Origins: 1938–1950

Topps was established in the United States in 1938 by the Shorin brothers as a confectionery company 1. Its original business operations were unrelated to sports cards. One of the company’s most significant early innovations was Bazooka bubble gum, introduced in 1947 3. Bazooka grew into a major American candy brand and remains part of the broader Topps heritage, which eventually included confectionery brands such as Ring Pop and Push Pop.

The association between Topps and trading cards originated partly as a marketing strategy for selling gum. Cards were packaged with or alongside confectionery products to incentivise purchases, a tactic that ultimately helped transform Topps from a gum manufacturer into a dominant force in the collectibles industry 5.

The birth of modern Topps baseball

Topps entered the sports-card market in 1951, producing its first major baseball-card set 6. This release laid the foundation for the modern sports-card hobby. The landmark moment arrived in 1952 with the release of the 1952 Topps Baseball set 7. Widely regarded as one of the most important baseball-card releases in history, the 1952 set featured colourful, visually distinctive designs rich with player information, establishing the template for modern sports cards 8.

The Mickey Mantle connection

The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card has become one of the most famous cards in collecting history 9. Although technically part of the 1952 set, its cultural significance has made it a symbol of the entire sports-card hobby. The combination of Mantle’s legendary career, the iconic 1952 design, the card’s age, historical scarcity, and sustained collector demand has rendered high-grade examples extraordinarily valuable 10. This association is a primary reason Topps remains closely linked to the history of baseball-card collecting.

Expansion beyond baseball

While baseball became Topps’ defining category, the company gradually diversified into other forms of collecting. Beginning in the 1950s, Topps produced entertainment-related cards featuring celebrities and popular culture figures 4. Historical subjects included Elvis Presley and The Beatles, followed later by properties such as Charlie’s Angels, E.T., and Batman. This expansion established a core aspect of Topps’ identity: transforming popular culture into collectibles, a philosophy that remains central to the brand today.

Topps played a pivotal role in evolving trading cards from simple promotional items into a dedicated collecting hobby. Modern Topps products typically feature multiple tiers of rarity:

• Base cards — standard cards comprising the main set
• Parallels — alternative versions of base cards
• Short prints (SPs) — cards produced in smaller quantities
• Super short prints (SSPs) — even scarcer variations
• Refractors — specialty Chrome-style cards
• Autographs — cards signed by athletes or celebrities
• Relics — cards containing pieces of memorabilia
• Patch cards — cards containing pieces of jerseys or equipment
• 1/1 cards — unique cards with only one copy produced

The pursuit of increasingly rare cards has become a defining characteristic of modern sports-card collecting. Topps’ own collecting guide describes base cards as the foundation of a set, with parallels providing progressively limited versions of the same basic design.

Topps Chrome

Topps Chrome is one of the brand’s most recognisable modern product families. These products utilise distinctive reflective, metallic card stock and are particularly popular among collectors seeking rookie cards, refractors, numbered parallels, autograph cards, and extremely rare 1/1 cards. The Refractor concept has become integral to modern sports-card collecting, with Topps baseball Chrome products featuring a parallel structure ranging from standard Refractors to the ultra-rare Superfractor 1/1 cards.

Topps Heritage

Topps Heritage adopts a retrospective approach by reproducing the visual language of historic Topps sets rather than creating futuristic designs. Modern players are presented using design elements inspired by cards from previous decades, effectively combining modern athletes with historical Topps aesthetics and nostalgia. This line exemplifies Topps leveraging its own archive as a creative resource.

Topps NOW

Topps NOW is a print-on-demand programme designed to rapidly convert major sporting moments into collectible cards. Significant events—such as record-breaking performances, championships, historic debuts, walk-off home runs, or major milestones—can become Topps NOW cards shortly after they occur. Available only during a limited purchasing window, the final print run is determined by orders received, making each card a snapshot of a specific moment in sports history. This model differs significantly from traditional Topps products manufactured in advance.

Bowman

Bowman is a key component of the Topps family, renowned for focusing on baseball prospects and young players 2. While traditional Topps Baseball often highlights established MLB players and rookies, Bowman is strongly associated with the prospecting aspect of the hobby. Collectors acquire Bowman cards hoping to identify future stars before they reach the major leagues. Fanatics notes that Bowman became part of its portfolio through the Topps acquisition and describes the brand as particularly vital for tracking emerging talent.

Match Attax

Launched in 2006, Match Attax combines collectible football cards with trading-card game mechanics. Players collect cards featuring footballers for use in gameplay, a format that proved especially popular among younger fans and expanded across multiple competitions and markets. Topps describes Match Attax as the world’s best-selling sports trading-card game, with distribution spanning all continents.

