Sports Illustrated Teams Up With Topps for 70th Anniversary Baseball Card Series

Topps is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its first baseball card series by looking back on some of MLB's biggest legends who have graced the covers of Sports Illustrated.

The trading card giant launched a new series on Tuesday featuring Sports Illustrated's most memorable baseball covers ever printed. With a total of 70 cards in the special edition set, two new cards will be offered per week, printed on demand and available for only seven days. Fans will be able to view and purchase the cards as they are released each week on Topps' website.

"Millions of baseball fans know and love both Topps and Sports Illustrated, and we’re proud to be able to bring these two iconic names together in this highly collectible product," said Jeff Heckman, Topps' global director of e-commerce. "The amazing photography from nearly seven decades of Sports Illustrated covers has provided works of art that can also be cherished as collectible cards to help relive great memories."

The first card set released on Tuesday includes a June 27, 1955, Sports Illustrated cover featuring Brooklyn Dodgers star Duke Snider and an Aug. 27, 2012, issue with Angels center fielder Mike Trout as the cover star.

Nicknamed "The Duke of Flatbush," Snider helped the Dodgers win their only World Series in Brooklyn in 1955 alongside fellow Hall of Famers Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese and Roy Campanella. Snider spent 16 of his 18 major-league seasons with the Dodgers, moving with the team to Los Angeles in 1958 and winning his second title with the club in 1959. He retired from MLB in 1964 with a .295 career average and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980.

Trout, 29, is gearing up for his 11th MLB season. The future Hall of Famer is still chasing a World Series title with the Angels. His 2012 cover art asked the question, "How can Mike Trout be so good so young?" He went on to win the American League Rookie of the Year award that year, and fans remain in awe of Trout's dominance both offensively and defensively to this day. 

Future card sets in Topps and Sports Illustrated's commemorative series include Larry Walker (June 11, 2001, cover art), Kirby Puckett (April 6, 1992), Vladimir Guerrero Sr. (May 1, 2000) Boston Red Sox (November 10, 2004), Greg Maddux (August 14, 1995), Mookie Betts (October 28, 2020), Derek Jeter (June 21, 1999), and Stan Musial/Ted Williams (July 8, 1957).