Cards

		1	Nolan Ryan	Texas Rangers
		2	George Brett RB	Kansas City Royals
		3	Carlton Fisk RB	Chicago White Sox
		4	Kevin Maas RB	New York Yankees
		5	Cal Ripken RB, VAR	Baltimore Orioles
		5b	Cal Ripken RB, VAR	Baltimore Orioles
		6	Nolan Ryan RB	Texas Rangers
		7	Ryne Sandberg RB	Chicago Cubs
		8	Bobby Thigpen RB	Chicago White Sox
		9	Darrin Fletcher VAR	Philadelphia Phillies

Inserts and Related Sets

Trivia

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• All cards feature a "Topps 40 Years of Baseball" logo to commemorate Topps' 40th year of baseball releases.
• Due to the special nature of this anniversary set and because the errors were caught early enough in the press run, Topps decided to correct a number of the cards.
• Among the cards won in the 40th Anniversary Sweepstakes:
  
  1952 complete set by David Mayberry, Comanche, IA
  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
  1968 Ryan/Koosman by Mark Mix, Saint Cloud, MN
  1969 Reggie Jackson by Edward Thimons, Natrona Heights, PA
• The winning certificate for the 1952 Mickey Mantle card was found by a 35-year old truck driver named Mark Leffler from Shelbyville, Indiana. He purchased the pack at a K-Mart in Shelbyville.
• Final year that bubblegum was inserted into Topps wax packs. Wrapper material changed from wax paper to cellophane plastic by the end of the year.
• The last regular-issue Topps set to include wax box cards after 6 consecutive years.
• The copyright lines of the Glossy All-Stars and Glossy Rookies inserts do not have any asterisk variations in this year's release. Both were only printed with two asterisks (**).
• Each card in the set can be found with a "Regular" standard back, or a "Glow" back that glows when held under a black light. In addition, there are 255 cards in the set that are "Dark" or "Bold" backs. The backs of these cards have a much more pronounced and easier to see Topps 40th Anniversary logo on the back of the card behind the player stats. The "Dark" or "Bold" back cards are not found on any Manager, All-Star, Record Breaker, First Round Draft Pick or Checklist cards. In addition, all 255 "Dark" or "Bold" back cards can be found in standard "Regular" or "Glow" backs.
  
  1991 was the last year that Topps used regular brown cardboard stock. They would use white cardboard stock in 1992 and going forward.
  
  Unlike previous years where Topps included 1 Glossy Rookie per Jumbo Pack, the 1991 Glossy Rookie Set was by mail order only.
  
