Full History Of Topps In Timeline From 1909

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Topps rookie and racing cards are gaining traction among collectors. The article highlights the appeal of 2005 Topps rookie baseball cards and Aaron Judge's Refractor rookie card.

1909: American Tobacco Company Releases T206 Set

From 1909-1911, the American Tobacco Company originally released the T206 set.

1923: Le Mans

In 1923, the first Le Mans race was run. It is from this date that Topps has poster artwork featured in trading cards released in January 2023.

1938: Topps Founded

In 1938, Topps was founded by four Shorin brothers: Abram, Ira, Philip, and Joseph. They relaunched the company, previously known as American Leaf, to focus on manufacturing chewing gum.

1947: Sy Berger Joins Topps

In 1947, Sy Berger started working for Topps and continued to work for them for 50 years, becoming the face of Topps to Major League Baseball Players.

1947: Topps Incorporated

In 1947, Topps Chewing Gum, Inc. incorporated under New York law.

1947: Bazooka Bubble Gum Introduced

In 1947, Topps introduced Bazooka bubble gum, a bar of gum in patriotic red, white, and blue packaging, selling for five cents. It was of higher quality compared to gum sold with baseball cards.

July 1950: Topps Active Through Players Enterprises

In July 1950, Topps started working with Players Enterprises to acquire the rights to depict baseball players on merchandise, in anticipation of its first baseball card set.

1950: Bowman Signs Players

In 1950, Bowman signed many baseball players to contracts for that year, plus a renewal option for one year, which affected Topps's ability to sell cards with gum.

1950: Introduction of Trading Cards

In 1950, Topps decided to increase gum sales by packaging them with trading cards featuring Western character Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd).

1951: Bowman Card Released

In 1951, Bowman released Mickey Mantle's rookie card, but it is worth less than the 1952 Topps card.

1951: Magic Set Football Cards

In 1951, Topps also produced cards for American football, which are known as the Magic set.

1951: Topps Produced First Baseball Cards

In 1951, Topps produced its first baseball cards in two different sets known today as Red Backs and Blue Backs. Each set contained 52 cards and could be used to play a game.

1951: Topps releases first card set

In 1951, Topps released its first set of baseball cards after securing the rights to depict players on merchandise. Later, the acquisition of rights to additional players allowed Topps to release its second series.

1951: Topps Sells Cards With Caramel Candy

In 1951, Topps sold its baseball cards with caramel candy instead of gum to avoid the language of Bowman's existing contracts with players.

1951: Statistics from 1951 Season Included

In 1952, Topps included one line of statistics from the most recent year, for the 1951 season, and another line with the player's lifetime totals on its cards.

1951: Sy Berger Designs Baseball Card Set

In the autumn of 1951, Sy Berger designed the 1952 Topps baseball card set with Woody Gelman, including player stats and biographical information, setting the basic design still in use today.

1952: Player Statistics on Baseball Cards

Beginning with the 1952 set, Topps included player statistics on their baseball cards, a significant contribution to their success. At the time, complete statistics weren't widely available, so Topps compiled the data from published box scores. The inclusion of statistics was a relative novelty and encouraged collectors to study the numbers.

1952: Topps Sells Cards With Gum

In 1952, Topps began selling baseball cards with gum after including clauses in its contracts that allowed them to do so.

1952: Topps Creates Larger Baseball Card Set

In 1952, Topps created a much larger (407 total) set of baseball cards and packaged them with bubble gum, changing the dimensions and adding statistical information.

1952: Topps Disposes of Surplus Stock

In 1952, Topps disposed of surplus stock by dumping many cards into the Atlantic Ocean.

1952: Surplus Baseball Cards Dumped in Ocean

In 1952, Topps dumped surplus boxes of baseball cards, including Mickey Mantle's first Topps card, into the Atlantic Ocean.

1952: Statistics on Topps Cards

In 1952, Topps included one line of statistics from the most recent year (the 1951 season) and another line with the player's lifetime totals on its cards. Bowman imitated this by adding statistics to its own cards.

