Number of Cards
1981 Topps has 726 cards which there are 28 Cubs Player cards and 10 Traded cards.Card Dimensions
The standard-sized cards are the following dimensions: 2-1/2" by 3-1/2"Basic Features
The card fronts feature a large color portrait of the player with a colored border. The border color is the same for all players on the same team. The players' names are along the bottom of the card, with the team and players' positions inside a baseball cap located at the lower left corner. The Topps logo appears inside a small baseball located at the bottom right.Card backs contain the usual statistics, headlines, and, if there was room, a cartoon. In 1981, Topps introduced three statistical categories to the backs of cards: Slugging Percentage (SLG), Walks (BB), and Strikeouts (SO). 1981 also saw the return of Stolen Bases (SB), which had been absent since 1971.
66 cards are double-printed, and several cards were printed missing the top black border.
Subsets include:
- Previous seasons record breakers (RB)
- Playoffs (LC)
- World Series (WS)
- Final appearance of team cards
Chicago Cubs 1981 Topps Checklist
| Number | Player | ||
| 1 | Bill Buckner LL | ||
| 17 | Cliff Johnson | ||
| 54 | Ivan DeJesus | ||
| 78 | Steve Dillard | ||
| 103 | Jerry Martin | ||
| 136 | Doug Capilla | ||
| 176 | Mike Krukow | ||
| 238 | Willie Hernandez | ||
| 294 | Mike Tyson DP |
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| 331 | Dennis Lamp | ||
| 352 | Dick Tidrow DP |
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| 381 | Cubs Rookies | ||
| 395 | Scot Thompson | ||
| 429 | Mick Kelleher | ||
| 450 | Dave Kingman DP |
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| 471 | Mike Vail | ||
| 492 | Barry Foote | ||
| 514 | George Riley | ||
| 533 | Jesus Figueroa | ||
| 553 | Tim Blackwell | ||
| 574 | Bill Caudill | ||
| 590 | Bruce Sutter | ||
| 609 | Lynn McGlothen | ||
| 625 | Bill Buckner | ||
| 645 | Rick Reuschel | ||
| 676 | Cubs Team/Mgr | ||
| 692 | Lenny Randle | ||
| 718 | Larry Biittner | ||
| Chicago Cubs 1981 Topps Traded Checklist | |||
| 737 | Doug Bird | ||
| 740 | Bobby Bonds | ||
| 750 | Hector Cruz | ||
| 756 | Leon Durham | ||
| 769 | Steve Henderson | ||
| 783 | Ken Kravec | ||
| 795 | Mike Lum | ||
| 805 | Jerry Morales | ||
| 820 | Ken Reitz | ||
| 837 | Joe Strain | ||
For the first time since 1976, Topps issues a 132-card factory boxed "traded" set in 1981. The set is in alphabetical order by player, and picks up after the base set (726) at number 727 to 858 and carries the same design as the regular issue 1981 Topps set.
1981 Chicago Cubs Topps Update
