Topps Celebrates Bob Ross With “The Joy of Baseball” Collections
Autographs, afros, and artistry—Ross’s joy brushes right onto the diamond.
The paintings of Bob Ross, host of The Joy of Painting on PBS from 1983 to 1994, may have only recently started drawing attention (and record-smashing prices) at art auctions, but Ross merchandise has been popular for years. His appeal extends beyond arts and entertainment and into the world of sports, as shown by “The Joy of Baseball” collection by card maker Topps.
Topps first collaborated with the Bob Ross Estate in 2023, releasing a “Happy Little Box” of 12 cards and a Collector’s Box with eight 12-card packs and a paintbrush-shaped pen. The initial set, now known as Season 1, comprised 99 cards with photos of past and current celebrated players against backgrounds of Bob Ross landscapes.
A second collection, Season 2, was released in July of this year. Again, the collection comes in Happy Little Boxes and Collector’s Boxes. Happy Little Boxes have 1:4 odds of including an autograph card, while Collector’s Boxes include two.
Like the 2023 set, the 2025 release includes image variations and inserts. According to the collector’s guide and grading service Beckett, there are two image variations: Happy Little Mistakes, which, like the variation found in the 2023 release, has the player’s photo altered to sport Ross’s signature curly hairstyle; and Beauty is Everywhere. There are also three sets of inserts: Budding Talent, Bat on Ball, and The Art of Stealing.
But the rarest card in the set, anticipated to be the most coveted, is the first-ever card for Ross himself.
The 2023 set has already proven to have some valuable cards, with a graded PSA 10 #1 Shohei Ohtani card recently selling on eBay for $253.
The Topps collection isn’t exactly the first brush Bob Ross' paintings have had with baseball cards. In 2023, an original Bob Ross painting sold at Goldin, an auction service better known for specializing in trading cards. The painting went for $39,600—a price that Ross’s paintings have surpassed since, but makes the baseball cards look like a bargain!
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