1952: Baseball card set release

Sy Berger's design for Topps baseball card sets was first used in 1952.

1953: Bazooka Joe Comic Strip Introduced

In 1953, Topps began selling smaller, penny pieces of Bazooka bubble gum with the Bazooka Joe comic strip on the wrapper as an added attraction.

1954: Two Pictures on the Front of the Card

In 1954, Topps put two pictures on the front of the card: a hand-tinted color close-up photo of the player's head, and a black-and-white full-length pose.

1954: Topps Hockey Cards Debut

In 1954, Topps ventured into ice hockey, with a set featuring players from the four National Hockey League franchises located in the U.S. at the time.

1955: All-American Football Set

In 1955, Topps released an All-American set with a mix of active players and retired stars in American football.

1955: Full-Length Photo Hand Tinted

In 1955, Topps used the same basic format as 1954, but this time with the full-length photo also hand-tinted.

1956: Game-Action Photo Backgrounds

For 1956, the close-up tinted photo was placed against a tinted full-background 'game-action' photo of the player.

1956: Topps Buys Out Bowman

In 1956, Topps bought out Bowman, becoming the predominant producer of baseball cards for the next quarter-century.

1957: Full Career Statistics Debut

For the first time in 1957, Topps put full year-by-year statistics for the player's entire career on the back of the card.

1957: Posed Photographs Become Standard

From 1957 on, virtually all Topps cards were posed photographs, either as a head shot or with equipment.

1957: Topps Standardizes Baseball Card Dimensions

In 1957, Topps shrank the dimensions of its cards slightly, to 2-1/2 inches by 3-1/2 inches, setting a standard that remains the basic format for most sports cards produced in the United States.

1957: Agreement With O-Pee-Chee Company for NHL Cards

In 1958, the O-Pee-Chee Company entered into an agreement with Topps to produce NHL cards (the 1957–58 series).

1957: First Basketball Cards

Topps first sold cards for basketball in 1957, but stopped after one season.

1958: Space Cards Set Released

In 1958, Topps released a set of Space Cards, inspired by the Space Race, redirecting artistic efforts towards non-sports themes.

1958: Agreement With O-Pee-Chee Company

In 1958, the O-Pee-Chee Company entered into an agreement with Topps to produce NHL cards (the 1957–58 series) and Canadian football cards (the 1958 series).

1959: Fleer Signs Ted Williams

In 1959, Fleer signed Ted Williams to an exclusive contract and sold a set of cards oriented around him.

1959: Symbol of Courage - Roy Campanella

In 1959, Topps issued special cards for players who had either died or had been injured. The 1959 set had card 550 as "Symbol Of Courage – Roy Campanella", with a color photo of the paralyzed former Dodger in his wheelchair and a black-and-white photo of him in uniform.

1959: Funny Monsters cards released

In 1959, Topps released the Funny Monsters cards, mixing humor and horror elements.

1960: AFL Football Cards

In 1960, the emergence of the American Football League (AFL) allowed Topps's competitors to make inroads in football cards, with Fleer producing a set for the AFL.

1960: Game Action Depicted on Cards

Starting in 1960 a few cards showed true game action, but the photographs were either in black-and-white or hand-tinted color; these cards were primarily highlights from the World Series.

1961: O-Pee-Chee Starts Printing Own Cards

In 1961, O-Pee-Chee started printing its own hockey and football cards.

1962: Mars Attacks cards released

In 1962, Topps released the Mars Attacks cards, sketched by Wood and Powell and painted by Norman Saunders, which later inspired a Tim Burton movie.

1962: Sharp Focus and Natural Color Photos Debut

Photographs on Topps cards did not appear in sharp focus and natural color until 1962. However, there were printing problems in the second series that year, leading to a reprinting.

1963: Fleer Attempts Set of Active Players

In 1963, Fleer tried a 67-card set of currently active baseball players but was not successful due to Topps holding the rights to most players.

