There appears to be some confusion regarding when Topps Ltd. cards were made available for sale in shops. Many websites indicate the first season as 1974-75, which aligns with the cards’ backside displaying statistics only up to 1973-74, leaving the 1974-75 season blank. However, upon delving into the history between A&BC and Topps Ltd., along with considerations of player transfers, this dating seems inaccurate.
Topps Chewing Gum Incorporated and A&BC Chewing Gum Ltd. engaged in a court case in June and July of 1974, which Topps ultimately won. Subsequently, Topps Chewing Gum assumed the role left by A&BC Chewing Gum.
They introduced their initial set of football cards under the name Topps Bazooka Limited in 1975, employing the same design used for their Baseball cards in the USA in 1975.
In the 1970s, football cards were typically produced for sale at the beginning of a season, around late August. A&BC, however, often released them in series (August, November, February) to maintain interest throughout the season. Card design (photo acquisition and biographical compilation) typically occurred in June/July, with printing, production, and distribution in August.
Examining player transfers provides further evidence that Topps likely began selling football cards in 1975/76. For instance, in the last A&BC series, Chris Garland is depicted as a Chelsea player. He transferred to Leicester City in March 1975, and in the first Topps Ltd. series, he is portrayed as a Leicester player. Similar cases include Willie Morgan, who moved from Burnley to Bolton Wanderers in March 1976 but is pictured in a Bolton Wanderers shirt in the Topps Footballers Blue Back. This implies that the series could not have been available for sale in 1975.
Other instances, such as Peter Shilton’s transfer from Leicester City to Stoke City and Leighton James’ moves between Burnley, Derby County, and QPR, provide additional support. In summary, the evidence suggests that the accurate timing for the Topps footballer cards aligns with the 1975/76 season. If anyone has any additional information regarding this, please send us an email
Scroll down for a more detailed explanation of why I believe Topps football cards were released between 1975 and 1982.
2025.05.04
I recently received an interesting email from Mark, a devoted Aston Villa supporter, who raised a thought-provoking point. He suggested that Topps may have followed a similar sales pattern to that of A&BC — namely, releasing their football cards in staggered waves throughout the season.
As Nigel pointed out in his excellent and meticulous article A&BC Chewing Gum Ltd. – Central Reference Page, A&BC eventually adopted a three-series model: Series 1 would typically appear in August to coincide with the start of the football season, followed by Series 2 in November and a third, if needed, in February. The idea was to keep things fresh for agents and collectors alike, stretching the “selling season” to match the footballing calendar. Fewer cards were printed for each subsequent series, leading to lower availability — and consequently higher value — for Series 3 cards today.
This prompted me to look more closely at whether Topps may have done something similar. My investigation focused solely on the English cards, since these were by far the most numerous and wide-ranging of Topps’ football issues. I also assumed that Topps brought out a new set of cards each season.
Late Transfers in Footballer (Blue/grey backs)
Firstly, I re-examined player transfers more thoroughly than I had in my original article and found two notable late moves in the Topps Footballer Blue/Grey Backs. These cards omit the 1975–76 season from the statistical summary on the reverse, which has led many collectors to assume they were sold during that season. However, the evidence suggests otherwise — particularly in the cases of Alan Campbell and Gordon Taylor, who both transferred from Birmingham City to Cardiff City and Blackburn Rovers respectively.
Both players are shown in Birmingham kits, and unlike in other cases, Topps made no effort to recolour the shirts. Designing the cards — sourcing images and writing biographies — usually took at least two months before printing. In these cases, the only change appears to be the club name on the front. The colour scheme remains that of Birmingham City, and the back text includes a brief note stating that the transfers occurred in April — which is inaccurate. The remainder of the bio seems to have been repurposed from earlier material.
These are the only cards for Cardiff (then in the Third Division) and Blackburn (Second Division) in the set. According to the British Newspaper Archive, Campbell signed for Cardiff on 3rd March 1976, and Taylor for Blackburn on 11th March 1976. It’s therefore quite safe to assume that the edits were last-minute and minimal — just enough to reflect the move. Yet the changes must have been made post–mid-March, meaning the cards were unlikely to reach shops before the tail end of the season. Furthermore, neither card is particularly rare — unlike A&BC’s elusive Series 3 cards.
