1996 Topps
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.
Distribution
Reviews
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 | - | ? | ? | ? |
| 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) | ? | - | 1:18 | N/A | N/A |
| Classic Confrontations (S1) | 15 | - | N/A | 1:1 | N/A |
| Wrecking Crew (S2) | ? | - | ? | ? | ? |
| 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
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