1963: Permanent Career Statistics

In 1963, Topps made the practice of showing complete career statistics permanent on its cards, except for one year.

April 1964: In Memoriam Cards

In April 1964, the 1964 set issued cards for two recently deceased players: Ken Hubbs of the Cubs with a different "In Memoriam" front design compared to standard cards, and Colts pitcher Jim Umbricht's regular card with a special note on the back about his death from cancer.

1964: Topps AFL Rights

In 1964, Philadelphia Gum secured the NFL rights, forcing Topps to go for the AFL and leaving Fleer with no product in either baseball or football.

1964: Topps Negotiates Rights for Beatles Trading Cards

In 1964, Sy Berger was sent to London by the Shorins to negotiate the rights for Topps to produce Beatles trading cards, successfully negotiating with Brian Epstein.

1965: Production Facilities Moved to Duryea

In 1965, Topps moved its production facilities from Brooklyn to a plant in Duryea, Pennsylvania.

1965: FTC Hearing Examiner Rules Against Topps

In 1965, a hearing examiner for the Federal Trade Commission ruled against Topps in an administrative complaint filed by Fleer, alleging unfair competition.

1966: Fleer Sells Player Contracts to Topps

In 1966, Fleer sold its remaining player contracts to Topps for $395,000 after the FTC reversed the decision against Topps, giving Topps an effective monopoly of the baseball card market.

1966: Television Design Used for Football Series

In 1967, with the major expansion of six new NHL teams to the United States, the Topps Company produced a new hockey card set that paralleled the 1966–67 O-Pee-Chee hockey design (the basic television design was in fact first used for 1966 Topps American football series).

1967: New Hockey Card Set

In 1967, with the expansion of six new NHL teams to the United States, the Topps Company produced a new hockey card set that paralleled the 1966–67 O-Pee-Chee hockey design.

1968: Topps Becomes Only Major Football Card Manufacturer

After the AFL–NFL Merger was agreed to, Topps became the only major football card manufacturer beginning in 1968.

1968: Union Asks Players to Stop Signing Renewals

Before the 1968 season, the MLBPA asked its members to stop signing renewals on contracts with Topps.

1968: Annual Topps Hockey Set

Starting in 1968, the Topps Company started printing an annual Topps hockey set that was similar to the annual O-Pee-Chee hockey set.

1969: Basketball Cards Produced Again

The company started producing basketball cards again in 1969 and continued until 1982.

1971: 1971 Football Set Innovation

In 1971, Topps developed a variety of design elements for its baseball cards, some of which were the company's innovations, such as the 1971 Football Set, while others were ideas borrowed from others that Topps helped popularize.

1971: Photo on Back of Card

In 1971, Topps sacrificed the full statistics in order to put a player photo on the back of the card.

1971: Color Game Photos and Black Borders Debut

The year 1971 was a landmark in baseball card photography, as Topps included color photographs from actual games for the first time. The 1971 set is also known for its jet black borders.

1972: Gary Gerani joins Topps

In 1972, Gary Gerani joined Topps and became the editor/writer of movie and television tie-in products, including numerous Star Wars sets.

1972: Topps Goes Public

In 1972, Topps offered stock to the public for the first time with the assistance of White, Weld & Co.

1972: Color Photographs Used for 'In Action' Cards

The 1972 set finally included color photographs, which were used for special "In Action" cards of selected star players.

1973: Union Offers Exclusive Rights to Fleer

In 1973, The MLBPA offered Fleer the exclusive rights to market cards of most players (with gum), although Fleer declined the proposal.

1973: Wacky Packages stickers outsell baseball cards

In 1973, Wacky Packages stickers outsold Topps baseball cards, marking the first product to do so since the company's early days.

1974: Washington Nat'l Lea. Cards

In 1974, Topps showed a number of players as being with the "Washington Nat'l Lea." franchise, due to expectations that the San Diego Padres would relocate. When the move failed to materialize, Topps had to replace these cards.

