Cards
2026 Topps Series 1 honors iconic 1952 baseball set, Top 75 cards of all time
What better way to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Topps Baseball than bringing back the design from the very first Topps set in 1952?
And what better way to promote 75 years of Topps Baseball cards than including an example of the brand’s most iconic card of all time—a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle.
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The 2026 Topps Series 1 Baseball set, which launched Wednesday, Feb. 11, honors Topps’ 75th diamond anniversary with a design taken from an on-field baseball diamond. The Series 1 base card was inspired by MLB’s popular City Connect uniforms, with jersey texture and triangle stitching running down the left side of the card and baseball seams around the player image. Base cards also feature a diamond 75th anniversary logo.
The special set also features the top 75 cards of the last 75 years, as voted on by Topps executives and hobby insiders, including a ranking of the top 10. Cards in “Iconic Topps Buybacks” subset will be available as PSA-graded redemption inserts in all 2026 flagship baseball sets in 2026, starting with Series 1.
The subset features a redemption card for the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, valued at six figures. A 1952 Topps Mantle card graded 9.5 by SGC holds the all-time baseball card record at $12.6 million.
Other set details include:
• The base-card design will be featured in all Topps Baseball flagship products, including Series 1, Series 2 and Topps Update. It will also extend to other Topps sports’ sets in 2026.
• The base card of top rookies in Series 1 are featured in the 1952 design. Starting with 2026, Topps Baseball will be the exclusive home for the 1952 Topps design with players never having a card in 1952 design ever again.
• On-card autograph cards are numbered to /10; red parallel to /5 (signed in red ink); and black parallel 1/1 (signed in gold ink). Top rookies include Roman Anthony, Jac Caglianone and Jacob Misiorowski.
• The 350-card base set spotlights MLB stars, top rookies, future stars, league leaders, and team cards. Hobby boxes ($100) have 20 packs, with 12 cards per pack and one autograph or relic card per box.
• This year’s insert lineup includes Big Ticket Players, 2025 Greatest Hits, Heavy Lumber, All Aces, All Kings, Topps Profiles, and the 1991 Autograph Cards, which feature on-card autographs of rookies, stars and retired greats on the 1991 card design.
• 75 years of Topps Gift Redemptions, including: two tickets to the Home Run Derby; two Tickets to the MLB All-Star Game; $7,500 Topps gift card; and special experiences and gifts from several MLB teams.
• The City Connect card design by Topps Art Director Adam Schwartz was chosen from dozens of designs submitted over 15 months. It’s his first-ever Series 1 design.
• The Top 75 cards in Topps Buybacks program were voted on by a panel of industry experts at Topps’ New York City headquarters, including league executives, historians and players, including MLB historian John Thorn, Dr. Jim Beckett (Beckett Magazine), PSA’s Nat Turner and former MLB player Evan Longoria. Shohei Ohtani cards are featured in five of the top 75, including his 2018 rookie card at No. 10 and two 2025 Gold Logoman cards.
Other players featured include: (three times) Ken Griffey Jr., Aaron Judge, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente; and (two times) Derek Jeter, Mike Trout, Bo Jackson, Cal Ripken Jr., Reggie Jackson, Nolan Ryan, Pete Rose.
The top 10 cards are:
• 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle
• 1952 Topps Willie Mays
• 1954 Topps Hank Aaron
• 1952 Topps Jackie Robinson
• 2024 Topps Chrome Update Paul Skenes MLB Rookie Debut Patch
• 1968 Topps Jerry Koosman/Nolan Ryan “Rookie Stars”
• 1986 Topps Barry Bonds
• 1955 Topps Roberto Clemente
• 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson
