Test Your Hobby Knowledge!
In this month’s Topps RIPPED trivia, we dive into the MLB postseason, reminisce about a card featuring the skin of a defeated alien invader, rediscover the beauty of Allen & Ginter’s Halloween and horror-themed subsets, and more! Strap in for some seasonal fun.
As always, please avert your eyes from the answers (they’re at the bottom). Boasting about your October trivia score to random trick-or-treaters is always encouraged.
Score:
0-3: Congratulations! You’re normal — these are meant to be hard.
4-6: You may have what we like to call “The Shine.”
7-8: Sorcery!!
9-10: You 100% looked at the answers.
Let’s get to it!
1. Reggie Jackson earned the nickname “Mr. October” for his heroics in the 1977 World Series. Which was the first card of his to (unexcitedly) acknowledge that feat?
2. The 2024 Topps Baseball Update Series “Autumn Tales” card of Babe Ruth highlights his October 1, 1932 “called shot” home run against the Cubs. How many home runs did Cubs pitcher Charlie Root give up in that game?
3. How many teeth does Jack O. Lantern have on his iconic Garbage Pail Kids card?
4. In 2024 Topps Baseball, “October Specialists” was the checklist for which team?
5. Alex Pardee’s Project 70 card of which player features him holding a bat and wearing the skin of a defeated alien invader “as a warning to any other invaders”?
6. On card #1 of the 1962 Mars Attacks set, what was the somewhat sympathetic reason the invasion of Earth actually began?
7. October 15th marks the anniversary of what Colorado-based, aerial-related hoax immortalized on an Allen & Ginter card?
8. Which 2020 Allen & Ginter subset features “The Ocean,” “A Cave,” and “Under the Bed”?
9. National Pasta Day is October 17: Which 2025 baseball card features the word “Spaghetti”?
10. Which 1992 Topps set features beheadings, Keanu Reeves, vampire brides, and the description “in humanoid bat form”?
Answers
1. His 1979 Topps card, which plainly notes that he “set mark with 5 homers in 1977 Series”
2. Four total HRs
3. Three teeth
4. The Phillies
5. Mike Trout
6. A massive explosion of atomic elements beneath the surface was imminent and would destroy the entire planet of Mars, killing everyone.
7. “Balloon boy,” which you can read about here
8. Where Monsters Hide, a glow-in-the dark subset that was crowned Topps’ Best Halloween “card” in 2024
9. Spencer Arrighetti’s 2025 Topps Heritage “Nickname Variation”
10. Bram Stoker’s Dracula
