1981 Topps

This a list with brief descriptions of Topps sports card products for 1981.

Baseball

Base Set

The 1981 Topps base set featured 726 cards issued in wax packs, cello packs, and rack packs. Subsets include League Leaders, Record Breakers, Post Season, and Team checklist cards. The cards featured a photo with a complementary to the team colours solid border, the players name in the bottom centre in a complementary colour, and a representation of the teams hat featuring the team name and player position. Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches, 6.35 x 8.89 centimetres

Topps Traded

The Traded set contained 132 cards issued as a boxed factory set. Identical in appearance to the base set cards they were numbered starting from 727 after the 726 regular cards. This is the first set since 1976 to offer cards of players who had been traded to other teams. Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches, 6.35 x 8.89 centimetres

uper Home Team

The Super Home Team set totaled 102 cards and were issued as team sets. Each were individually packed and available in a team box, where some teams were paired. Team subsets included anywhere from 6, 9, or 12 players per team. The teams featured were the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers/California Angels, New York Yankees/Mets, Chicago White Sox/Cubs, and Texas Rangers/Houston Astros. Size: 4.9 x 6.9 inches, 12.4 x 17.5 centimetres

uper National

The Super National set has 15 cards and resembles the Home Team set. Some of the players are featured in the Home Team set and a handful of players like Jim Palmer and George Brett are unique to this set. Size: 4.9 x 6.9 inches, 12.4 x 17.5 centimetres

Parallel Sets

United States

In 1981, Topps issued several parallel sets, primarily for food and beverage concerns.

Coca-Cola

In 1981 Coca-Cola issued "Team Sets" that included 11 players and an advertising card. All together there would be 132 cards. The teams featured are the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals. Most of the photos were identical to those used in the Topps set, despite some cropping variations. Other variations from the Topps base set reflected traded players. Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches, 6.35 x 8.89 centimetres

Drake's Big Hitters

Topps produced for Northeastern regional bakery Drake's a promotional set of 33 cards. The cards issued in boxes of Drake's Cakes and featured position players and no pitchers. The front of the cards have a design that differs from the Topps set while the backs resemble the Topps cards. Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches, 6.35 x 8.89 centimetres

quirt

Topps produced for soft drink company Squirt a promotional set of 33 cards. The cards issued issued in 22 panels that attached to bottles of soda. The front of the cards have a design that differs from the Topps set while the backs resemble the Topps cards. Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches, 6.35 x 8.89 centimetres

Canada

In 1981 Canadian candy manufacturer O-Pee-Chee produced a licensed version of the Topps set for the Canadian market. The set contained only 374 cards, featured lighter grey cardstock, bilingual English/French backs, and added traded lines on some cards. The company released this set on two different types of cardstock. The more abundant one is the traditional cream-coloured card-back, while the other scarcer variety is printed on grey cardstock that is similar in tone to the Topps cardstock. The greyback cards generally command a premium as they were released at roughly 1 to 10 of the cream-coloured backs. Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches, 6.35 x 8.89 centimetres

Other Sets

Perma-Graphics

Perma-Graphics created two sets using photos provided by Topps. One set was an 18 card set of All-Stars while the other was 32 cards. Both sets were made of plastic and resemble credit cards Size: 2.1 x 3.7 inches, 5.4 x 9.5 centimetres

Football

Base Set

This set contains 528 cards and was issued in wax, rack, and cello packs. Subsets include Super Action, league leaders, Record Breakers, playoffs, and Team Leader cards. Size: Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches, 6.35 x 8.89 centimetres

A notable improvement to the 1981 set was the inclusion of up to three statistical categories on the backs of cards. Previous sets included only one statistical category for each player, for example, passing statistics for quarterbacks or rushing statistics for running backs. In 1981, running backs would show both rushing and receiving statistics. A defensive back might have interception, punt return, and kickoff return statistics on the back of his card.

Team Checklists

This set has one checklist for each team totaling 28 cards. The set was available as a mail-in offer from Topps. Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches, 6.35 x 8.89 centimetres

Parallel Sets

Topps Coke

This is an 84 card set featuring eleven players from seven different NFL teams. The teams included are the Colts, Cowboys, Oilers, Giants, Cardinals, Chargers, and the Redskins. Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches, 6.35 x 8.89 centimetres

Basketball

Base Set

The 1981-82 basketball set totals 198 cards and was issued in 13-card wax packs. Only part of the set was distributed nationally while the remainder of the set was distributed regionally by East, West, and Midwest. Subsets include Super Action and Team Leader Cards. This is Topps last basketball issue in the 1980's. Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches, 6.35 x 8.89 centimetres

Hockey

References

* Beckett, Dr. James et al (2002). "Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide". Beckett Publications-Dallas, Texas ISBN 1-930692-17-X