1996 Topps

File:1996topps1.jpg

1996 Topps Series 1 box

Description

1996 Topps is a 440-card set (the smallest in almost 40 years), released in two series of 220. A special Mickey Mantle card was issued as card number 7 (his uniform number) and became the last card to be issued as card number 7 in the Topps brand set. Rookie Cards in this set include Sean Casey, Geoff Jenkins and Daryle Ward.

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Hobby Odds	Retail Odds	Jumbo Odds
Base	440	-	?	?	?
Star Power Boosters	11	-	1:36	N/A	?
Draft Pick Power Boosters	14	-	N/A	1:36	?
Mickey Mantle Reprints (S1)	19	-	1:9	1:6	1:2
Mickey Mantle Finest Reprints (S2)	19	-	1:18	1:12	?
Mickey Mantle Finest Refractor Reprints (S2)	19	-	1:96	1:144	?
Mickey Mantle Contest Redemptions (S2)	19	-	1:108	1:96	?
Profiles	40	-	1:12	1:8	1:6
Mystery Finest (S1)	26	-	1:36	1:36	1:8
Mystery Finest Refractors (S1)	26	-	1:216	1:216	1:36
Masters of the Game (S1)	20	-	1:18	N/A	N/A
Classic Confrontations (S1)	15	-	N/A	1:1	N/A
Wrecking Crew (S2)	15	-	1:18	N/A	N/A
Road Warriors (S2)	20	-	N/A	1:1	N/A

