First look: 2011 Topps Lineage baseball cards

By Chris Olds | Baseball Editor

Topps unveiled a new baseball card product line on Tuesday — and it’s one with nods to the past from the 1950s, 1970s and more.

Topps Lineage will include on-card autographs in the style of the famed 1952 set, a mini Relic set featuring the 1975 design and much more as a meshing of old and new arrives on Aug. 15.

Every 24-pack hobby box will include two autographs — at least one signed directly on the card — along with one Relic card. Hobby-only inserts will include Canary Diamond autograph cards — a nod of sorts to the 2011 Topps inserts — as well as Jumbo Relic and patch cards, Topps Giants box-loaders, 60th Anniversary ring redemptions and more.

See images and read more after the jump.

The insert card lineup includes several nods to the past and present as Topps 3D cards will be found — a nod to the 1968 release — as will Topps Cloth Stickers (first tested in 1972),  a Topps Venezuelan insert (Spanish variations similar to the regional issues), Topps Rookies (a 1980s mainstay) and Topps Stand-ups, a 1964 release. These cards will all be found at least two per hobby box with the Rookies landing four per.

The base set will consist of 200 cards — 190 stars from the past and present — with 10 All-Time Rookies capping the checklist. Parallel inserts will include Printing Plates, Canary Diamond cards, 1975 Minis, Diamond Anniversary and Platinum Diamond cards.

Among the autograph lineup will be autographed reprint cards of notable releases in Topps’ 60-year history of making baseball cards, going alongside the 1952 autographs and the next batch of the 60th Anniversary congratulatory autographs.

The Relics will include 1964 Topps Giants box-toppers along with the aforementioned 1975s and jumbos. The 25-card checklist of jumbo cards will be limited to just 25 copies, while their Patch versions will be limited to just five. Among the notable players to be found there are Nolan Ryan, Willie McCovey, Reggie Jackson, Willie Stargell and Joe Torre.

Among the notable signers for reprint cards are Hank Aaron, Roy Halladay, Sandy Koufax, Joe Morgan, Stan Musial, Nolan Ryan and John Smoltz. For a batch of 1952 Topps on-card autograph reprints, you will find a deep list of players who appeared in the original set — Ralph Branca, Yogi Berra, Joe Garagiola, Red Schoendienst, Johnny Pesky, Duke Snider and many more. (That crop is pretty extensive, so unless you’re familiar with the original set, many names may not be familiar.)

The 1952 autograph cards are where modern players are found. That relatively small checklist will include Ike Davis, Ubaldo Jimenez, Logan Morrison, Ryan Zimmerman, Madison Bumgarner, Freddie Freeman and Buster Posey along with a few others.

Finally, the 1975 Relic checklist is where many big names (new and old) check in, including Aaron, Roy Campanella, Robinson Cano, Andre Dawson, Prince Fielder, Carlton Fisk, Whitey Ford, Halladay, Felix Hernandez, Jason Heyward, Ryan Howard, Derek Jeter, Koufax, Thurman Munson, Mel Ott, Cal Ripken Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Stephen Strasburg and Ichiro Suzuki to name a few.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.