If you were a youngster setting out to collect the 1959 Topps baseball set, you faced a huge task. While you may not have realized it until much later in the year, the company had just created its largest set ever at 572 cards spread across seven series. Unless you were able to save a lot of money and buy boxes--one series at a time--it was quite an … [Read more...]
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Vintage Pack Facts: 1964 Topps Baseball
After "wood grain" borders in '62 and splashes of color in '63, Topps went back to a more traditional look for its 1964 baseball cards. There was a new type of packaging, too. This week's edition of Vintage Pack Facts from Vintage Breaks examines the packs that came with something completely different on top. Topps went from 576 cards to 587 for its 1964 set, one … [Read more...]
Vintage Pack Facts: 1986-87 O-Pee-Chee Hockey
With the Montreal Canadiens fresh off a memorable Stanley Cup victory, kids north of the border were chomping at the bit in order to get the first hockey card of Conn Smythe Trophy winner Patrick Roy and that piece of cardboard hit them straight in the fact with boxes of 1986-87 O-Pee-Chee. After a era of heavy production, the London, Ontario-based company had scaled things … [Read more...]
Vintage Pack Facts: 1973 Topps Baseball Was Year of Change
After producing its largest set ever in 1972, Topps scaled back to a 660-card set in '73 and was in the midst of a landmark change in how its flagship set was created, delivered and collected. The whole process was a bit of an experiment. This week's edition of Vintage Pack Facts from VintageBreaks.com looks at how Topps marketed its first set of the "660 … [Read more...]
Vintage Pack Facts: 1973-74 Topps Hockey
Forty-five seasons before the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues battled it out for the 2019 Stanley Cup, you could still go to the local drug store and pick up a pack of hockey cards (10 cards plus a stick of that bubble gum that got extra hard in the winter). The cards were colorful and there was something extra inside that was perfect for sticking on the box that … [Read more...]
Vintage Pack Facts: 1975-76 Topps Basketball
There was a lot happening in pro basketball as the 1970s played out and by the middle of the decade it was clear the ABA wasn't going away on its own. As negotiations between the NBA and ABA toward a potential merger, Topps upped its game by producing its largest basketball set ever. Their 1975-76 set isn't loaded with great rookies (Moses Malone, Jamaal … [Read more...]
Vintage Pack Facts: 1977 Topps Football
Topps football card sets had a long-running symmetry during much of the 1970s and early 80s: 528 cards, all in one series with leader cards, checklists and team checklists. The 1977 set was no different and collectors were still enjoying the ability to plunk down a dollar and get six packs and some change back from the store clerk. This week's edition … [Read more...]
Vintage Pack Facts: 1968 Topps Baseball
With its "burlap" borders, it may not be flashy but the 1968 Topps baseball set actually has a lot going for it. Nolan Ryan and Johnny Bench rookie cards. Mantle. Mays. Clemente. Cards of that legendary Detroit Tigers team. Bob Gibson of the 1.12 ERA. The return of All-Star cards. All of them--and a new set of cards you could use to play a game--took the … [Read more...]
Vintage Pack Facts: 1977-78 Topps Hockey
The Montreal Canadiens were still dominant. Cleveland had a franchise. The Colorado Rockies (no, not the baseball team) were a team (and made the playoffs). The 1977-78 NHL season had a lot going on but American kids collecting hockey cards found a kind of comfort food in the form of Topps hockey cards, which still came with gum and plenty of … [Read more...]
Vintage Pack Facts: 1970-71 Topps Basketball
After dipping a toe in the pro basketball waters for the first time in 12 years, Topps jumped in with both feet in 1970-71, producing a set that was spread over two series and included many of the same features you could find on its baseball and football sets like leader cards, playoff highlights and all-star cards. The cards remained unusual in size--2 1/2" x 4 11/16", a … [Read more...]