Checklist

Base Set

1 Tony Gwynn STP

2 Mike Piazza STP

3 Greg Maddux STP

4 Jeff Bagwell STP

5 Larry Walker STP

6 Barry Larkin STP

7 Mickey Mantle

8 Tom Glavine STP

9 Craig Biggio STP

10 Barry Bonds STP

11 Heathcliff Slocumb STP

12 Matt Williams STP

13 Todd Helton Draft Pick

14 Mark Redman Draft Pick RC

15 Michael Barrett Draft Pick

16 Ben Davis Draft Pick

17 Juan LeBron Draft Pick

18 Tony McKnight Draft Pick RC

19 Ryan Jaroncyk Draft Pick RC

20 Corey Jenkins Draft Pick

21 Jim Scharrer Draft Pick

22 Mark Bellhorn Draft Pick RC

23 Jarrod Washburn Dft Pick RC

24 Geoff Jenkins Draft Pick RC

25 Sean Casey Draft Pick RC

26 Brett Tomko Draft Pick RC

27 Tony Fernandez

28 Rich Becker

29 Andujar Cedeno

30 Paul Molitor

31 Brent Gates

32 Glenallen Hill

33 Mike Macfarlane

34 Manny Alexander

35 Todd Zeile

36 Joe Girardi

37 Tony Tarasco

38 Tim Belcher

39 Tom Goodwin

40 Orel Hershiser

41 Tripp Cromer

42 Sean Bergman

43 Troy Percival

44 Kevin Stocker

45 Albert Belle

46 Tony Eusebio

47 Sid Roberson

48 Todd Hollandsworth

49 Mark Wohlers

50 Kirby Puckett

51 Darren Holmes

52 Ron Karkovice

53 Al Martin

54 Pat Rapp

55 Mark Grace

56 Greg Gagne

57 Stan Javier

58 Scott Sanders

59 J.T. Snow

60 David Justice

61 Royce Clayton

62 Kevin Foster

63 Tim Naehring

64 Orlando Miller

65 Mike Mussina

66 Jim Eisenreich

67 Felix Fermin

68 Bernie Williams

69 Robb Nen

70 Ron Gant

71 Felipe Lira

72 Jacob Brumfield

73 John Mabry

74 Mark Carreon

75 Carlos Baerga

76 Jim Dougherty

77 Ryan Thompson

78 Scott Leius

79 Roger Pavlik

80 Gary Sheffield

81 Julian Tavarez

82 Andy Ashby

83 Mark Lemke

84 Omar Vizquel

85 Darren Daulton

86 Mike Lansing

87 Rusty Greer

88 Dave Stevens

89 Jose Offerman

90 Tom Henke

91 Troy O'Leary

92 Michael Tucker

93 Marvin Freeman

94 Alex Diaz

95 John Wetteland

96 Cal Ripken 2131

97 Mike Mimbs

98 Bobby Higginson

99 Edgardo Alfonzo

100 Frank Thomas

101 AAA Stars Bob Abreu

102 AAA Stars Givens/Mathews

103 AAA Stars Pritchett/Hubbard

104 AAA Stars Owens/Huskey

105 Doug Drabek

106 Tomas Perez

107 Mark Leiter

108 Joe Oliver

109 Tony Castillo

110 Checklist (1-110)

111 Kevin Seitzer

112 Pete Schourek

113 Sean Berry

114 Todd Stottlemyre

115 Joe Carter

116 Jeff King

117 Dan Wilson

118 Kurt Abbott

119 Lyle Mouton

120 Jose Rijo

121 Curtis Goodwin

122 Jose Valentin

123 Ellis Burks

124 David Cone

125 Eddie Murray

126 Brian Jordan

127 Darrin Fletcher

128 Curt Schilling

129 Ozzie Guillen

130 Kenny Rogers

131 Tom Pagnozzi

132 Garret Anderson

133 Bobby Jones

134 Chris Gomez

135 Mike Stanley

136 Hideo Nomo

137 Jon Nunnally

138 Tim Wakefield

139 Steve Finley

140 Ivan Rodriguez

141 Quilvio Veras

142 Mike Fetters

143 Mike Greenwell

144 Bill Pulsipher

145 Mark McGwire

146 Frank Castillo

147 Greg Vaughn

148 Pat Hentgen

149 Walt Weiss

150 Randy Johnson

151 David Segui

152 Benji Gil

153 Tom Candiotti

154 Geronimo Berroa

155 John Franco

156 Jay Bell

157 Mark Gubicza

158 Hal Morris

159 Wilson Alvarez

160 Derek Bell

161 Ricky Bottalico

162 Bret Boone

163 Brad Radke

164 John Valentin

165 Steve Avery

166 Mark McLemore

167 Danny Jackson

168 Tino Martinez

169 Shane Reynolds

170 Terry Pendleton

171 Jim Edmonds

172 Esteban Loaiza

173 Ray Durham

174 Carlos Perez

175 Raul Mondesi

176 Steve Ontiveros

177 Chipper Jones

178 Otis Nixon

179 John Burkett

180 Gregg Jefferies

181 Denny Martinez

182 Ken Caminiti

183 Doug Jones

184 Brian McRae

185 Don Mattingly

186 Mel Rojas

187 Marty Cordova

188 Vinny Castilla

189 John Smoltz

190 Travis Fryman

191 Chris Hoiles

192 Chuck Finley

193 Ryan Klesko

194 Alex Fernandez

195 Dante Bichette

196 Eric Karros

197 Roger Clemens

198 Randy Myers

199 Tony Phillips

200 Cal Ripken

201 Rod Beck

202 Chad Curtis

203 Jack McDowell

204 Gary Gaetti

205 Ken Griffey Jr.

206 Ramon Martinez

207 Jeff Kent

