2026 Topps Series 1: A Celebration of Legacy 75 Years in the Making

The legendary card company is celebrating their 75th year of Topps Baseball and it’s evident right from the jump as the packaging consists of Hank Aaron, Ken Griffey Jr., Shohei Ohtani, and Aaron Judge paying homage to the past as well as the present.

As always, one of the insert sets will coincide with their recent cadence of having select players get the treatment of the design from 35 years ago, with this year being the iconic 1991 look.

The coolest element, besides a first-year design element we’ll get too shortly, is that 10 recent cover athletes from the flagship product will have autographs in this release in a special ‘Cover Athlete Autographs’ design to go along with non-auto versions as well.

First Time for Everything

Seeing which players finally get the “RC” shield for the respective season is always the best part of every Series 1 release.

Now, more players can be added for Series 2, but this also guarantees not only being included in more of the early 2026 releases, but also getting the chrome treatment when 2026 Topps Chrome arrives in mid-summer.

Normally, we get two or three big chases in the first release. Topps, however, gave us a buffet of names to chase this season:

• Jac Caglianone – Royals
• Roman Anthony – Red Sox
• Jacob Misiorowski – Brewers
• Samuel Basailo – Orioles
• Jonah Tong – Mets
• Kyle Teel – White Sox
• Chase Burns – Reds
• Christian Moore – Angels
• Colson Montgomery – White Sox

Caglianone was held out of 2025 products to be the big name for 2026, but it appears they didn’t need to do that, as we had plenty of breakout names in the 2nd of the season to make this year’s class a potentially epic one when it’s all said and done.

One Last Ride

Topps’ 1952 design is as iconic as ever, with the Mickey Mantle from that year being one of the most expensive baseball cards on the current market, if you’re able to find a copy.

In 2026 Series 1, you’ll find 21 rookies that will receive a 1952 image variation within the set. This will be the first and only time these particular players will get the 1952 design treatment.

There will also be autographed versions with a Blue ink (/10), Red ink (/5), and Gold ink (/1), all being out there for collectors to look for.

There will be additional subjects released for Series 2, and Update so this will be yet another popular set for people to complete that will take all year to finish.

Putting the “Throw” in Throwback

Returning again for Series 1 is the ever-popular First Pitch Autographs, depicting celebrities and non-baseball athletes throwing out the first pitch at a major league game.

I mean, who doesn’t want their one auto per box to be a non-baseball player? I’m slightly kidding, as these types of cards are not for me, but there is definitely a market for them, as previous iterations have shown.

Last year, Larry David was the big chase, and this year, Tony Hawk will likely fetch a pretty penny. There is also a 75 Years of Topps celebrity autograph design that features Victor Wembanyama and Richard Kind, among others.

Stacking the Deck

Among the inserts returning this season are the popular short-printed All Aces, featuring hurlers from the past, present, and future. 10 subjects will grace the design and will surely be one of the most sought-after non-autos within the product.

New this year, however, is the All Kings set as well. This will feature…you guessed it, hitters. New to Series 1 this year, you’ll see the likes of Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, and Rickey Henderson included with current and future star sluggers as well.

All in all, there’s plenty for everyone as always with Series 1, the official kickoff for the 2026 collecting season. Wish the prices were lower for a non-chrome product that doesn’t even guarantee an autograph in a hobby box that is selling roughly for $150, but we are in the Fanatics endgame now.