Best Topps Flagship Design?

Topps has been making baseball cards for more than half a century here is a look back at some of the more recent designs
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Every year, one of the biggest releases of the baseball season is Topps Flagship Series 1. The release of its design is especially important because it sets the tone for five different products: Series 1, Series 2, Topps Update, Topps Chrome, and Topps Chrome Update. With about a month remaining until the release of this year’s product, Topps has unveiled the card design for this season.

2025 Topps Paul Skenes
2025 Topps Paul Skenes / Image courtesy of Topps

2025 Topps Flagship Card Design Released

While there are numerous products released by Topps each year, it’s worth remembering that, back in the day, Topps had just one major release. Bowman, which debuted in 1951, has been another staple in the Topps lineup since its inception.

1951 Topps Duke Snider
1951 Topps Duke Snider / Image courtesy of Topps

Over the years, companies like Donruss, Leaf, and Fleer joined the card-making industry, but Topps has always stood as the pinnacle of baseball card brands. In 1981, Topps introduced Topps Traded, which served a similar purpose to today’s Topps Update—providing a way to include players who were not featured in the original release that year.

It wasn’t until the late 1980s and early 1990s that Topps began introducing more brands into their release calendar.

As we move into the second half of the 2020s, here’s a look back at some of the Topps flagship designs from past years.

2024

2024 Topps Design
2024 Topps Design / Image courtesy of CardLadder.com

2023

2023 Topps Design
2023 Topps Design / Image courtesy of CardLadder.com

2022

2022 Topps Design
2022 Topps Design / Image courtesy of CardLadder.com

2021

2021 Topps Design
2021 Topps Design / Image courtesy of CardLadder.com

2020

2020 Topps Design
2020 Topps Design / Image courtesy of CardLadder.com

2019

2019 Topps Design
2019 Topps Design / Image courtesy of CardLadder.com

2018

2018 Topps Design
2018 Topps Design / Image courtesy of CardLadder.com

2017

2017 Topps Design
2017 Topps Design / Image courtesy of CardLadder.com

2016

2016 Topps Design
2016 Topps Design / Image courtesy of CardLadder.com

2015

2015 Topps Design
2015 Topps Design / Image courtesy of CardLadder.com

Published |Modified
Adam Palmer
ADAM PALMER

Adam has been a sports content creator since 2016, initially focusing on creating sports-related graphics for his Instagram page. In 2018, he transitioned to writing and podcasting about sports cards. Since then, he has worked both independently and with companies within the industry, producing podcasts, videos, and written content on sports cards.