Significantly, Gordon Taylor’s card is listed in Series 1, which strongly suggests that none of the Blue Backs were sold until April or May 1976 at the earliest. More likely, they didn’t hit shelves until the start of the following season, 1976–77.
Next, I turned my attention to the reverse side of the cards. Could the player biographies, match references, and the missing final season in the statistical tables — often marked with a note like “not including [year]” — offer clues about when the cards were actually produced?
Scroll down to see my findings in full.
Footballer (Red/grey backs)
This was the first Topps football card series released in the UK. On the reverse, the most recent season included in the statistics is 1973–74, meaning the 1974–75 season is missing. This omission has led to the belief that the cards may have been released during the 1974–75 campaign — but the content on the backs suggests otherwise.
Card 72 (Clive Woods, Ipswich): Notes his 100th appearance in 1975 — likely the match vs Derby on 26 February.
Card 82 (Mike Pejic, Stoke): Refers to a broken leg suffered during the 1974–75 season, in a 2–2 draw with Wolves on 15 February.
Card 187 (Ian Gillard, QPR): Mentions England selection to face West Germany in March 1975.
Card 199 (Alan Hudson, Stoke): Directly references that match on 12 March 1975, confirming a post-March print date.
Scroll down to see my findings for the next season.
Footballer (Blue/grey backs)
This follow-up series contains cards with statistics up to and including the 1974–75 season. The 1975–76 season is missing from the stats section, leading some to assume these cards were issued during that season. However, several biographical notes on the backs point to events that took place well into the spring of 1976.
Card 94 (Chris Nicholl, Villa): Refers to the 2–2 draw with Leicester on 20 March 1976, in which Nicholl scored all four goals.
Card 203 (Paul Gilchrist, Southampton): Mentions his FA Cup semi-final goal on 3 April 1976.
Card 219 (Trevor Cherry, Leeds): Notes his full England debut vs Wales on 24 March 1976.
Card 221 (Gerry Keegan, Man City): References the League Cup Final, played on 28 February 1976.
Card 231 (Peter Taylor, Crystal Palace): Describes his debut for England on 24 March 1976, including his 80th-minute goal.
Card 248 (David Peach, Southampton): Again, references the semi-final on 3 April.
Card 258 (Ray Kennedy, Liverpool): His England debut also occurred on 24 March 1976.
Card 292 (John Duncan, Tottenham Hotspur): States he was Tottenham’s top scorer in the 1975–76 season — and this appears to be accurate. Duncan scored 20 goals in all competitions, with the next highest at the club being John Pratt with 10. This strongly suggests that the card text was written after the season concluded, as it references final season totals. It also stands as the first clear sign that Topps finalised some cards post-season.
Scroll down to see my findings for the next season.
Footballer (Red backs)
This series was the first to feature a printed copyright date: 1977. Season statistics now go up to 1975–76, with the 1976–77 campaign missing from the back of the cards — again suggesting a release after the end of that season, not during it.
Card 121 (Mike Ferguson, Coventry): Refers to 1976–77 as his most successful season — a post-season summary.
Card 24 (John Richards, Wolves): Mentions an injury early in the season but states he still finished as top scorer. Richards scored 20 in total, two more than Kenny Hibbitt. This couldn’t have been written before May 1977.
Scroll down to see my findings for the next season.
Footballer (Orange backs)
These cards show a copyright of 1978. The stats on the back end with the 1976–77 season, with 1977–78 missing. However, references on the back — including late-season milestones — indicate the cards were written and produced after the 1977–78 season concluded.
Card 37 (Tony Brown, WBA): Notes he nearly broke the club’s scoring record — which he did on 24 February 1979, implying the text was added after the 1977–78 season.
Card 271 (Ray Hankin, Leeds): Lists him as one of the top scorers of 1977–78 — a fact verifiable only at season’s end.
Scroll down to see my findings for the next season.
Footballer (Pale blue backs)
Carrying a 1979 copyright, these cards include statistics up to 1977–78. The 1978–79 season is missing from the figures but is referenced in the text on some cards, further supporting a post-season production date.
Card 3 (Laurie Cunningham, WBA): Says he had a good season in 1978–79 — again, post-season reflection.
