Collect call: 2009 Topps Triple Threads football

Posted Jan 3, 2010 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated Jan 3, 2010 at 05:12 PM

The Topps Triple Threads set usually produces some nice cards, but what intrigues me are some of the notations on the 2009 football mini-boxes. It just goes to show you how corporate former players and coaches can be; not that I blame them, mind you.

Here’s what you find: “Joe Namath compliments of Sportsplacement.com,” “Jim Brown compliments of Sportsplacement.com,” and “Vince Lombardi is a trademark of the estate of Vince Lombardi, licensed by CMG Worldwide.”

Those are some heavy hitters among NFL immortals, and their appearance in Triple Threads makes this set that much more desirable.

The base set is attractive, too, containing 100 cards of NFL greats, and each card is numbered. There are 34 rookie autograph cards, and a parallel set of the autos that includes multi-colored swatches numbered to 25.
The “Cut Above” relics, which feature a cut signature from Lombardi, Tom Landry and Walter Payton, are bound to be the highlights from the set.

I recently sampled a display box, which contains a pair of mini-boxes. Each mini-box holds a pack of six cards.
The first pack had three base cards numbered to 799, a Calvin Johnson base card numbered to 299 and a Matt Cassel base numbered to 99. The sizzle card was a Triple Threads relics card of Drew Brees numbered 6/9, a triple swatch card containing three colors (black, white and gold).

The second pack began the same way, with three base cards numbered to 799, a Matt Forte base numbered to 249 and a Brandon James base numbered to 149).

The sizzle card was an autographed, triple game-used card of Steelers rookie Mike Wallace, numbered to 15.
The base card design is crisp, with cutout action shots of the players. The background features a soft-focus circle of color behind the player — red for regular base, copper for cards numbered to 249, green for cards numbered to 199 and brown for cards numbered to 99.

This is a high-end product with some nice surprises. It’s a good way for Topps to end its 2009 football run.