Cardinals legend Ozzie Smith featured in Lids x Topps Player Chase Series 2

Baseball legend Ozzie Smith has had a first-row seat into the ever-changing landscape of collectibles. 

When the Hall of Fame shortstop’s career began in 1978, collectibles largely meant baseball cards. Each year, only a handful of new cards featuring player photos were released, with small design changes over time.

Eventually, variations and parallels were added, different printing technologies used and that grew to putting autographs and embedding pieces of memorabilia in cards. 

The evolution of the collectible space has surprised Smith. He marvels at how far it has come — and how valuable items have become.

“When I was a kid, there were just baseball cards. That was the collectible I grew up with,” said Smith, who admitted to putting cards in his bike spokes. “Then Topps started putting our jerseys and bats into cards. That was fascinating.”

Smith was recently featured in the Lids x Topps Player Chase Series 2. The boxes include three exclusive caps and a pack of Lids x Topps cards. 

The caps, inspired by Topps designs, include a player’s likeness or facsimile signature on them. Each box also comes with a scratch-off for a chance at a variety of prizes, including signed jerseys, tickets and more.

Smith was immediately impressed by the The Lids x Topps caps. While New Era has upgraded its cap collections to include different versions, these were more than Smith had seen before.

“I think the quality is top notch,” Smith said after opening one of the Lids x Topps Player Chase boxes. “One of the caps had silk, another was made of suede. The quality has really changed. The market has changed.”

Smith pulled caps of baseball legends Robin Yount and Pete Rose, and even he felt a little thrill of getting those athletes. 

“Those are two of my favorite people, so that’s pretty cool,” Smith said.

(Lids x Topps)

While Smith doesn’t have a massive collection, he does have nearly all of his Topps cards created during his playing days. He understands the excitement collectors get from pulling and owning cards.

And now, he gets to be part of that excitement in a new way — signing caps in the Lids x Topps Player Chase Series 2 for lucky collectors to discover.

One of the Smith caps in the product features an all-red St. Louis Cardinals cap with an embroidered smiling picture of Smith inspired by the 1989 Topps design on the right side. The image also includes “The Wizard” above it, referencing Smith’s uncanny defensive abilities. A white No. 1 outlined in black also sits on the back of the cap. 

The Lids x Topps collection first released at Fanatics Fest on June 20 and have since been available in Lids stores around the country. Even two weeks later, there are still a number of unclaimed items including 2026 World Series tickets, 2026 All-Star Game tickets, one-of-a-kind Mitchell & Ness hats and signed Derek Jeter jerseys.

Everything that has changed about collectibles since Smith started playing in 1978 can essentially be found in the Player Chase boxes: rare items, variations, chase elements and autographs.

“They weren’t just regular hats,” Smith said. “I knew they would do unique things. The quality exceeded my expectations. It’s eye-opening to see how far collectibles have come.”