Inside the Pack: 2021 Topps Heritage Review

Last week, Topps took a trip in the time machine back to 1972 with the annual fan favorite, Topps Heritage. As has been the case for much of the past year, rather than a hobby box, I got in on the fun with some blaster boxes.
Heritage is always one of my favorite sets. As a vintage collector, I love seeing the old design jazzed up for modern cards. I opened 3 blasters that I was able to snag from the Target website. Each blaster has 8 packs, and packs have 9 cards each.
The format of Heritage never changes much. The base set contains a robust 400 cards, making it one of the more popular sets for set builders. Card numbers 401 to 500 are short prints, which always allow collectors a fun chase to complete the full set. Heritage also contains variations, like different photos, purposeful “errors”, and so on. The ever-popular Real One autographs and their red ink counterparts also returned this year, as did all-purple chrome hot boxes.
The best hit in my three boxes was a chrome refractor of Ronald Acuña Jr., and it was a beauty. The Heritage refractors are always attractive, and Acuña is one of the best young players in the game.

Another box yielded a Josh Hader Clubhouse Collection relic card. Hader is arguably the best reliever in the game, and the Clubhouse Collection inserts have been ubiquitous in the Heritage product for two decades.
My favorite part of Heritage each year is seeing how seamlessly they integrate designs for insert cards that didn’t exist. Then and Now and Flashback cards look great with the curved 1972 lettering. A very impressive set is the 21-card salute to Roberto Clemente, called Great One. The design fits so well that it left me scratching my head as to where I’ve seen it before. (I thought it was 1985 Woolworth, but nope! If you think you know, let me know, please!)

The base card design is dynamite and accurate to the originals. In Action cards mimic their ‘72 counterparts well, and I noticed that most of the rookie cards I received were of the In Action type, including two of the hottest RCs, Jo Adell and Ke’Bryan Hayes. Backs include puzzle pieces, just like the real thing.
Unlike most products nowadays, Heritage is not about chasing the big hits. When you open Heritage, you’re looking for beautiful cards, a sense of nostalgia, and parallel cards. Just like past years, 2021 Topps Heritage delivers in all these regards. Take a trip down memory lane and open a box of 2021 Topps Heritage if attractive cards, large base sets, short prints, and parallels are your things.