Flashback Friday: 1988 Topps Big

As 2023 winds down we are going to look back at a product that was released 35 years ago. In our first Flashback Friday we are going to take a look at six packs of 1988 Topps Big, Series 2.

In 1988 Topps released a set of cards whose size looked back decades to the early 1950s Topps cards. The current standard trading card size is 2-½” x 3-½”. From 1952 to 1956 trading card size was 2-⅝” x 3-¾”. They called this set Topps Big. This set was released in three series: series 1 (1-88), series 2 (89-176), series 3 (177-264).

1988 Topps Big was available in 7-card packs. Each box contained 36 packs. This was the first year for the Topps Big. This set was also produced in 1989 and 1990. 

The front of the card contained two pictures of the player, one headshot and one action shot, and a colorful name plate. The back of the card contained the player’s full name and a comic-style panel with player highlights and fun facts.

The 88-card set includes stars and now Hall of Famers like Tim Raines, Tony Gwynn and Rickey Henderson. Unfortunately, I didn’t pull any of those players, but here are the best cards from each of the six packs.

In the 42 cards available from the six packs, there were six duplicates. This puts me at a set completion rate of 36/88 or 40.9%. At this rate, a full box of 36 packs should yield around two and a half complete sets.

In 1988 there were no insert cards found in the base packs. Typically gum was the insert found in packs. Gum was not an option in these packs. Instead Topps inserted special offer ad cards. These cards promoted a variety of Topps-branded items from binders and pages to hats and sweatshirts.

1988 was during the height of my childhood collecting. My brother and I would get our allowance and head down to the Rexall Drug Store to see what cards were available that day. Every couple of weeks our Grandma would take us to Bob’s Sports Cards to see if we could find some of the cards needed to complete our set.

This rip brought back some memories of the times when my brother and I would open these packs. It also brought back memories of watching the players depicted on the card.