European market

Topps maintains a significant presence outside North American sports, particularly in Europe. Topps Europe began in 1989 as Merlin Publishing Ltd., initially gaining prominence in collectible stickers. In 1994, Merlin launched its official Premier League football collection. Topps acquired Merlin in 1995, substantially expanding its footprint in European collectibles and establishing itself as a major football/soccer collectibles company. Key properties associated with Topps’ European business have included the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga, WWE, Pokémon, Star Wars, Doctor Who, and National Geographic.

Entertainment and pop culture

Topps has historically licensed and produced collectibles for numerous global entertainment franchises, including Star Wars, Marvel, WWE, Garbage Pail Kids, Pokémon, Doctor Who, Batman, and E.T. 10. This positions the company at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and pop culture. Fanatics currently describes Topps as the home of sports properties such as Bundesliga and Formula 1, alongside entertainment properties including Star Wars and Topps’ original Garbage Pail Kids IP.

2022 acquisition

A major turning point occurred in 2022 when Fanatics acquired Topps’ sports and entertainment trading-card business, including physical and digital collectibles operations 10. Topps subsequently became the cornerstone brand of Fanatics Collectibles. This acquisition combined Topps’ established brand, manufacturing expertise, collector relationships, international distribution, existing licenses, and infrastructure with Fanatics’ growing sports licensing portfolio. Consequently, Topps is now best understood as a brand within Fanatics Collectibles rather than an independent standalone company.

Global reach and licensing

Under Fanatics, Topps has expanded aggressively across sports, covering MLB, NBA, NFL, Formula 1, UEFA, Bundesliga, WWE, MLS, college sports, and international football. Fanatics states that Topps and its broader collectibles operation sell into more than 100 countries, with physical operations in multiple nations including the UK, Germany, Brazil, Italy, and Japan. The brand has also advanced its memorabilia offerings, introducing programmes like Rookie Debut Patch and other cards incorporating game-used or player-worn material.

Return to major sports licenses

The Fanatics era has restored Topps to categories where it previously lost licensing rights. Topps returned as the official NBA trading-card brand beginning with the 2025–26 season, ending an absence dating back to 2009–10. It has also resumed status as an official NFL/NFLPA trading-card licensee, launching new licensed football products. These developments have transformed Topps into a broad global sports-collectibles platform rather than solely a baseball-card manufacturer.

75th anniversary of Topps Baseball

2026 marks the 75th anniversary of Topps Baseball, tracing the company’s baseball-card history to 1951. Celebrations include products and designs referencing key historical moments and reinterpretations of classic aesthetics. This milestone highlights how Topps integrates its own history into contemporary products, allowing collectors to acquire both current athletes and pieces of the brand’s legacy simultaneously.

Product ecosystem

Today, “Topps” encompasses several distinct sub-brands serving different collector segments:

• Topps — the main trading-card brand
• Topps Baseball — the flagship baseball-card line
• Topps Chrome — premium Chrome-style cards with refractors
• Topps Heritage — modern cards using historical designs
• Topps NOW — limited-time, print-on-demand cards
• Bowman — prospect-focused sports cards
• Match Attax — football/soccer trading-card game
• Garbage Pail Kids — original pop-culture/card IP

This architecture enables Topps to cater to diverse audiences, from children buying inexpensive packs to serious investors acquiring rare autographs and 1/1 cards.

Determinants of value

A Topps card’s value is not determined solely by age. Key factors include:

• Player importance — legendary or popular players attract greater demand
• Rookie status — recognised rookie cards carry substantial significance
• Scarcity — numbered cards (/99, /25, /10, /5, 1/1) are generally more valuable
• Condition — centering, corners, edges, and surface quality dramatically affect value
• Grading — authentication and grading by PSA, SGC, or Beckett enhances marketability
• Autograph — genuine signatures significantly increase desirability
• Memorabilia — game-used or player-worn material adds distinction
• Historical importance — association with famous sets or moments drives interest
• Market demand — ultimate value is determined by what collectors are willing to pay

Topps occupies a unique position by appealing simultaneously to multiple generations. Collectors who acquired 1980s Topps baseball cards may recognise the same brand when their children collect 2020s Topps Chrome, while high-end collectors pursue vintage Mickey Mantle cards or modern autographed memorabilia. This creates a rare continuity linking vintage collecting, nostalgia, modern sports fandom, alternative asset investment, and pop culture. As of 2026, Topps continues to innovate across limited editions, on-demand printing, digital collecting, and direct-to-consumer releases, maintaining its status as a foundational pillar of global collecting culture.

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