1991 Topps

Description

1991 Topps is a 792-card set -- the tenth consecutive year the annual Topps flagship clocked-in at 792 cards. Notable for being its 40th Anniversary, 1991 Topps is renowned excellent photography and design. Subsets include Record Breakers, All-Stars, Draft Picks, and Future Stars. The only notable rookie is of Chipper Jones, the first pick in the MLB Draft the previous year.

Topps began transitioning away from wax paper wrappers in favor of plastic "poly" packs -- similar to those used in 1991 Stadium Club. "Wax" packs exist in both wax paper and poly plastic. This would be the final year Topps would be printed on gray back cardstock and the final year packs contained a stick of gum.

An estimated 4-5 million copies of each card were printed.

40th Anniversary Promotion

In 1991 Topps celebrated 40th anniversary in the baseball card business with a sweepstakes and instant win game. One copy of each Topps base card (1951-1990 inclusive) was randomly inserted into packs. According to an newspaper interview with Topps spokesman Dennis Liss, buyback cards with a value of less than $50 were inserted into packs, while cards worth more than $50 and issued before 1957 (which were oversized) would be redemptions. Based on data from collectors who opened large quantities of 1991 Topps packs, the buybacks and redemption coupons were seeded into packs at the "case hit" level. Topps advertised that they spent $1 million on prior-year cards for this promotion.

The contest consisted of:

• One contest card was seeded in every pack. Collectors could fill out the card with their name and address for a chance to win one of 41 different prizes. The first-place prize was every Topps complete set from 1952 to 1991. The forty second-place prizes was one Topps complete set from a random year.

• Contest cards, which were seeded at one in every 1000 packs, contained an X were "instant winners" and could be redeemed for a vintage buy-back card.

Single-card Prize Winners:

• 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle by Mark Leffler, Shelbyville, IN
• 1952 Andy Pafko by John Grupp, East Meadow, NY
• 1952 Bill Dickey by Barry Black, Johnson City, TN
• 1953 Jackie Robinson by Wayne Curtis, Fremont, CA
• 1955 Willie Mays by Ben Phillip, Minneapolis, MN
• 1957 Mickey Mantle by Robbie Alter, Prosser, WA
• 1958 Mickey Mantle by Tracy Whitehead, Senora, TX
• 1960 Carl Yastrzemski by a man from PA
• 1966 Gaylord Perry by a man from VA
• 1968 Ryan/Koosman by Mark Mix, Saint Cloud, MN
• 1969 Reggie Jackson by Edward Thimons, Natrona Heights, PA

Complete set winners, who were randomly selected on May 1st, Aug. 1st, Sept. 15th, and Nov. 1st, 1991.

• 1952 Topps Complete Set - David Mayberry, Comanche, IA
• 1953 Topps Complete Set
• 1954 Topps Complete Set
• 1955 Topps Complete Set
• 1956 Topps Complete Set
• 1957 Topps Complete Set - Tony Petronella, Chicago, IL
• 1958 Topps Complete Set
• 1959 Topps Complete Set
• 1960 Topps Complete Set
• 1961 Topps Complete Set
• 1962 Topps Complete Set
• 1963 Topps Complete Set
• 1964 Topps Complete Set
• 1965 Topps Complete Set - Clint Ratke, Custer City, OK

Grand Prize Set Winner (announced May 1st, 1991)

• Jack Glenn, New York, NY - All 40 sets (1952-1991)

Distribution

Wax/Poly: 36 packs per box, fifteen cards plus one stick of bubble gum per pack (MSRP: $0.50). 20 boxes per case.

Cello: 24 packs per box, 34 cards plus one stick of bubble gum per pack (MSRP: $0.99).

Rack: 24 packs per box, 45 cards per pack. Three boxes per case.

Jumbo: 100 cards per pack.

Vending Boxes: 500 cards per box. Fifteen boxes per case.

Factory Sets.

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Wax Odds	Cello Odds	Rack Odds	Jumbo Odds
Base	792	-	15:1	34:1	44:1	99:1
Glossy All-Stars	22	-	N/A	N/A	one-per-pack	N/A
Glossy Rookies	33	-	N/A	N/A	N/A	one-per-pack

Checklist

Promos

A nine-card set was distributed to promote the upcoming 1991 Topps Baseball set.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1991) AND (setname = 'Topps Pre-Production') ORDER BY num +0 ASC; </sql2wiki>

Base Set

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1991) AND (setname = 'Topps') AND (num = 1) ORDER BY num +0 ASC; </sql2wiki>

Record Breakers

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player FROM cards WHERE (year = 1991) AND (setname = 'Topps Micro') AND (num BETWEEN 2 AND 8) ORDER BY num +0 ASC; </sql2wiki>

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1991) AND (setname = 'Topps') AND (num BETWEEN 9 AND 385) ORDER BY num +0 ASC; </sql2wiki>

All-Stars

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<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1991) AND (setname = 'Topps') AND (num > 407) ORDER BY num +0 ASC; </sql2wiki>

Errors

49A Pat Borders (1986 - 40 steals in Kinston) 49B (0 Steal in Kinston)

80A Fernando Valenzuela (104 ER in '90 Tied League Lead) 80B (Led League)

97A Brady Anderson (Sept 2 RBI and 3 Hits) 97B (Set, 3 RBI and 14 Hits)

100A Don Mattingly (10 hits in 1990) 100B (101 hits in 1990)

131A Checklist 1 (#727 Phil Bradley) 131B (#727 Mookie Wilson)

155A Dwight Evans (Lead league w/162 games in 1982) 155B (tied for lead.....)

167A Randy Tomlin (Harriburg) 167B (Harrisburg)

236A Frank Tanana (Tied for lead w/269 K’s on 1975) 236B (Lead League w/269....)