208 Brad Ausmus

209 Devon White

210 Jason Giambi FS

211 Nomar Garciaparra FS

212 Billy Wagner FS

213 Todd Greene FS

214 Paul Wilson FS

215 Johnny Damon FS

216 Alan Benes FS

217 Karim Garcia FS

218 Dustin Hermanson FS

219 Derek Jeter FS

220 Checklist (111-220)

221 Kirby Puckett STP

222 Cal Ripken STP

223 Albert Belle STP

224 Randy Johnson STP

225 Wade Boggs STP

226 Carlos Baerga STP

227 Ivan Rodriguez STP

228 Mike Mussina STP

229 Frank Thomas STP

230 Ken Griffey Jr. STP

231 Jose Mesa STP

232 Matt Morris RC

233 Craig Wilson RC DP

234 Alvie Shepherd

235 Randy Winn RC

236 David Yocum RC DP

237 Jason Brester RC

238 Shane Monahan RC

239 Brian McNichol RC DP

240 Reggie Taylor

241 Garrett Long

242 Jonathan Johnson

243 Jeff Liefer RC

244 Brian Powell

245 Brian Buchanan RC

246 Mike Piazza

247 Edgar Martinez

248 Chuck Knoblauch

249 Andres Galarraga

250 Tony Gwynn

251 Lee Smith

252 Sammy Sosa

253 Jim Thome

254 Frank Rodriguez

255 Charlie Hayes

256 Bernard Gilkey

257 John Smiley

258 Brady Anderson

259 Rico Brogna

260 Kirt Manwaring

261 Len Dykstra

262 Tom Glavine

263 Vince Coleman

264 John Olerud

265 Orlando Merced

266 Kent Mercker

267 Terry Steinbach

268 Brian L. Hunter

269 Jeff Fassero

270 Jay Buhner

271 Jeff Brantley

272 Tim Raines

273 Jimmy Key

274 Mo Vaughn

275 Andre Dawson

276 Jose Mesa

277 Brett Butler

278 Luis Gonzalez

279 Steve Sparks

280 Chili Davis

281 Carl Everett

282 Jeff Cirillo

283 Thomas Howard

284 Paul O'Neill

285 Pat Meares

286 Mickey Tettleton

287 Rey Sanchez

288 Bip Roberts

289 Roberto Alomar

290 Ruben Sierra

291 John Flaherty

292 Bret Saberhagen

293 Barry Larkin

294 Sandy Alomar Jr.

295 Ed Sprague

296 Gary DiSarcina

297 Marquis Grissom

298 John Frascatore

299 Will Clark

300 Barry Bonds

301 Ozzie Smith

302 Dave Nilsson

303 Pedro Martinez

304 Joey Cora

305 Rick Aguilera

306 Craig Biggio

307 Jose Vizcaino

308 Jeff Montgomery

309 Moises Alou

310 Robin Ventura

311 David Wells

312 Delino DeShields

313 Trevor Hoffman

314 Andy Benes

315 Deion Sanders

316 Jim Bullinger

317 John Jaha

318 Greg Maddux

319 Tim Salmon

320 Ben McDonald

321 Sandy Martinez

322 Dan Miceli

323 Wade Boggs

324 Ismael Valdes

325 Juan Gonzalez

326 Charles Nagy

327 Ray Lankford

328 Mark Portugal

329 Bobby Bonilla

330 Reggie Sanders

331 Jamie Brewington RC

332 Aaron Sele

333 Pete Harnisch

334 Cliff Floyd

335 Cal Eldred

336 Jason Bates

337 Tony Clark

338 Jose Herrera

339 Alex Ochoa

340 Mark Loretta

341 Donne Wall

342 Jason Kendall

343 Shannon Stewart

344 Brooks Kieschnick

345 Chris Snopek

346 Ruben Rivera

347 Jeff Suppan

348 Phil Nevin

349 John Wasdin

350 Jay Payton

351 Tim Crabtree

352 Rick Krivda

353 Bob Wolcott

354 Jimmy Haynes

355 Herb Perry

356 Ryne Sandberg

357 Harold Baines

358 Chad Ogea

359 Lee Tinsley

360 Matt Williams

361 Randy Velarde

362 Jose Canseco

363 Larry Walker

364 Kevin Appier

365 Darryl Hamilton

366 Jose Lima

367 Javy Lopez

368 Dennis Eckersley

369 Jason Isringhausen

370 Mickey Morandini

371 Scott Cooper

372 Jim Abbott

373 Paul Sorrento

374 Chris Hammond

375 Lance Johnson

376 Kevin Brown

377 Luis Alicea

378 Andy Pettitte

379 Dean Palmer

380 Jeff Bagwell

381 Jaime Navarro

382 Rondell White

383 Erik Hanson

384 Pedro Munoz

385 Heathcliff Slocumb

386 Wally Joyner

387 Bob Tewksbury

388 David Bell

389 Fred McGriff

390 Mike Henneman

391 Robby Thompson

392 Norm Charlton

393 Cecil Fielder

394 Benito Santiago

395 Rafael Palmeiro

396 Ricky Bones

397 Rickey Henderson

398 C.J. Nitkowski

399 Shawon Dunston

400 Manny Ramirez

401 Bill Swift

402 Chad Fonville

403 Joey Hamilton

404 Alex Gonzalez

405 Roberto Hernandez

406 Jeff Blauser

407 LaTroy Hawkins

408 Greg Colbrunn

409 Todd Hundley

410 Glenn Dishman

411 Joe Vitiello

412 Todd Worrell

413 Wil Cordero

414 Ken Hill

415 Carlos Garcia

