Topps chose to test the waters of Mexico in 1977 by releasing an American football set manufactured and issued exclusively in Mexico with the text written in Spanish. While the exact details of the printing and distribution somewhat a mystery, it is known that the production of this issue was quite miniscule in comparison to the regular issue 1977 Topps Football set issued in the States. The 1977 Topps Mexican Football set resembles the standard issue in many ways, featuring the exact same 528 cards as its American counterpart, the Mexican set was printed with Spanish team names and position abbreviations on the obverse of the card. The reverse was printed entirely in Spanish. Player's weights and measures are listed using the Metric Standard. The cards were cut much differently than standard issue cards. The Mexican cards were cut utilizing a perforated system that left remnants of the perforations at each corner and on the sides of the card. The cards were packed in both two card and four card packs, with 36 packs per box. The two card packs included a piece of banana and grape flavored gum that was flat on one side and had a railroad tie appearance on the other. Additionally, the packages were manufactured with 5 different and equally distributed wrappers. The wrappers featured O.J. Simpson, Bob Griese, Steve Bartowski, Mike Boryla, and Brian Sipe. Collation of the cards within the boxes is unpredictable and production numbers are unknown. A very limited amount of the product was discovered nearly a decade after manufacture. This small find was brought to the States by an east coast collector. Estimates suggest the quantity may have been as few as 20 total cases, all of which were opened prior to entering the US by customs agents, so there are no "sealed" cases. The importer eventually sold off the inventory, and at this time, it is believed that only a very limited amount of unopened boxes exist and it is suspected that there are no longer any complete or original cases. This week, we are offering a box of 1977 Topps Mexican Football cards, with 31 unopened packs inside!
