1997 SPx

File:97spxbox.jpg

1997 SPx box

Description

1997 marked the second year Upper Deck issued their SPx brand. Unlike the premiere edition, the 1997 version had three "insert quality" cards in each pack as opposed to only one. All cards feature Upper Deck's "Holoview" technology on a die-cut card. Before the product's release, UD announced that '97 SPx would be the last product to feature Holoviews. The only notable rookie in the 50-card base set is of Jose Cruz, Jr.

Distribution

Boxes of 1997 SPx contain 18 packs of 3 cards each. This product is a hobby exclusive and the MSRP was $5.99/pack.

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Hobby Odds
Base	50	-	?
Steel	50	-	1:2
Bronze	50	-	1:4
Silver	50	-	1:7
Gold	50	-	1:17
Grand Finale	50	50	?
Cornerstones of the Game	10	500	?
Bound for Glory	20	1500	?
Bound for Glory Supreme Signatures	5	250	?

Checklist

Base Set

1 Eddie Murray

2 Darin Erstad

3 Tim Salmon

4 Andruw Jones

5 Chipper Jones

6 John Smoltz

7 Greg Maddux

8 Kenny Lofton

9 Roberto Alomar

10 Rafael Palmeiro

11 Brady Anderson

12 Cal Ripken, Jr.

13 Nomar Garciaparra

14 Mo Vaughn

15 Ryne Sandberg

16 Sammy Sosa

17 Frank Thomas

18 Albert Belle

19 Barry Larkin

20 Deion Sanders

21 Manny Ramirez

22 Jim Thome

23 Dante Bichette

24 Andres Galarraga

25 Larry Walker

26 Gary Sheffield

27 Jeff Bagwell

28 Raul Mondesi

29 Hideo Nomo

30 Mike Piazza

31 Paul Molitor

32 Todd Walker

33 Vladimir Guerrero

34 Todd Hundley

35 Andy Pettitte

36 Derek Jeter

37 Jose Canseco

38 Mark McGwire

39 Scott Rolen

40 Ron Gant

41 Ken Caminiti

42 Tony Gwynn

43 Barry Bonds

44 Jay Buhner

45 Ken Griffey, Jr.

46 Alex Rodriguez

47 Jose Cruz, Jr. (RC)

48 Juan Gonzalez

49 Ivan Rodriguez

50 Roger Clemens

Parallels

The base set is paralleled by (in order of scarcity): Steel, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Grand Finale. To distinguish them from the base cards, all parallels have black-and-white player photos on the back. The Grand Finale's are so named as Upper Deck announced that 1997 SPx would be the final time they would use the "Holoview" technology. Each pack is guaranteed to contain one of the five parallels.

NOTE: The Steel and Silver parallels look similar. The Steel cards have a holographic background behind both the player's uniform number and the SPx logo; whereas the Silver cards are etched-foil (like the Bronze and Gold parallels).

It is believed that cards 25-50 in the Steel parallel were short-printed.

Inserts

Bound for Glory

1 Andruw Jones

2 Chipper Jones

3 Greg Maddux

4 Kenny Lofton

5 Cal Ripken, Jr.

6 Mo Vaughn

7 Frank Thomas

8 Albert Belle

9 Manny Ramirez

10 Gary Sheffield

11 Jeff Bagwell

12 Mike Piazza

13 Derek Jeter

14 Mark McGwire

15 Tony Gwynn

16 Ken Caminiti

17 Barry Bonds

18 Alex Rodriguez

19 Ken Griffey, Jr.

20 Juan Gonzalez

Cornerstones of the Game

1 Ken Griffey, Jr./Barry Bonds

2 Frank Thomas/Albert Belle

3 Greg Maddux/Chipper Jones

4 Tony Gwynn/Paul Molitor

5 Andruw Jones/Vladimir Guerrero

6 Jeff Bagwell/Ryne Sandberg

7 Mike Piazza/Ivan Rodriguez

8 Eddie Murray/Cal Ripken, Jr.

9 Mo Vaughn/Mark McGwire

10 Alex Rodriguez/Derek Jeter

Autographs & Game-Used

Bound for Glory Supreme Signatures

1 Jeff Bagwell

2 Ken Griffey, Jr.

3 Andruw Jones

4 Alex Rodriguez

5 Gary Sheffield