Beyond 75: The Five Most Iconic Topps Cards Not to Make the List
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As part of the run-up to its 2026 Series 1 release, Topps released its list of the 75 most iconic Topps cards of all time. The list, selected by experts ranging from executives to historians to players, had something for just about everyone as it included not only vintage grail cards such as the 1952 Mickey Mantle and 1954 Hank Aaron but modern classics featuring Paul Skenes and Shohei Ohtani.
The Hobby has always been a place where the phrase "ten collectors, eleven opinions" holds, and the announcement of the Top 75 list had exactly that effect. However many of the 75 cards they might have picked as well, collectors everywhere were talking about the cards they didn't think belonged and, even more so, the cards they felt got snubbed. None of this is to say the list missed the mark. On the contrary, jumping into the new baseball season with collectors talking about 75 years of Topps baseball cards is a huge win for the Hobby. Still, here are five cards Topps might consider if and when a similar exercise is conducted for the 80th anniversary to Topps baseball.
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1976 Topps Traded Oscar Gamble
The Topps list had no shortage of 1970s cardboard, with seven cards making the list. However, none came from the classic 1976 set, home to two of the decade's most iconic cards. Leading off is what may be the most 1970s card ever, the 1976 Topps Traded card of Oscar Gamble. Between the glorious airbrushing and magnificent Afro, this card screams 1970s Topps baseball and honestly may have even had a case for the Top Ten. In the words of Oscar himself: "They don't think it be like it is, but it do."
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1976 Topps Johnny Bench
The other juggernaut of 1976 Topps that somehow failed to crack the list was the All-Star card of Reds backstop Johnny Bench, a card many collectors would place on the Mt. Rushmore of 1970s cardboard. If you collected baseball cards in the 1970s, whether you were a Reds fan or not, this was one of your coolest cards, and the truth is it still is.
1977 Topps Mark Fidrych
The Topps list included one card from 1977, that of Reggie Jackson making his Yankees debut. Though the card is not one of Reggie's more attractive ones (more on that soon enough), his arrival in the Bronx was a huge deal, and his Fall Classic that year was absolutely transcendent. Still, the most exciting card to come out of packs in 1977 was that of the Bird, Mark Fidrych. Like the Gamble Traded Card of the year before, this is another card that just screams 1970s, and no, that's not at all a bad thing.
1978 Topps Reggie Jackson
That the Topps list included multiple Reggie Jackson cards (1969, 1977) was not a surprise but that neither nod went to his 1978 Topps card was a shocker to many collectors. Like the 1976 Bench, this is a perfect piece of cardboard and has as good a case as any for the greatest baseball card of the decade.
1983 Topps Traded Darryl Strawberry
I’ve had three grail cards in my life and I’ve already acquired two - 1982 Topps Traded Ripken RC & 1972 TCMA Frank Scalzi. Today, I added the third - 1983 Topps Traded Strawberry RC. #TheHobby pic.twitter.com/FHqkvKNKtM
— Geoff Fox 🦊 (@geoffreyfoxwv) October 26, 2024
The Topps list included several Traded/Update cards, but it may have missed the biggest of the decade. Though Darryl's career ultimately fell short of the sky-high expectations collectors had for him, his 1983 "extended rookie card" remains a Hobby mini-grail for many a Gen X collector and is just a great looking card to boot.
Jason A. Schwartz is a collectibles expert whose work can be found regularly at SABR Baseball Cards, Hobby News Daily, and 1939Bruins.com. His collection of Hank Aaron baseball cards and memorabilia is currently on exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, and his collectibles-themed artwork is on display at the Honus Wagner Museum and PNC Park.