416 Bryan Rekar

417 Shawn Green

418 Tyler Green

419 Mike Blowers

420 Kenny Lofton

421 Denny Neagle

422 Jeff Conine

423 Mark Langston

424 Prospects Ron Wright RC

425 Prospects Daryle Ward RC

426 Prospects Adam Riggs RC

427 Prospects N.Perez/E.Wilson

428 Prospects Bartolo Colon

429 Prospects Marty Janzen RC

430 Prospects Rich Hunter RC

431 Prospects Dave Coggin RC

432 Pros/ R.Ibanez RC/P.Konerko

433 Prospects Marc Kroon

434 Prospects S.Rolen/S.Spiezio

435 Prospects V.Guerrero/A.Jones

436 Prospects Shane Spencer RC

437 Prospects D.Stovall RC

438 Prospects/Coleman RC/Hidalgo

439 Prospects Jermaine Dye

440 Checklist

Parallels

Power Boosters

These cards are a metallic version of 25 of the first 26 1996 Topps cards. Card numbers 1-6 and 8-12 parallel the "Star Power" subset and were exclusive to Series One Hobby packs; while numbers 13-26 parallel the "Draft Picks" subset and were issued in Series One retail packs. Inserted in place of two basic cards, they are printed on 28 point stock and the fronts have prismatic foil printing. Curiously, card number 7, which is Mickey Mantle in the regular set, was not issued in a Power Booster form.

Inserts

Mickey Mantle Reprints

To commemorate the 1995 death of Mickey Mantle, Topps reprinted 19 of his classic Topps and Bowman cards, 1951 through 1969. The fronts look the same except for a commemorative stamp, while the backs clearly state that they are "Mickey Mantle Commemorative" cards and have a 1996 copyright date.

Based on evidence from an uncut sheet auctioned off at the 1996 Kit Young Hawaii Trade Show, some collectors/dealers believe that cards 15 through 19 were slightly shorter printed in relation to the other 14 cards.

The "base" cards were randomly inserted into Series One packs, while Finest and Finest Refractor versions were in Series Two.

1 Mickey Mantle (1951 Bowman)

2 Mickey Mantle (1952 Topps)

3 Mickey Mantle (1953 Topps)

4 Mickey Mantle (1954 Bowman)

5 Mickey Mantle (1955 Bowman)

6 Mickey Mantle (1956 Topps)

7 Mickey Mantle (1957 Topps)

8 Mickey Mantle (1958 Topps)

9 Mickey Mantle (1959 Topps)

10 Mickey Mantle (1960 Topps)

11 Mickey Mantle (1961 Topps)

12 Mickey Mantle (1962 Topps)

13 Mickey Mantle (1963 Topps)

14 Mickey Mantle (1964 Topps)

15 Mickey Mantle (1965 Topps) SP

16 Mickey Mantle (1966 Topps) SP

17 Mickey Mantle (1967 Topps) SP

18 Mickey Mantle (1968 Topps) SP

19 Mickey Mantle (1969 Topps) SP

Case Cards

The 19-card set parallels the regular Mantle Reprint set. The "case" cards were seeded into each Series Two Hobby, jumbo, and vending case as chiptoppers. The cards were hermetically sealed and issued in a soft plastic seal with the words "Topps Factory Seal 1996" on the back.

Contest Redemptions

Randomly inserted into Series Two packs, this 19-card set parallels the regular Mantle Reprint set. Collectors fortunate to pull one could then send it back to Topps and be entered into a drawing for the actual Mickey Mantle card depicted. 2000 copies of each redemption were produced, but only 76 vintage Mantles were given away. The contest expired October 15, 1996.

Mickey Mantle Last Day Production

This special version of Mantle's 1996 Topps base card is "hermetically sealed" and was inserted into all 1996 Topps factory sets.

F7 Mickey Mantle

Profiles

This 40-card set features 20 players from each league. One card from the first series and two from the second series were also included in all Topps factory sets. Topps spokesmen Kirby Puckett (AL) and Tony Gwynn (NL) give opinions on players within their league. The cards are numbered with either an "AL or NL" prefix on the back depending on the player’s league. The cards are sequenced in alphabetical order within league. Cards AL/NL 1-10 were inserted into Series One packs, while AL/NL 11-20 were in Series Two.

AL1 Roberto Alomar

AL2 Carlos Baerga

AL3 Albert Belle

AL4 Cecil Fielder

AL5 Ken Griffey Jr.

