The Topps Truck | Source: Fanatics

Trading cards are doing big business at hobby shops, specialty retailers, and mass retailers across the country. According to recent data from The NPD Group, in the first four months of 2022, the collectibles subcategory of toys experienced 28% growth with sports trading cards fueling a large portion of the uptick. And when it comes to trading cards, the biggest name in the business is Topps.

This summer, the sports and entertainment trading card company (recently acquired by Fanatics Collectibles) will hit the road on its second annual, cross-country pop-up truck tour. The Topps truck will cover more than 8,000 miles as it makes its way across the country wrapped in more than 11,000 baseball cards ahead of Topps’ International Trading Card Day (formerly known as Baseball Card Day) on Saturday, August 6.

International Baseball Card Day is now International Trading Card Day | Source: Fanatics

“International Trading Card Day honors the hobby of collecting across all realms, from sports and baseball to pop culture, film, and iconic characters, and the love for card collecting worldwide,” says Wendy Freedman, director, marketing at Topps. “This year, we wanted to expand our card collecting holiday internationally to reflect Topps’ footprint as a global brand, celebrating fans and collectors of all ages and across all industries. We’re excited to see how collectors embrace the holiday this year and to interact with fans around the globe as we continue to celebrate Topps’ rich heritage in the card collecting industry.”

Related: Everything Old Is Collectible Again

The Topps Truck will kick off this year’s tour on Friday, July 16 at Major League Baseball’s (MLB) All-Star Week event in Los Angeles. At each stop on the tour, Topps staff members will host giveaways and special events. Other notable stops include the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the Field of Dreams Game in Dyersville, Iowa, and an appearance at the Major League Soccer All-Star Game in Minneapolis.

Related: Batter Up! Kenner’s Starting Lineup is On Deck for a Relaunch from Hasbro, Fanatics

Select specialty retailers and hobby shops will have giveaways of MLB, UEFA Champions League, and Garbage Pail Kids cards and gifts with purchase as part of this year’s International Trading Card Day celebration. Additionally, select retailers will offer an exclusive Shohei Ohtani card on Aug. 6 and an exclusive Wander Franco card on Aug. 13 for returning guests spending $10 or more. Additional information will be made available at topps.com.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

archivearrow-chevron-downarrow-chevron-left-greyarrow-chevron-leftarrow-chevron-rightarrow-fatarrow-left-blackarrow-left-whitearrow-right-blackarrow-rightarrow-roundedbookscalendarcaret-downclose-whiteclosedocumenteditorial-archiveeyefacebook-squarefacebookfilesgifthamburgerheadinghearthomeinstagram-squareinstagramlatestlinkedin-squarelinkedinmailmedia-inquiresmessagenewsopen-boxpagination-leftpagination-rightpauseplayprintproduct-archiverecent-productssearchsharesort-filterspotifysunteamtiktoktime_purpletimetrendingtvtwitter-squaretwitteryoutube