Eight years into its virtual monopoly, Topps had settled into its role as baseball's lone bubble gum card maker. Not much changed from one year to the next. Kids--and the modest number of adult collectors--could count on stable prices and multiple series distributed every few weeks. The only major differences were the changes in the number of cards in the … [Read more...] about Vintage Pack Facts: 1963 Topps Baseball
Vintage Pack Facts
Vintage Pack Facts: 1969-70 Topps Basketball
The set was small but the cards were huge. Topps' 1969-70 basketball release carries the rookie cards of a small army of Hall of Famers. In this edition of Vintage Pack Facts, sponsored by Vintage Breaks, we take a look at boxes and packs from Topps' first basketball card product in a dozen years. The cost of a pack of Topps sports cards had risen from a … [Read more...] about Vintage Pack Facts: 1969-70 Topps Basketball
Vintage Pack Facts: 1981-82 Topps Basketball
Topps tried everything to get people interested in basketball cards during the tail end of what had been a decade-long deal with the NBA during the 1970s. In 1980, they went with a poorly received concept that put three players, separated by perforations, on a single card. In 1981-82, they created three different mini sets for the east, middle and western sections of the … [Read more...] about Vintage Pack Facts: 1981-82 Topps Basketball
Vintage Pack Facts: 1980-81 Topps Basketball
You could buy a box for nine bucks--retail. Truth is, no one was paying retail for 1980-81 Topps Basketball boxes forty years ago. Heck, sports card dealers were taking just about anything halfway decent in trade for basketball back then. Baseball was king. Football was a distant second and basketball was third--or fourth if you were in hockey … [Read more...] about Vintage Pack Facts: 1980-81 Topps Basketball
Vintage Pack Facts: 1980 Topps Football
Bored with your standard wax pack with gum? In 1980, you had plenty of options for building a set. And let's face it, if you were collecting football cards in 1980, that was your goal. There were no fancy inserts or autographed cards. Just meat and potatoes cardboard. This time, though, there was more than one option for bubble gum--and more than one option if you didn't … [Read more...] about Vintage Pack Facts: 1980 Topps Football
Vintage Pack Facts: 1961 Topps Baseball
The price of a pack remained the same, but any kids looking to put together a complete set of 1961 Topps baseball cards needed a lot of pennies, nickels, dimes and any other currency they could scrape up. By the time the Yankees and Reds finished the '61 World Series, a total of 587 cards had been produced. Today, it takes commitment to piece together a set, but it can … [Read more...] about Vintage Pack Facts: 1961 Topps Baseball
Vintage Pack Facts: 1979 Topps Football
It was the NFL's 60th season, but there wasn't much historical commemoration inside 1979 Topps football packs. The company stuck with its typical formula of players, league leaders, highlights and checklists. There were, however, a lot of different types of packs to choose from. The latest edition of Vintage Pack Facts from Vintage Breaks is all about the … [Read more...] about Vintage Pack Facts: 1979 Topps Football
Vintage Pack Facts: 1967 Topps Baseball
Vintage Pack Facts hopes to shed some light on one individual release each week in terms of the variety of packaging methods used, prices at the time, a little about the set itself and more. Topps expanded its set from 598 cards in 1966 to 609 in ’67 but youngsters wouldn’t know it until late in the year as it continued to produce cards in series that were time … [Read more...] about Vintage Pack Facts: 1967 Topps Baseball
Vintage Pack Facts: 1977 Topps Baseball
When teams reported to spring training in the late winter of 1977, the world of baseball cards was pretty much as it had always been. Collectors anxiously awaited the traditional wax packs with that stick of pink bubble gum. Another 660-card set was there to be pieced together. It was the 1970s so there would be no super premium … [Read more...] about Vintage Pack Facts: 1977 Topps Baseball
Vintage Pack Facts: 1978-79 Topps Basketball
The NBA was having a rough time back in the late 1970's. The league had merged with the ABA but the limited excitement created by the move didn't last long. Rumors of franchise shifts were common and sometimes they happened. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson hadn't yet arrived and Michael Jordan was still in high school. Trading card sets were kept to a … [Read more...] about Vintage Pack Facts: 1978-79 Topps Basketball