AL6 Randy Johnson

AL7 Paul O'Neill

AL8 Cal Ripken

AL9 Frank Thomas

AL10 Mo Vaughn

AL11 Jay Buhner

AL12 Marty Cordova

AL13 Jim Edmonds

AL14 Juan Gonzalez

AL15 Kenny Lofton

AL16 Edgar Martinez

AL17 Don Mattingly

AL18 Mark McGwire

AL19 Rafael Palmeiro

AL20 Tim Salmon

NL1 Jeff Bagwell

NL2 Derek Bell

NL3 Barry Bonds

NL4 Greg Maddux

NL5 Fred McGriff

NL6 Raul Mondesi

NL7 Mike Piazza

NL8 Reggie Sanders

NL9 Sammy Sosa

NL10 Larry Walker

NL11 Dante Bichette

NL12 Andres Galarraga

NL13 Ron Gant

NL14 Tom Glavine

NL15 Chipper Jones

NL16 David Justice

NL17 Barry Larkin

NL18 Hideo Nomo

NL19 Gary Sheffield

NL20 Matt Williams

Mystery Finest

This 26-card set was randomly inserted in all Series One packs, and features a bit of a mystery. The fronts have opaque coating that must be removed before the player can be identified. After the opaque coating is removed, the fronts feature a player photo surrounded by silver borders. The backs feature a choice of players along with a corresponding mystery finest trivia fact.

This set is also available as a Refractor parallel.

M1 Hideo Nomo

M2 Greg Maddux

M3 Randy Johnson

M4 Chipper Jones

M5 Marty Cordova

M6 Garret Anderson

M7 Cal Ripken

M8 Kirby Puckett

M9 Tony Gwynn

M10 Manny Ramirez

M11 Jim Edmonds

M12 Mike Piazza

M13 Barry Bonds

M14 Raul Mondesi

M15 Sammy Sosa

M16 Ken Griffey Jr.

M17 Albert Belle

M18 Dante Bichette

M19 Mo Vaughn

M20 Jeff Bagwell

M21 Frank Thomas

M22 Hideo Nomo

M23 Cal Ripken

M24 Mike Piazza

M25 Ken Griffey Jr.

M26 Frank Thomas

Masters of the Game

This 20-card set was randomly inserted into Series One Hobby packs. In addition, each factory set contained two Masters of the Game cards.

MG1 Dennis Eckersley

MG2 Denny Martinez

MG3 Eddie Murray

MG4 Paul Molitor

MG5 Ozzie Smith

MG6 Rickey Henderson

MG7 Tim Raines

MG8 Lee Smith

MG9 Cal Ripken

MG10 Chili Davis

MG11 Wade Boggs

MG12 Tony Gwynn

MG13 Don Mattingly

MG14 Bret Saberhagen

MG15 Kirby Puckett

MG16 Joe Carter

MG17 Roger Clemens

MG18 Barry Bonds

MG19 Greg Maddux

MG20 Frank Thomas

Classic Confrontations

This 15-card set was exclusive to special five-card Series One retail packs sold at exclusively at Wal-Mart.

CC1 Ken Griffey Jr.

CC2 Cal Ripken

CC3 Edgar Martinez

CC4 Kirby Puckett

CC5 Frank Thomas

CC6 Barry Bonds

CC7 Reggie Sanders

CC8 Andres Galarraga

CC9 Tony Gwynn

CC10 Mike Piazza

CC11 Randy Johnson

CC12 Mike Mussina

CC13 Roger Clemens

CC14 Tom Glavine

CC15 Greg Maddux

Wrecking Crew

Exclusive to Series Two Hobby packs, this 15-card set honors some of the hottest home run producers in the League. One card from this set was also inserted into Topps Hobby Factory sets.

WC1 Jeff Bagwell

WC2 Albert Belle

WC3 Barry Bonds

WC4 Jose Canseco

WC5 Joe Carter

WC6 Cecil Fielder

WC7 Ron Gant

WC8 Juan Gonzalez

WC9 Ken Griffey Jr

WC10 Fred McGriff

WC11 Mark McGwire

WC12 Mike Piazza

WC13 Frank Thomas

WC14 Mo Vaughn

WC15 Matt Williams

Road Warriors

This 20-card set was inserted exclusively into Series Two Wal-Mart packs at a rate of one per pack and featured leading hitters of the majors.

RW1 Derek Bell

RW2 Albert Belle

RW3 Craig Biggio

RW4 Barry Bonds

RW5 Jay Buhner

RW6 Jim Edmonds

RW7 Gary Gaetti

RW8 Ron Gant

RW9 Edgar Martinez

RW10 Tino Martinez

RW11 Mark McGwire

RW12 Mike Piazza

RW13 Manny Ramirez

RW14 Tim Salmon

RW15 Reggie Sanders

RW16 Frank Thomas

RW17 John Valentin

RW18 Mo Vaughn

RW19 Robin Ventura

RW20 Matt Williams