Topps® Celebrates 70 Years of Baseball Cards with Virtual Rip Party Event and Launch of the 2021 Series 1 Collection

NEW YORK, Feb. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Topps® Company, the exclusive trading card partner of Major League Baseball, will host its second annual Series 1 Rip Party on Tuesday, February 9, 2021 at 6PM ET.  Following Topps' [extraordinarily] successful first-ever Million Card Rip Party in 2020, the 2^nd Annual Topps Rip Party is being held one day prior to the official launch of Series 1. 

Streaming live on Topps.com and Topps' social channels, special guests, including Don Mattingly, John Smoltz, and Keith Olbermann, will open packs of Topps cards from across seven decades of the Topps' rich history as Topps celebrates the 70 Year Anniversary of Topps Baseball.  The event will culminate with the first-ever Breaker Showcase tournament, where four teams of Card Breakers will go head-to-head in an exciting card-breaking competition that will showcase some of the most unique and treasured cards in 2021 Topps Series 1 Baseball.

"We're thrilled to host our second Rip Party event and first-ever Breaker Showcase for fans across the country as they tear into an exciting new set of Series 1 Baseball," said David Leiner, Global General Manager of Sports & Entertainment at Topps. "We knew we had to do something even bigger and better this year to celebrate our 70^th anniversary of producing Topps Baseball, and we're so excited to welcome special guests and MLB stars as they open packs of Topps cards from across the decades."

"I'm honored to be a part of this event and to celebrate the excitement that comes with opening an all-new set of Topps Baseball cards, especially after last year's unique MLB season," said Don Mattingly, former MLB star and current manager for the Miami Marlins. "I'm really excited to be opening packs of cards from the years that I played. It will be fun to take a trip down memory lane and appreciate the evolution of baseball through the collecting of cards."

The 2021 Topps Series 1 Collection will celebrate Topps' 70^th year of producing baseball cards.  All base cards in the collection will contain a "70 Years of Topps" foil stamp. The 330-card set features modern day stars, new rookies who debuted during the 2020 season like Jo Adell and Deivi Garcia, league leaders, 2020 World Series highlights, retired stars like Derek Jeter and Cal Ripken Jr., and much more. The Home Run Challenge returns for another year where collectors can rip, flip and predict which MLB Superstars will hit a homerun, all for a chance to win special cards and tickets to the 2022 MLB Home Run Derby!

Topps Series 1 will also include 25 randomly inserted "Platinum Tickets," containing an invitation for a lucky fan and one guest to an exciting celebration of 70 Years of Topps Baseball featuring athlete meet-and-greats, exclusive Topps items, and other surprises.

The Topps Series 1 Rip Party will be broadcasted live from Topps Headquarters in New York City on February 9^th beginning at 6PM ET. Viewers can watch on the @Topps Twitter, Facebook and YouTube pages and on Topps.com. The online broadcast also will feature interviews with players, Topps executives, and card breakers.

Don't miss out on the thrill of opening new packs of 2021 Topps Series 1! Starting on February 10, Topps Series 1 will be available online at Topps.com, and at Walmart, Target, and hobby stores.

About Topps
Founded in 1938, The Topps Company, Inc. is the preeminent creator and brand marketer of physical and digital sports cards, entertainment cards and collectibles, and distinctive confectionery products. Topps' leading sports and entertainment products include Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, UEFA Champions League, National Hockey League, Bundesliga, Formula 1, Star Wars, WWE, Wacky Packages, Garbage Pail Kids, Mars Attacks and other trading cards, sticker album collections and collectibles. Topps' digital trading card apps portfolio, which has been a hit with millions of fans around the world, currently includes Topps® BUNT®, TOPPS® KICK®, Topps® Star Wars℠: Card Trader, Topps® WWE Slam®, Topps® NHL SKATE™, The Walking Dead: Card Trader, Marvel Collect! by Topps and Disney Collect! by Topps!  Topps' confectionery brands include Ring Pop®, Push Pop®, Baby Bottle Pop®, Juicy Drop ® Pop, and Bazooka® bubble gum. Topps was acquired by Michael Eisner's Tornante Company and Madison Dearborn Partners in October 2007.  For additional information, visit Topps.com and Candymania.com

SOURCE The Topps Company