270A Mark McGwire (1987 Slug % 618) 270B (1987 Slug % .618)

279A Jose Gonzalez (Photo Billy Bean) 279B (correct photo)

306A Lonnie Smith (136 Games in 1990) 396B (135 Games in 1990)

324A Ron Kittle (set another standard) 324B (tied another standard)

337A Keith Comstock (Cubs logo on front) 337B (mariners logo on front)

366A Checklist 3 (#19 Carl Nichols) 366B (#119 Carl Nichols)

378A Wilson Alvarez (1989 & 1990 minor league stats deleted) 378B (stats included)

454A Kevin Appier (1990 Omaha Stats deleted 454B (stats included)

526A Moises Alou (37 runs in 2 games for 1990 Pirates 526B (0 Runs in 2 games)

527A Checklist 4 (#105 Keith Miller #719 Kevin McReyolds 527B (#105 Kevin McReyolds #719 Keith Miller)

593A Mike Walker (1990 Canton Stats deleted 593B (Stats included)

599A Greg Myers (1990 Syracuse stats deleted 599B (Stats included)

603A Wes Chamberlain (Photo Louie Meadows) 603B (correct photo)

656A Checklist 5 (348 Palacios, 381 Lind, 537 Lavalliere) 656B (438 Palacios 537 Lind 665 Lavalliere) 656C (433 Palacios)

674A Kevin Gross (1988 Tied for lead) 674B (1988 Lead league)

687A John Cerutti (4.46 ERA in 1990) 687B (4.76 ERA in 1990)

692A Efrain Valdez (Born 6/11/66) 692B (Born 7/11/66)

706A Brad Arnsberg (68.2 IP in 1990) 706B (62.2 IP in 1990)

780A Randy Myers (15 Career losses) 780B (19 Career losses)

Parallels

O-Pee-Chee

The 1991 O-Pee-Chee baseball set was produced for the Canadian market and for the second consecutive year it was a full 792-card parallel of the Topps base set. The only distinctions between the Topps and OPC sets are the bilingual text and the O-Pee-Chee copyright on the backs. (The fronts of the OPC cards even feature the Topps 40th anniversary logo.) The cards were also printed on a lighter, brighter, cardstock -- similar to the Tiffanys.

Because OPC was issued months after the Topps set, traded players were able to have their new teams and dates of trade notated on their card.

As with Topps, O-Pee-Chee threw a contest of their own. 1500 lucky collectors could win a 1990 O-Pee-Chee factory set. (Wow!)

Desert Shield

1991 Topps Desert Shield is a 792-card parallel of the Topps set. Produced as a "thank you" to American troops serving in the Gulf War, this special run was supposed to be sent to the Middle East (in reality, a large amount of the print run never made it past an Air Force base in South Carolina). Cards were distributed in 15-card packs that look and feel like an ordinary 1991 Topps wax pack and each service member was entitled to one pack. All cards have a special "Desert Shield" gold-foil logo stamped in the upper-left corner.

Collectors should be advised that Desert Shield cards are very easy to counterfeit. Unopened Desert Shield wax packs are extremely rare and should only be purchased from a reliable source. Under close inspection, one can spot a fake by the orientation of the palm tree in the foil stamp. The bottom left tip of the tree should point between the E and R in OPERATION. If it doesn't, the stamp/card is most likely fake. In addition, the foil stamp should be crisp. The stamp is fuzzy on some fakes.

According to internal Topss documents, 500 cases of Desert Shield Baseball were produced. Approximately 6313 copies of each Desert Shield card were printed.

Tiffany

1991 was the eighth, and final, year Topps would produce a Tiffany factory set. Like with all previous Tiffany sets, each card was printed on white cardstock and has a glossy coating.

Of all the Tiffany sets, it is believed that the 1991 set is the scarcest with an advertised print run of 4,000 sets.

Micro

In 1991, Topps debuted Topps Micro a parallel set. Micro was sold exclusively in factory set form and primarily to mass market retail outlets. Each card measures 1" X 1 3/8".

Glow Backs

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The "Glow Backs" are a variation that was not discovered until decades after 1991 Topps' release. When exposed to a black light, the pink and navy blue ink on the backs of some cards appear to give off a magenta and cobalt blue "glow."

It's unclear if all 792 cards are available as Glow Backs.

Dark Backs

About a third of the base set can be found with a noticeably darker 40th Anniversary logo.

Inserts

Glossy 1990 All-Stars

For the eighth, and final, year, each rack pack contained one Glossy All-Star. As with the previous versions of this insert, the checklist consists of the starting lineups of the previous year's All-Star Game. The design is also identical, but with the addition of a 40th Anniversary logo.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1991) AND (setname = 'Topps Glossy All-Stars') ORDER BY num +0 ASC; </sql2wiki>

Glossy 1990 Rookies

One card from this 33-card set was inserted into each 100-card jumbo pack. The design identical to the previous year's set, but with a 40th Anniversary logo on the front. As with the Glossy All-Stars (see above), this would be the final year for the Glossy Rookies.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1991) AND (setname = 'Topps Rookies'); </sql2wiki>

Box Bottoms

For the final time, Topps printed cards on the bottom of their wax pack boxes. There are four different boxes, each with four cards with the checklist on the side. These cards have yellow borders rather than the white borders of the regular issue cards, and they have different photos of the players. The backs are printed in pink and blue on gray cardboard stock and feature outstanding achievements of the players.

O-Pee-Chee

The same 16 cards that were printed on the bottom of Topps wax boxes were also printed on O-Pee-Chee boxes, as well. Just like the with base set, the only differentiation between the Topps and OPC Box Bottoms are the French text on the OPC cards.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1991) AND (setname = 'Topps Wax Box Cards'); </sql2wiki>

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