Silly Adult Collectors

Topps are for kids.

Well... at least that's what Topps had in mind back in 1992 when they produced Topps Kids.

Each 35¢ pack contained seven baseball cards.  Everything about this product was catered towards kids.  The card design was colorful and cartoonish.  The set size (130 cards) was manageable for kids and those who were on a fixed budget.  That year Topps stopped issuing bubble gum with their flagship product, but made sure to continue promoting tooth decay by including one stick in every pack of Topps Kids.

If you were a little kid in 1992... this was the product for you.

Twenty-five years later... Topps Kids is a product even adults can enjoy.

After opening a few packs of this stuff back in August, I immediately fell in love with these cards.  In fact as soon as I was finished writing my review over on A Pack To Be Named Later, I headed over to eBay and found a box for $11 shipped.

Was it worth it?  Well... I'll let you be the judge.

After busting 47 of the 48 packs in the box, I was left with 329 cards and 47 individually wrapped sticks of gum.  I was able to complete one set and fell two cards short of a 2nd set (gotta wonder if those two cards are sitting in the 48th pack).  Luckily I pulled both of those cards back in August from my previous pack break.

As for the cards themselves... here are a few of my favorites:

Gotta give Topps credit here.  They were way ahead of everyone in regards to PED allegations.

They also helped collectors define what an "insert" card is right about the same time the Insert Card Boom took place in our hobby.

Topps mostly utilized portrait shots for the card fronts, but I there were a handful of action shots.  My favorite was this Biggio card.  I really liked how the cartoon illustrations support the action.

I was also impressed that Topps found a way to sneak Charlie Hustle onto at least two different cards in this set.

I'll wrap things up by showing off my two favorite baseball players of all-time.  You might have noticed that there are several different card front designs.  I'm glad they used the "dugout" design for the Gwynn.  It's my favorite, because it reminds me of the 1956 Topps design as well as the Topps Big sets produced a few years earlier.

Obviously this product isn't for everyone.  There aren't any autographs, game used relics, inserts, parallels, or rookie cards for collectors to pull.  However it did provide a solid 30 to 45 minutes worth of entertainment and it was half the price of a standard blaster box.

The question is whether or not you can overlook the fact that these cards were originally designed for kids.  If you can, then I'd recommend you give it a try.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!