Pete Crow-Armstrong has always played center field with the instincts of a safety, and now Topps has given that crossover some cardboard recognition.
The first look at the card landed right where Cubs fans and collectors live.
PCA is throwing a football on his 2026 Topps Chrome Image Variation card, and the response was immediate.
Pete Crow-Armstrong’s Topps Chrome card has Cubs fans ready to cop
One fan joked that his kid had a plan: “My kid says he’ll cover CF if PCA ever wants to pursue his football career.” Another looked at the card image and wrote, “Pic cooked, that arm strength gotta be real.”
The collecting response was even more direct. One reply said: “Oh that’s a must cop.” Another wrote: “NEED,” while a Cubs fan added: “Love it! Go Cubs Go! Go PCA Go!”
The card works because Crow-Armstrong looks natural with a football in his hand. There is no widely documented varsity football background for him at Harvard-Westlake, where his public résumé is built around baseball, but the athletic crossover is easy to understand.
Throwing a football and throwing a baseball are different skills, especially compared with pitching, but they share hip rotation, shoulder sequencing, arm speed, and body control. Footballs are also used by some baseball players in training because the heavier ball can encourage a more connected throwing motion.
For PCA, the image leans into what fans already believe about his game. He moves like a defensive back, covers center field like open grass, and owns the kind of arm that makes a football card feel less like a gimmick.
Pete Crow-Armstrong’s Cubs rise makes demand easy to explain
The baseball case is doing most of the selling.
Crow-Armstrong is hitting .286 with 16 home runs, 40 RBI, 18 stolen bases, and an .883 OPS this season. Baseball Savant also lists him with a 92.2 mph arm-strength mark, 95th-percentile sprint speed, 100th-percentile fielding run value, and 100th-percentile outfield range.
That profile makes him one of the easiest Cubs players for Topps to market. His 2024 Topps Chrome rookie cards, Topps Now moments, 2025 Topps Cosmic Chrome releases, and 2020 Bowman Chrome Draft prospect autos already have a clear collector base.
The top confirmed public PCA sale remains his 2020 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospect Autograph Red Refractor /5 BGS 9.5, which sold for $35,400 at Fanatics Collect in 2025.
The football Image Variation is different. It captures the personality and athletic imagination around Crow-Armstrong, which is exactly why fans already want it in hand.
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