Footballer 81 (Pink Backs)
The 1980s had arrived, and Topps faced stiff competition from Panini. Their response? Reducing card numbers in packs and squeezing three players onto a single strip — perforated so fans could split them into smaller, fiddlier cards no one liked. This marked the beginning of Topps’ decline — at least for a while. Notice that the copyright on the cards says 1980, whereas the text on the wraper reads Footballer ’81. This would suggest that the cards weren’t issued at the beginning of the 1979–80 season.
Card 43 (Joe Jordan, Man United): Features a team scoring list from 1979–80. This data could only have been compiled after the season finished. Every First Division team has a similar card.
Card 110 (Glenn Hoddle, England): States he had four caps — the fourth coming on 18 June 1980, in the European Championship against Spain.
Scroll down to see my findings for the last season for Topps covered by vintagefootball.cards.
Footballer (Blue Backs)
The final Topps series covered by vintagefootball.cards, this set has a 1981 copyright. It includes team scoring data from the 1980–81 season, again implying post-season research and printing. The absence of 1981–82 data further confirms that the cards were not released until after that season had begun.
Card 65 (David Armstrong, Middlesbrough): Notes his transfer to Southampton on 4 August 1981 — the clearest and latest dated reference found across all the Topps card series I examined. It provides compelling evidence that the cards were finalised well after the season most collectors traditionally associate with their release.
Card 152 (Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool): Contains the team’s 1980–81 scoring list, clearly post-season.
scroll down for my conclusion
Final Thoughts
Why the Stats Were Missing: When and How Topps Likely Produced Their Football Cards in the 1970s
Many collectors have long assumed that Topps football cards were sold during the season that’s missing from the statistical tables on the back. The logic is understandable: if the 1975–76 season isn’t filled in, then surely the cards must have been issued during that very campaign.
But after examining hundreds of cards across multiple Topps series — and looking closely at player biographies, match references, and copyright dates — a different pattern begins to emerge. The evidence strongly suggests that although the card designs and images may have been prepared during the football season, the cards themselves were often finalised late in the season and then released at the start of the following one.
So why were the stats missing? And what can this tell us about how and when Topps actually produced their cards?
No Internet, No Databases — Just Letters and Patience
To understand the absence of updated stats, it helps to consider the practical reality of compiling accurate football data in the 1970s. If you were producing a set of football cards at that time, and needed current statistics for over 300 players — including appearances and goals in the league, FA Cup, and League Cup — you couldn’t rely on a spreadsheet or website. You had to source the information manually.
The most realistic approach would have been to write directly to the clubs. For a typical Topps set focused on First and Second Division teams, this would mean sending letters to 20–25 clubs, requesting updated stats for each player: appearances, goals (or goals conceded for goalkeepers), and other key performance data.
Club secretaries, press officers, or managers would have received the requests and then had to dig through handwritten match reports or internal records to supply the answers. Some clubs might respond quickly, others slowly — and some perhaps not at all. Weeks could pass waiting for replies, and any follow-up letters would add more delays. For a company working with tight print deadlines and seasonal release cycles, this method was simply too slow and unpredictable.
What About the FA or Football League?
Could Topps have gone straight to the Football Association (FA) or Football League instead? In theory, yes — but in practice, it wouldn’t have helped much.
The FA managed competitions like the FA Cup and England internationals, but did not maintain comprehensive statistical databases for club competitions on a player-by-player basis. The Football League also did not function as a central statistics bureau. If contacted, these governing bodies may well have referred Topps back to the individual clubs, or recommended consulting annual publications like Rothmans Football Yearbook — which, crucially, wasn’t available until well after the season had ended.
In short, there was no central source for up-to-date player data. Club records and newspaper match reports were the most accurate references available — but gathering that information across dozens of clubs and hundreds of players was a time-consuming and labor-intensive process.
A Logical Conclusion
Faced with these challenges, it’s understandable that Topps often omitted the most recent season’s statistics — or included a placeholder line like: “fill in season’s record – not including 1975–76.”
The cards were likely designed and compiled near the end of the season that’s missing from the stats. Some text on the card backs — such as references to matches in February, March, or even April — supports this. However, since statistical summaries couldn’t be finalised in time, the cards were then released at the start of the following season, not during the one they’re most closely associated with.
This timeline — late-season preparation, followed by release ahead of the new campaign — provides a practical explanation for what has long puzzled collectors. In a pre-digital age, football cards weren’t just snapshots of the present — they were reflections of a recently completed past, captured in cardboard and bubble gum.