For the second year in a row, the 1994 Topps Baseball flagship release was split into two series with equal 396-card base checklists.

While sharing some similarities to the 1993 base design, the 1994 cards became more modern, at least for the early ‘90s. Not yet into the insert-craze of the mid-90s, there is only one insert chase in this release: Black Gold. This was created to build onto the success of the Topps Gold base parallels that debuted in 1992 as a tough-to-pull chase card.

The most notable rookie card in Series 1 is that of newly enshrined Hall of Famer Billy Wagner.

1994 Topps Series 1 Baseball Box Break 

Cards per pack: 10
Packs per box: 36
Price paid: $30

• Buy 1994 Topps Baseball Series 1 cards on Beckett Marketplace
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Pack 1 highlights:

Joe Girardi, Edgar Martinez, Benji Gil Future Stars Gold and Scott Fletcher Gold (about one per pack, on average)

Golds were more subtle compared to the ’93 release, with just gold foil on the Topps logo and player names.

Pack 2:

Williams/Boggs All Star, Frank Thomas, Tony Pena, Bernie Williams and Phil Plantier Gold

Pack 3:

Carlos Hernandez Gold

Pack 4:

Kirk Gibson and Richie Lewis Gold

Pack 5:

Barry Larkin, Ortiz/Bell/Arias/Giambi Prospects, Dave Gallagher Gold and Ryne Sandberg Gold

Ryno unfortunately lost his long battle with cancer recently, passing away less than a month ago on July 28.

Pack 6:

Chuck Finley, Kevin Brown, Mark Grace, Lee Smith and Donn Pall Gold

Pack 7:

Rod Beck, Ozzie Smith, Frank Viola and Paul Sorrento Gold

Pack 8:

Jose Canseco, Miller/Wilson/Jeter/Neal PROS and Hal Morris Gold

Pack 9:

Mike Piazza, Pat Meares Gold and Rick Aguilera Gold

Aguilera’s 318 career saves rank 24th in MLB history.

Pack 10:

Randy Johnson, Doc Gooden, and Bret Saberhagen Gold

Pack 11:

Ozzie Guillen, Cecil Fielder, Bernie Williams, Brad Pennington Gold, and Craig Paquette Gold

Pack 12:

Alan Trammell, Mike Piazza, and Wally Joyner Gold

Pack 13:

Manny Ramirez FS and Lee Smith Gold

Speaking of saves, Smith’s 478 saves still rank third in MLB history, behind only Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman.

Pack 14:

Mark McGwire and Jose Lind Gold

Pack 15:

Eddie Murray and Greg Vaughn Gold

Pack 16:

Thompson/Alomar AS, Wally Joyner and Spike Owen Gold

Pack 17:

Fernando Valenzuela, Ivan Rodriguez and Jeff King Gold

Valenzuela, another former player who was lost in the past year. Fernando passed away on October 22, 2024.

Pack 18:

Blauser/Ripken AS, Greg Vaughn, Kevin Mitchell and Andy Benes Gold

Pack 19:

Trevor Hoffman and Mark Wohlers Gold

Pack 20:

Bob Ojeda Gold

Pack 21:

Robin Yount, Masse/Cameron/Clark/McClure PROS Gold and Dave Martinez Gold

Pack 22:

Deion Sanders, Alex Gonzalez FS, and Pat Mahomes Gold

No, not THAT Pat Mahomes. But, this is Patrick’s father.

Pack 23:

Dykstra/Griffey AS, Ryne Sandberg, Pedro Martinez, and Sandy Alomar Gold

Pack 24:

David Wells, Tim Raines, and Jeff Blauser Gold

Pack 25:

Bonds/Belle AS, Ivan Rodriguez, Ken Hill Gold, and Jacob Brumfield Gold

Pack 26:

Alan Trammell, Randy Johnson, Rickey Henderson, and Robb Nen Gold

Nen ranks 25th in saves, four behind Aguilera.

Pack 27:

Phil Hiatt Gold

Pack 28:

Kirby Puckett, Trevor Hoffman and Black Gold Winner B (1:72 packs)

This card could have been redeemed for 11 Black Gold cards.

Pack 29:

Cal Ripken, Curt Schilling, and Erik Pappas Gold

Pack 30:

Craig Biggio and Ricky Trlicek Gold

Pack 31:

Will Clark, Calvin “Pokey” Reese FS, Graeme Lloyd Gold, and Mike LaValliere Gold

Pack 32:

John Olerud, Jim Abbott, Cliff Floyd FS, and Chris Hammond Gold

Pack 33:

Lee Smith, Greg Vaughn, and Jose Canseco Gold

This is a great shot of Canseco shaving down a bat handle in the dugout.

Pack 34:

Deion Sanders Gold

Pack 35:

Larry Walker, George Brett, Vinny Castilla, Robin Ventura, and Kirby Puckett Black Gold (1:72 packs)

Pack 36:

Russ Springer Gold

Beat the odds with two Black Gold pulls in this one.

Unfortunately, as you probably noticed, some of the cards did stick together in these packs. Pretty common when opening this product 30-plus years after release. Luckily not all of the cards were completely ruined.

Want more installments of Shane Salmonson’s Cheap Wax Wednesday? Check out his other breaks in the archives.