1974: Acquisition of Amalgamated and British Confectionery

In the United Kingdom, Topps acquired the old Amalgamated and British Confectionery firm in 1974, bringing its production methods and card style to Britain.

1974: Tribute to Hank Aaron

Topps sets commonly include cards for special themes, the 1974 tribute to Hank Aaron as he was about to break Babe Ruth's career home run record being one example.

1974: Topps Continues Releasing Baseball Cards in Series

Until 1974, Topps continued to release its baseball cards in several series over the course of the baseball season.

1980: Monopoly on baseball cards broken by lawsuit

In 1980, a lawsuit ended Topps Chewing Gum's exclusive right to sell baseball cards, allowing the Fleer Corporation to compete in the market.

August 1981: Ruling Overturned on Appeal

In August 1981, the ruling that broke Topps's monopoly was overturned on appeal, but Fleer and Donruss began packaging their cards with other baseball items instead of gum.

1981: Similar Designs Shared

The Topps and O-Pee-Chee hockey sets shared a similar design from 1968–69 to 1981–82.

1982: Artwork on Card Backs

Artwork, primarily cartoons, appeared on Topps card backs as late as 1982.

1982: Topps Traded Cal Ripken Jr. Card

In 1982, Topps issued a 'Traded' set that included a single card of Cal Ripken Jr., who previously appeared in the regular set on a multi-player 'prospects' card. This marked a shift towards including rookie players who had just reached the major leagues.

1982: Logos Airbrushed Out

Throughout the 1970s until 1982, Topps did not have the rights to reproduce the actual team logos on the helmets and uniforms of the players, and these were airbrushed out on a routine basis.

1982: Abandoned Basketball Card Market

Topps abandoned the basketball card market in 1982 for another decade, missing out on printing the prized rookie cards of Michael Jordan and other mid- and late-1980s National Basketball Association stars.

1984: Topps Features U.S. Olympic Baseball Team

In 1984, Topps obtained a license to produce cards featuring the U.S. Olympic baseball team, including the first card of Mark McGwire.

1984: Topps Acquired in Leveraged Buyout

In 1984, Topps returned to private ownership when it was acquired in a leveraged buyout led by Forstmann Little & Company.

1984: Similar Designs Shared

The Topps and O-Pee-Chee hockey sets shared a similar design from 1984–85 to 1991–92.

1985: Topps Includes Olympic Baseball Team Cards in Regular Set

In 1985, Topps included cards of the 1984 U.S. Olympic baseball team in its regular set.

1985: Return of Black Borders

In 1985, the black borders returned for Topps's football set.

1987: Topps Becomes Publicly Traded Again

In 1987, the ownership group made Topps a publicly traded company again, renamed The Topps Company, Inc.

1988: Dinosaurs Attack! Created by Gary Gerani

In 1988, Gary Gerani created and helmed the original card property Dinosaurs Attack! at Topps.

1989: Pro Set and Score Enter Football Card Market

Growth in the sports card market generally prompted two new companies, Pro Set and Score, to start making football cards in 1989.

1989: Topps Resurrects Bowman Brand

In 1989, Topps resurrected its former competitor Bowman as a subsidiary brand to focus on young players with bright prospects.

1989: Card Companies Develop Higher-End Cards

In 1989, with the entry of Upper Deck into the market, card companies began to develop higher-end baseball cards using improved technology.

1991: Topps Introduces Stadium Club

In 1991, Topps' initial effort at producing a premium line of baseball cards was called Stadium Club.

1991: Similar Designs Shared

The Topps and O-Pee-Chee hockey sets shared a similar design from 1984–85 to 1991–92.

1992: Photos Return to Card Backs

In 1992, Topps brought back photos on the backs of cards.

1992: Gum Dropped From Baseball Card Packs

In 1992, Topps stopped including gum in their baseball card packs due to its tendency to stain the cards and diminish their value to collectors.

