Celebrating Mario Day with the Greatest Topps Mario Cards

From the 8-Bit Plumber to Andretti & More

Date: Mar 10, 2026

Author: Nando Di Fino

Topics: Cards and Culture, Mario, Trending

Length: 816 Words

Reading Time: ~5 Minutes

Mario Day — celebrated because ”March 10” becomes “Mar10” when you squeeze it all together (if you still don’t get it, squint a little harder) — is a celebration of all things Mario. And while the 8-bit hero is arguably the most famous of his many namesakes worldwide, celebrating Mario Day doesn’t have to be confined to the 1989 Topps Nintendo set.

March 10 is Mario Day! In honor of the occasion, Topps RIPPED takes a look at some of the top all-time Mario cards, from famous athletes bearing the name to classic video game sets like 1982 Topps Donkey Kong and 1989 Topps Nintendo Game Packs.

Let’s dive into some of history’s greatest Marios, and their cards.

Mario Mario and the Topps Nintendo Sets

The 1989 Topps Nintendo Game Packs set featured several Mario-themed cards, with little scratch-off circles that made a game-within-a-game out of the pack-ripping experience.

But the true “Mario rookie” came in the 1982 Topps Donkey Kong set, as a “Jump Man at Work” sticker.

If cards aren’t your thing — and it would be weird, at this point, if they weren’t — Topps produced a little plastic Mario full of bubble gum in 1990, most likely sold at your local Kay-Bee. It can be had in all its nostalgic glory for about $15 online.

Fun fact: There was never a proper Topps Mario Bros. set made in the USA, despite the brand’s popularity. However, Topps Ireland had a little-known set dedicated to Mario and his friends (and enemies).

Mario Lemieux

A Hall of Famer with nine All-Star appearances and three Hart Trophies, “Super Mario” Lemieux scored 690 goals and had 1,033 assists over a 17-year career.

Fun fact: While Nintendo had Mario Bros., Lemieux got his own game, “Mario Lemieux Hockey,” in 1991 on the Sega Genesis.

Mario Andretti

Winner of 12 Formula 1 Grand Prix, the 1978 Driver’s Championship, and four IndyCar National Titles, Mario Andretti is a racing legend. He even picked up a Daytona 500 win in 1967.

Fun fact: Mario Andretti had an identical twin brother, Aldo, who quit racing after a sprint car crash in 1969.

Mario Soto and Mario Ramirez

No “Mario” column would be complete without a couple classic ’70s and ’80s cards of Mario Soto and Mario Ramirez.

Soto pitched 12 years, all for the Reds, and made three All-Star teams. He finished second in Cy Young voting in 1983. Ramirez spent six years in the majors, mostly in part-time duty, finishing with four career home runs.

Fun fact: Mario Ramirez’s No. 12 was retired by the Cafeteros de Yauco in 2013 (there is also a great column about Ramirez by SABR’s Tony Oliver).

Mario’s Garbage Pail Kids

Nintendo’s Mario has been immortalized by Garbage Pail Kids on more than one occasion. What’s interesting here is that it took until 2012 for his first card to show up:

In 2012, “Messy Mario” had him holding a plunger and being flushed down a toilet.
In 2015, “Messed-Up Mario” featured Mario (although it was reallllly Luigi in his green uniform) squeezing through a series of pipes.
In 2019, the “We Hate the ’90s” set had a “Slurpin’ Mario” card depicting Mario as a cartridge with the N64-ish console slurping up the controller wires.
In 2023, the “Krashers” set had a “Mario Moto” card, featuring Mario on a thrown-together racer.
In 2024, the “Game Over” on-demand set featured “Minced Mario” – a paper Mario slicing up his hands with a very sharp star.
Also in 2024, Garbage Pail Kids at Play had “Messed Up Mario,” where he was depicted eating mushrooms and Koopas from the game.

Fun fact: The GPK/Mario relationship went the other way in 2022 with the Garbage Pail Kids game, Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum, which is available on the Nintendo Switch.

Topps Mario Day FAQs

When was the first Topps Mario card released?
- The first Topps Mario card is technically the “Jump Man at Work” sticker card from the 1982 Topps Donkey Kong set, which features Mario with his original name from the Nintendo arcade game.
Did Topps ever make a Super Mario Bros. set?
- While no Mario Bros. set was released in the U.S., there was a 1989 Topps Nintendo Game Packs set featuring Mario, and Topps Ireland released a Mario set the following year.
Why was Mario Lemieux called Super Mario?
- Lemieux’s incredible playing career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, including two Stanley Cup titles, established him as one of the sport’s greatest players ever.
What made Mario Andretti such an incredible racer?
- Andretti’s dominance across multiple motorsports, including a Formula 1 Driver’s Championship in 1978, 12 Grand Prix wins, and four IndyCar titles, made him a legend.