2021 Backyard Games
On November 17, 2020, the U.S. Post Office announced that Backyard Games will be issued as a postage stamp set. The scheduled release date is August 12 in Rosemont, Illinois.
These stamps capture games that Americans play for outdoor fun. A pane of 16 stamps features eight unique designs including: badminton, bocce, cornhole, croquet, flying disc, horseshoes, tetherball and baseball. Greg Breeding was the art director. Mike Ryan designed the stamps with original artwork by Mick Wiggins.
A total of 25,600,000 stamps were issued at a value of 55¢ each for a total value of $14,080,000. (Stamp ID# Scott 5631).
Artist Mick Wiggins Explains His Sports Art
It started off as just another backyard game – Wiffle Ball. Until, of course, the USPS legal team determined that it was actually a JUGS ball design, and that the U.S. Post Office had usage rights to neither brand. In an exclusive interview, illustrator Mick Wiggins describes everything from being selected to design a stamp to the creative process.
The Ball That Changed Before Your Eyes!
The artwork that Mick Wiggins created for the 2021 issue of Backyard Games started off as a Wiffle Ball, one of eight sports played in the backyard. The illustration clearly conveys the curve of the pitch headed for the yellow Wiffle Ball bat. By the time the artwork ended up on a stamp, the wiffel ball changed to a baseball, the laces were changed from red to white, and the yellow bat was changed to a brown “warning track” driveway. Still, the final product is a work of art that’s out of the park. Wiggins explains how he got the call, and how he has remained in The Show all these years.
Who’s Ready for Some Backyard Sports?
Featured are the eight stamps in the final panel: badminton, bocce, cornhole, croquet, flying disc, horseshoes, tetherball and baseball.
Stamp Stats
Value: 55¢ (forever)
Issue Date: August 12, 2021
First City: Rosemont, Illinois
Type of Stamp: First-Class, Self-Adhesive
Quantity Issued: 25,600,000
Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method: Offset
See all Baseball U.S. Postage Stamps:
Baseball Postage Stamps
- U.S. Baseball Stamp Issues:
- 1939 Centennial of Baseball
- 1969 100th Anniversary of Baseball
- 1969 Grandma Moses
- 1982 Jackie Robinson
- 1983 Babe Ruth
- 1984 Roberto Clemente
- 1989 Lou Gehrig
- 1989 Legends Stamp Album
- 1991 Abbott & Costello
- 1992 Olympic Summer Games
- 1995 Recreational Sports
- 1996 Centennial Olympic Games
- 1996 Folk Heroes
- 1998-2000 Celebrate the Century
- 2000 Legends of Baseball
- 2000 Youth Team Sports
- 2001 Legendary Playing Fields
- 2006 Baseball Sluggers
- 2008 Take Me Out To The Ballgame
- 2010 Negro League Baseball
- 2012 MLB All-Stars
- 2012 Play Ball! Stamp Book
- 2017 Have a Ball
- 2020 Bugs Bunny
- 2021 Yogi Berra
- 2021 Backyard Games
- 2024 Hank Aaron
- MLB Pro Stamps
- Non-Postage Stamps
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Good afternoon
I cannot find an order form and I will order the fulll sheet Backyard Games (3x) and 5 soingle stamps with Baseball.
Please inform me,
thanks and regards,
Rob van Tuyl
Netherlands
Rob – they will be available August 12, with the first day issue release at the Great American Stamp Show in Rosemont, Illinois at 11AM.
When will these stamps be printed. They are really neat and I’d like some for a time capsule!!
Cindy – they will be available August 12, with the first day issue release at the Great American Stamp Show in Rosemont, Illinois at 11AM.