1992: Return to Basketball Cards

Topps finally returned to basketball cards in 1992, several years after its competitors. This would be perfect timing, because 1992 was the rookie year of Shaquille O'Neal.

1993: Player Photo on Back of Card

In 1993, Topps again incorporated a player photo on the back as well as the front of the card.

1993: Topps Comics division created

In 1993, Topps created Topps Comics, a division of the company to publish comic books, including concepts from Jack Kirby and licensed titles tied to movies or television series.

1994: Merlin Acquires Premier League License

In 1994, Merlin acquired the Premier League license, allowing the company to exclusively publish the only official Premier League sticker and album collection in the UK.

1994: Launch of Topps Merlin Premier League Sticker Albums

In 1994, Topps Merlin branded Premier League sticker albums have been popular since their launch.

1994: Headquarters Relocated to Manhattan

In 1994, Topps relocated its headquarters to One Whitehall Street in lower Manhattan.

1994: Mars Attacks Card Series Released

In 1994, a tie-in with the Mars Attacks film led to a new card series, including a 100-card Archives set reprinting the 55 original cards, plus 45 new cards from various artists.

1994: Topps Can Produce Cards of Replacement Players

Since replacement players during the 1994 baseball strike are barred from union membership and participation in the group licensing program, Topps is the only manufacturer able to produce their baseball cards.

1995: Topps Completes Takeover of Merlin Publishing

In 1995, The Topps Company Inc. completed its takeover of Merlin Publishing. Merlin's official company name changed to Topps Europe Limited.

1997: Duryea Plant Closed

In 1997, the Topps production plant in Duryea, Pennsylvania, closed.

1998: Topps Pulled out of the Comics Business

In 1998, Topps decided to pull out of the comics business due to stagnating sales, despite having published titles such as "The X-Files," "Lone Ranger and Tonto," and "Mars Attacks."

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1999: Pokemon Cards outsell baseball cards

Starting in 1999, Pokémon cards outsold Topps baseball cards for a few years, following the success of Wacky Packages stickers.

December 2000: Topps Launches eTopps

In December 2000, Topps launched a new brand of sports cards called eTopps in partnership with eBay, sold exclusively online through individual IPOs.

2000: ThePit.com Launches Online Card Trading Site

Earlier in 2000, ThePit.com, a startup company, launched a site for online stock-market style card trading.

August 2001: Topps Acquires ThePit.com

In August 2001, Topps acquired ThePit.com, a startup company with an online card trading site, for $5.7 million cash.

2001: Heritage Line Includes Gum

In 2001, Topps began its Heritage line of baseball cards, which reintroduced gum to the packs.

2002: Topps Revives T206 Set

In 2002, Topps revived the T206 set originally released by the American Tobacco Company, under the "Topps 206" brand, featuring current baseball players. The revival included the T206 Honus Wagner card with a blue background.

July 2003: Topps Acquires WizKids

In July 2003, Topps made its first foray into the world of games by acquiring the game company WizKids for $29.4 million in cash, thus acquiring ownership of the rights to the well-known gaming universes of BattleTech and Shadowrun.

2003: Magic Box International produced Shoot Out cards

From 2003 to 2006, Magic Box International produced the Shoot Out cards.

2004: Topps Creates a Card of Barry Bonds

In 2004, Topps was belatedly able to create a card of Barry Bonds by negotiating individually after he opted out of group licensing.

2005: Topps Considers Selling Confectionery Business

In 2005, Topps considered selling off its confectionery business due to increasing public attention to childhood nutrition and pressure from shareholders, but ultimately decided to cut management expenses instead after failing to find a buyer at the desired price.

January 2006: Topps Unloads ThePit.com

In January 2006, Topps unloaded ThePit.com on Naxcom, charging a $3.7 million after-tax loss in connection with the sale.

