First look: 2009 Topps Chrome football
Topps released the basic product preview information and images for its 2009 Topps Chrome football set on Tuesday, giving collectors the first look at its cards showing rookies in their NFL uniforms from the recent Rookie Premiere.
Each 24-pack hobby box will include one autographed rookie or Rookie Patch card as well as a full slate of rookies, veterans, inserts and even NFL cheerleaders.
Every box will include 10 insert cards and nine parallels when the product arrives in late August.
There are approximately 50 rookie autographs on the preliminary checklist (some still TBD) with Michael Crabtree, James Laurinaitis, Matthew Stafford, Mark Sanchez and Jeremy Maclin among them. The autographed cards also will be found as Superfractors (1/1), Gold Refractors (/10) and Black Refractors (/50).
Among the 30 Rookie Patch cards are Chris Wells, Stafford, Percy Harvin, Sanchez, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Maclin, Crabtree and others. Refractor versions of these cards will be limited to 25 copies apiece.
The base set consists of 110 veterans and 110 rookies with the 50-card National Chicle set also returning for Chroming along with the 16-card cheerleader set and a Santonio Holmes Ring of Honor card. There will be printing plates available for all 220 standard cards as well as Superfractors, Red (/25), Copper (/699), and standard Refractor versions.
And for those wondering — and we know you are — the cheerleaders, according to the checklist, are: Tara, Jessica, Kelli, Emily C., Kayla S., Laurie, TaJonda, Amanda, Samantha, Amy, Fabiola, Johanna, Bibiana, Monica, Tifffany and Amanda.
Chris Olds has collected sports cards and memorabilia since 1987. Before coming to Beckett Media, he wrote about the hobby for the Orlando Sentinel on his blog, SportsStuff, and for the San Antonio Express-News and The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News. Do you have a comment, question or idea? Send e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com.
