Explore the stories behind Chicago Cubs baseball cards—from photographs traced to exact games to Cubs cameos and visiting players captured at Wrigley Field.
Game-Dated Cards
Cards whose photographs have been traced to the exact game—or narrowed down through clues hidden in the image.
2021 Topps Update #US187 Tyson Miller
A Cubs card with more going on than first meets the eye. Explore the photograph, the game behind it, and the details that helped identify when this moment was captured.
2014 Topps #46 Kolten Wong
A split-second double play preserved on cardboard. The details in the photograph help trace this moment back to the game in which it happened.
2017 Topps Throwback Thursday #147 Kris Bryant Anthony Rizzo Javier Baez
Bryant, Rizzo and Báez celebrate a Cubs victory—but which game produced the photograph? Follow the clues behind the image to uncover the exact moment captured on the card.
Cubs Cameos
Sometimes the most interesting Cubs cards aren’t Cubs cards at all. Explore cards of opposing players that captured a Cub somewhere in the photograph.
1983 Topps #282 Reggie Smith
Reggie Smith gets top billing, but a young Ryne Sandberg makes an unexpected appearance in the action photo on this 1983 Topps card.
1990 Upper Deck – #696 Rick Reuschel
Rick Reuschel is the subject of this 1990 Upper Deck card, but a blurred Greg Maddux dominates the foreground—turning a Giants card into an unexpected piece of Cubs history.
1995 Topps D3 – #41 Tim Wallach
Tim Wallach is the focus of this 1995 card but look beyond the Dodgers third baseman and Shawon Dunston is lurking in the background—another unexpected Cubs cameo on someone else’s cardboard.
Ivy Cards
Explore cards of visiting players photographed in front of the iconic Wrigley Field ivy.
1973 Topps #133 Dave Roberts
Dave Roberts tracks a fly ball in front of Wrigley Field’s iconic ivy on this 1973 Topps card—an early example of the ballpark becoming part of the baseball card itself.
1991 Fleer #490 Cal Ripken Jr.
Cal Ripken Jr. fields a ground ball with Wrigley Field’s ivy filling the background on this 1991 Fleer card—a Baltimore Orioles card with an unmistakable Chicago setting.
2019 Topps Big League #246 Starlin Castro
Starlin Castro spent his first six major-league seasons with the Cubs. This 2019 Topps Big League card captures him back at Wrigley Field as a visitor with the Miami Marlins, with the ivy providing a familiar backdrop.
Undercover Cubs
They may not look like Cubs cards, but look closer. These cards feature former Cubs players whose original photographs showed them in Cubs uniforms—before the images were digitally altered to represent their new teams.
2017 Topps Stadium Club -#298 Dan Vogelbach
This 2017 Stadium Club card shows Dan Vogelbach in a Mariners uniform—but the original photograph tells a different story. The image was taken while Vogelbach was still a Cub, with his Chicago uniform digitally transformed into Seattle colors.
2017 Topps #446 Dexter Fowler
Dexter Fowler appears to be wearing Cardinals red on this 2017 Topps card, but the photograph originated during his time with the Cubs. Topps digitally transformed his Chicago uniform after Fowler signed with St. Louis.
2023 Topps Update #US82 P.J. Higgins
P.J. Higgins appears in an Arizona Diamondbacks uniform on this 2023 Topps Update card, but the photograph originated during his time with the Cubs. His Chicago uniform was digitally altered to make the image match his new team.
Game Dated Cubs 