October 2006: In Memoriam Cory Lidle

In October 2006, Topps was prepping for its annual updated/traded card release, which featured Cory Lidle in a Yankees uniform. After Lidle's tragic death, the cards were pulled and subsequently released with "In Memoriam" on its front.

2006: Magic Box International produced Shoot Out cards

From 2003 to 2006, Magic Box International produced the Shoot Out cards.

2006: Dick Perez Commissioned

In 2006, Baseball artist Dick Perez was commissioned to paint art cards for Topps.

2006: MLBPA Limits Licenses

In 2006, the MLBPA announced that licenses would only be granted to Topps and Upper Deck, the number of different products would be limited, and players would not appear on cards before reaching the major leagues.

October 12, 2007: Topps Acquired by Tornante and Madison Dearborn

On October 12, 2007, Topps was acquired by Michael Eisner's The Tornante Company and Madison Dearborn Partners. Topps began to expand into the entertainment and media business.

2007: Topps Acquired Premier League Rights for Trading Cards

In 2007, Topps acquired the Premier League rights for trading cards.

2007: Altered Derek Jeter Card

In 2007, Topps grabbed collectors' attention when a new baseball card of Yankees' shortstop Derek Jeter was found to have been altered to include images of Mickey Mantle and President George W. Bush.

2007: Black Borders Return Again

In 2007, the black borders returned for Topps's baseball set.

November 2008: Topps Shut Down Wizkids Operation

In November 2008, Topps shut down the Wizkids operation due to the economic downturn.

2008: Topps Acquired Exclusive Rights to DFL Deutsche Fussball Liga GmbH

In 2008, Topps acquired the exclusive rights to the DFL Deutsche Fussball Liga GmbH for trading cards and stickers until the Bundesliga Season 2010/11.

2008: Topps gains WWE rights and releases Slam Attax

In 2008, Topps acquired the rights to produce WWE trading cards. They also released the first set of Slam Attax cards in the U.K., drawing inspiration from the Match Attax football trading card game.

2008: Topps and Zuffa, LLC Sign Agreement for MMA Trading Cards

In 2008, Topps and Zuffa, LLC entered into an exclusive agreement for Topps to produce mixed martial arts trading cards, featuring current and former UFC athletes.

2008: Merlin Brand Discontinued

In 2008, the Merlin brand was discontinued on products after being used since the Topps takeover in 1995.

January 2009: Bundesliga Match Attax Launched

In January 2009, Bundesliga Match Attax was launched and is available in over 40,000 stockists.

September 2009: NECA Acquired WizKids Brand

In September 2009, NECA acquired the Wizkids brand.

2009: Topps Becomes Official Baseball Card of MLB

In 2009, Topps became the first official baseball card of MLB in over thirty years.

2009: Slam Attax released in the US

In 2009, Topps released the Slam Attax cards in the United States after their initial release in the U.K. in 2008, establishing a pattern of earlier U.K. releases for subsequent sets.

2010: Topps Launches Second T206 Revival

In 2010, Topps launched a second revival of the T206 set.

2010: First Product Under the MLB Deal

In 2010, the first product to fall under the MLB deal was the 2010 Topps Baseball Series 1, granting Topps exclusivity for the use of MLB and club trademarks and logos on cards.

2010: Topps had exclusive rights to DFL

Through 2010, Topps had exclusive rights to the DFL Deutsche Fussball Liga GmbH for trading cards and stickers.

2012: Topps Begins Creating Digital Sports Cards

In 2012, Topps began creating digital sports cards, starting with the Topps Bunt baseball card mobile app.

2013: Topps Releases Bunt Baseball Card Mobile App

In 2013, Topps released the Bunt baseball card mobile app and found success with it.

2013: Exclusive Deal Extended

In 2013, the exclusive deal with MLB was extended for Topps.

August 2014: Topps Expands Sports Card Market with Kick Soccer App

In August 2014, Topps expanded their sports card market into other apps including the Kick soccer app.

March 2015: Topps Releases Star Wars Card Trader App

In March 2015, Topps released their Star Wars Card Trader app.