  1991 was the last year that Topps issued the Glossy All-Stars subset. Unlike previous years that included 1 Glossy All-Star per Rack Pack, the 1991 Topps Glossy All-Star subset was only available by a mail-in offer.
• Cards were released to the general public in the following formats:
  * 15-Card Wax Packs (Early in the year)
  * 15-Card Poly Packs (Later in the year)
  * 15-Card Poly Fin Packs
  * 34-Card Cello Packs
  * 40-Card Jumbo Packs
  * 45 (15x3) Card Rack Packs
  * 100-Card Jumbo Packs
  * 16 (4x4) Card Box Bottoms
• This set marked the 10th straight year of Topps issuing a 792 standard card set.
• #26 Luis Sojo - UER: Born in Barquisimeto, not Caracas
• #53 Mike Sharperson - UER: Birth year should read "1961"; Home State should read "GA"
• #80 Fernando Valenzuela - UER: 20 CG in 1986 not italicized; tied for ER in 1990
• #100 Don Mattingly - UER: Incorrect stats on back
• #148 Rey Palacios - UER: 1988 Royals SLG and AVG should read ".091"
• #149 Al Osuna - UER: should read "Throws: Left" and "Bats: Right"
• #155 Dwight Evans - UER: Incorrect stat on back
• #155 Dwight Evans - UER: Incorrect stat on back
• #157 John Smoltz - UER: Bio says Smoltz signed as a free agent, was actually drafted in the 22nd
• #160 Vince Coleman - UER: Born 1960, should be 1961
• #163 Dave Johnson - UER: 1985 Nashua Games (G) should read "34"
• #163 Dave Johnson - UER: 1985 Nashua Games (G) should read "34"
• #212 Steve Finley - UER: Birthdate should be 3/12
• #212 Steve Finley - UER: Birthdate should be 3/12
• #227 Steve Avery - UER: 1989 Durham, Games (G) should read "13"
• #241 Dave Clark - UER: Career totals for 3B, HR and SLG should be 3, 22 and .386 respectively
• #324 Ron Kittle - UER: Incorrect stat on back
• #329 Dave Justice - UER: "...3rd round Draft...", should be 4th
• #378 Wilson Alvarez - UER: 1989 Port Charlotte and 1990 Birmingham stat lines missing
• #414 Sammy Sosa - UER: Born 11/10, should be 11/12
• #454 Kevin Appier - UER: 1990 Omaha stat line missing
• #454 Kevin Appier - UER: 1990 Omaha stat line missing
• #535 Ruben Sierra - UER: "and" misspelled "amd" in write-up below stats
• #535 Ruben Sierra - UER: "and" misspelled "amd" in write-up below stats
• #573 Rich Rodriguez - UER: Bio at top says drafted in 4th round, should be 9th
• #587 Jose Offerman - UER: Text below stats says signed in 1988, should be 1986
• #587 Jose Offerman - UER: Text below stats says signed in 1988, should be 1986
• #660 Lee Smith - UER: Career IP should read "918.2"
• #660 Lee Smith - UER: Career IP 919.1, should be 918.2
• #673 Greg Olson - UER: HR matches RBI on all 1982-1988 stat lines
• #753 Paul Marak - UER: Text below stats says drafted in May, should be January as seen in bio above
• #771 Gary Redus - UER: Birthplace should read "Athens, Alabama"
• #772 Kent Mercker - UER: Birthplace should read "Dublin, OH"
• #775 Julio Franco - Born on "8-23-61", should be "8-23-58". Card companies used the birth date that was available to them at that time.

User Comments

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May 29, 2026 - 8:52AM vyacheslav The team name on the front of the card was rendered in the team's official font and colors. The following year, in 1992, Upper Deck would do the same. A rare instance of Upper Deck copying Topps!

Apr 8, 2026 - 10:17PM RogueStrength Hello everyone I am new to this forum. I don’t remember the first pack of baseball cards that I ever opened, but I have vivid memories of going through baseball cards of the 1991 Topps. I remember going through a stack of cards and asking my dad. Is this guy good? After about eight or nine cards, he finally said they’re all good. They play a major league baseball! Since then, Topps have always been my favorite card when it comes to both baseball and football. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a traditionalist and I liked most of the simple layouts that Topps has but also because they’re very affordable. Both of my boys are 9 and 12 and have recently really gotten into collecting baseball football and Pokémon cards. Getting back into the hobby with them has been really fun. Rating: 8

Dec 20, 2025 - 8:55AM bozz522 Added #463 Dwight Smith A*B* copywrite Dark logo. Also all A*B* Bold that I have seen are Not UV backs. Edited on: Jan 20, 2026 - 6:26AM Rating: 8

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Videos

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Posted by: JunkWaxSal Sep 14, 2022 - 12:59PM Report a Problem

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Forum

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Subject	Replies	Last Post
15 Card Cello Pack?	2	May 30, 2025 1:58 PM by BuccaneersDen
UV glow back VAR	62	May 1, 2025 9:01 AM by jacksoncoupage
Instant Win Game with different address	5	May 1, 2025 9:00 AM by jacksoncoupage
1991 Topps Baseball #48 Dennis Boyd--which version do I have?	2	Mar 25, 2025 8:27 PM by jacksoncoupage
Blue only backs?	1	Jul 12, 2024 11:58 AM by barfan

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External Links

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• 1991 Topps Desert Shield - What We Know & How to Spot a Fake
• An Official Letter about how many 1991 Topps Desert Shield cards were made
• BaseballCardPedia: 1991 Topps
• Hobby Article -from July 1996 issue of Sports Cards Magazine
• PSA Price Guide: 1991 Topps
• Sports Collectors Daily: 1987-1991 Topps Glossy Rookie Sets Required 100-Card Cello Pack Purchase
• The Cardboard Connection - 1991 Topps Baseball Cards

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