsets put the focus on All-Star selections, team leader stats, and players achieving milestones with Heritage Moment cards.
Autograph and memorabilia cards summoned the high-dollar hunt inherent to these collector-driven Heritage releases. Authenticated swatches of game-worn jerseys, bats, and caps accentuated star power players within the Treasured Materials subset. On-card autographs lent credibility and value to parallels featuring today’s elite like Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, and Miguel Cabrera.
Beyond the base checklist, Topps Heritage 2017 went all-in on the 1970s tribute theme with dedicated subsets. Nostalgia was in full effect with the Players Weekend salute to that era’s Saturday uniforms. Bright solids, pinstripes, and flashy designs brought these uniforms to life on Heritage cardboard. A Celebrate the Seasons subset evoked 1970s scorecards, programs, ticket stubs and more through its retro graphics.
Topps Heritage captured one of the most iconic designs in the hobby’s history with its 1974 inspired layout. Vivid colors popped from the high-gloss cardboard stock matched to that decade. Superstars, rookies and parallels spanning today’s game blended history with the present. Achievements, uniforms from yesteryear, and autographs fused collectability with nostalgia in this detailed 15th anniversary celebration of Topps Heritage.
Whether experiencing the originals from the 1970s or collecting the modern parallels, Topps Heritage 2017 succeeded in transporting fans back to a golden age of baseball cards. Its detailed designs, artifacts of the past, and premium memorabilia pieces have cemented this set’s place among the most beloved issues in the long-running Heritage line. Topps captured lightning in a bottle by distilling the essence of 1970s cardboard into a slick, modern collector’s set honoring over four decades of baseball card history.