2015: Panini Awarded Exclusive NFL License

After the 2015 football season, Panini was awarded an exclusive license by the NFL for producing football cards.

2015: Topps expands non-sports category with Star Wars and Doctor Who

In 2015, Topps expanded its non-sports category by adding more TV shows, including a brand-new Star Wars line with a virtual card app, and Doctor Who, featuring autographs and relics.

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2015: UEFA Champions League Stickers and Trading Cards Produced

Since 2015, Topps has produced stickers and trading cards for the UEFA Champions League.

February 2016: Topps Match Attax Dominated UK Card Trading Market

As of February 2016, Topps Match Attax dominated the secondary UK card trading market.

April 2016: Topps Launches Huddle Football App

In April 2016, Topps launched the Huddle Football app.

May 2016: Topps Releases Walking Dead Trading Card App

In May 2016, Topps released a Walking Dead trading card app.

2016: Topps Stops Producing Football Cards

2016 was the first year Topps did not produce football cards since 1955. Panini was awarded an exclusive license by the NFL for producing football cards after the 2015 football season.

2017: Topps Introduces Skate Hockey App

In 2017, Topps introduced the Skate hockey app.

2018: Exclusive Deal Extended Again

In 2018, the exclusive deal with MLB was extended again for Topps.

2019: Topps Expands Digital Marketplace with Marvel and Disney Apps

In 2019, Topps expanded their marketplace, releasing a Marvel trading card app in the spring and their Disney trading card app in November.

2019: Topps Premier League Stickers End

Until 2019, Topps made 'Topps Premier League' stickers and the Match Attax trading card game.

March 2020: Topps Announces Collaboration with WAX.io

In March 2020, Topps announced a collaboration with WAX.io to make their cards tradable on the blockchain.

May 2020: New T206 Collection Released

In May 2020, Topps released a new T206 collection divided into five different series, with the first (50 cards) being released, named "Topps 206".

September 2020: Fifth Series of T206 Collection Released

In September 2020, Topps released the fifth series of the new "Topps 206" collection, which includes players from both, Major and Minor League.

December 2020: Garbage Pail Kids Cards Available on Blockchain

As of December 2020, Topps has only made Garbage Pail Kids cards available to traders via blockchain.

April 2021: Topps Announces Plans to Go Public via SPAC Merger

In April 2021, Topps announced plans to go public via a merger with Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation II, valuing Topps at $1.3 billion.

August 2021: Fanatics Acquires Future Exclusive Licenses with MLB

In August 2021, it was reported that Fanatics acquired future exclusive licenses with Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association to produce baseball cards.

2021: Topps criticized for BTS depiction

In 2021, Topps faced criticism for its depiction of the South Korean boyband BTS in its Grammy-themed collection, which was considered racist and violent. The company apologized and removed the cards from production.

January 2022: Fanatics Acquires Topps

In January 2022, Fanatics announced they had acquired Topps for US$500 million.

August 28, 2022: Mickey Mantle Baseball Card Sold for $12.6 Million

On August 28, 2022, the Mickey Mantle baseball card (Topps; #311; SGC MT 9.5) was sold for $12.6 million.

2022: Fanatics Acquires Topps

In 2022, Fanatics acquired Topps after acquiring the license with Major League Baseball.

January 2023: Topps Released Trading Cards for 24 Hours of Le Mans

In January 2023, Topps released both physical and digital trading cards for their latest partner the 24 Hours of Le Mans Motorsport event.

February 2023: Release of Trading Cards for 24 Hours of Le Mans

The release of the trading cards for 24 Hours of Le Mans Motorsport event from January 2023, is set for February 2023.

2023: MLB Debut Patches on Rookie Jerseys

At the start of the 2023 MLB season, Fanatics, Topps, and the MLB announced that all MLB rookies would wear "MLB Debut" patches on their jerseys, with the patch included in a one-of-one Rookie Debut Patch Autograph Card.