1997 Topps Stars
Description
1997 Topps Stars was released in late 1997. The 125-card base set was one of Topps’ higher end products up to that time. The cards were printed on 20-point stock with gold foil stamping with matte laminate and UV coating. Cards 1-90 feature veteran stars while cards 91-125 feature rookies and rising stars. An unnumbered checklist card was inserted into packs as an extra card.
Topps Stars was distributed exclusively to Hobby dealers who were part of Topps' then brand-new "Home Team Advantage" (or "HTA") network, and was their first "HTA-Exclusive" offering.
Rookie cards in this set include: Lance Berkman, Vernon Wells, Kerry Wood, and Jayson Werth.
Distribution
Boxes of 1997 Topps Stars contain 24 packs of 7 cards each. This product was hobby exclusive.
Reviews
Insertion Ratios
| Cards | Total Cards | Hobby Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Base | 125 | ? |
| Always Mint | 125 | 1:12 |
| Rookie Reprints | 15 | 1:6 |
| Future All-Stars | 15 | 1:12 |
| All-Star Memories | 10 | 1:24 |
| '97 All-Stars | 20 | 1:72 |
| Rookie Reprint Autographs | 14 | 1:30 |
Checklist
Promos
- PP1 Larry Walker
- PP2 Roger Clemens
- PP3 Frank Thomas
Base Set
- 1 Larry Walker
- 2 Tino Martinez
- 3 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- 4 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 5 Chipper Jones
- 6 Dave Justice
- 7 Mike Piazza
- 8 Jeff Bagwell
- 9 Ron Gant
- 10 Sammy Sosa
- 11 Tony Gwynn
- 12 Carlos Baerga
- 13 Frank Thomas
- 14 Moises Alou
- 15 Barry Larkin
- 16 Ivan Rodriguez
- 17 Greg Maddux
- 18 Jim Edmonds
- 19 Jose Canseco
- 20 Rafael Palmeiro
- 21 Paul Molitor
- 22 Kevin Appier
- 23 Raul Mondesi
- 24 Lance Johnson
- 25 Edgar Martinez
- 26 Andres Galarraga
- 27 Mo Vaughn
- 28 Ken Caminiti
- 29 Cecil Fielder
- 30 Harold Baines
- 31 Roberto Alomar
- 32 Shawn Estes
- 33 Tom Glavine
- 34 Dennis Eckersley
- 35 Manny Ramirez
- 36 John Olerud
- 37 Juan Gonzalez
- 38 Chuck Knoblauch
- 39 Albert Belle
- 40 Vinny Castilla
- 41 John Smoltz
- 42 Barry Bonds
- 43 Randy Johnson
- 44 Brady Anderson
- 45 Jeff Blauser
- 46 Craig Biggio
- 47 Jeff Conine
- 48 Marquis Grissom
- 49 Mark Grace
- 50 Roger Clemens
- 51 Mark McGwire
- 52 Fred McGriff
- 53 Gary Sheffield
- 54 Bobby Jones
- 55 Eric Young
- 56 Robin Ventura
- 57 Wade Boggs
- 58 Joe Carter
- 59 Ryne Sandberg
- 60 Matt Williams
- 61 Todd Hundley
- 62 Dante Bichette
- 63 Chili Davis
- 64 Kenny Lofton
- 65 Jay Buhner
- 66 Will Clark
- 67 Travis Fryman
- 68 Pat Hentgen
- 69 Ellis Burks
- 70 Mike Mussina
- 71 Hideo Nomo
- 72 Sandy Alomar, Jr.
- 73 Bobby Bonilla
- 74 Rickey Henderson
- 75 David Cone
- 76 Terry Steinbach
- 77 Pedro Martinez
- 78 Jim Thome
- 79 Rod Beck
- 80 Randy Myers
- 81 Charles Nagy
- 82 Mark Wohlers
- 83 Paul O'Neill
- 84 Curt Schilling
- 85 Joey Cora
- 86 John Franco
- 87 Kevin Brown
- 88 Benito Santiago
- 89 Ray Lankford
- 90 Bernie Williams
- 91 Jason Dickson
- 92 Jeff Cirillo
- 93 Nomar Garciaparra
- 94 Mariano Rivera
- 95 Javy Lopez
- 96 Tony Womack RC
- 97 Jose Rosado
- 98 Denny Neagle
- 99 Darryl Kile
- 100 Justin Thompson
- NNO Checklist
Prospects
- 101 Juan Encarnacion PROS
- 102 Brad Fullmer PROS
- 103 Kris Benson PROS RC
- 104 Todd Helton PROS
- 105 Paul Konerko PROS
- 106 Travis Lee PROS RC
- 107 Todd Greene PROS
- 108 Mark Kotsay PROS RC
- 109 Carl Pavano PROS
- 110 Kerry Wood PROS RC
Draft Picks
- 111 Jason Romano DP RC
- 112 Geoff Goetz DP RC
- 113 Scott Hodges DP RC
- 114 Aaron Akin DP RC
- 115 Vernon Wells DP RC
- 116 Chris Stowe DP RC
- 117 Brett Caradonna DP RC
- 118 Adam Kennedy DP RC
- 119 Jayson Werth DP RC
- 120 Glenn Davis DP RC
- 121 Troy Cameron DP RC
- 122 J.J. Davis DP RC
- 123 Jason Dellaero DP RC
- 124 Jason Standridge DP RC
- 125 Lance Berkman DP RC
Parallels
Always Mint
The product's lone parallel, each Always Mint card features foil on both sides of the card. Despite its name, Always Mint cards are very tough to find in mint condition and as such command a premium.
Inserts
Future All-Stars
This 15-card set features players who were expected to be fixtures in the All-Star Game for the next ten years. Seven of the 15 players never appeared in an All-Star Game.
- FAS1 Derek Jeter
- FAS2 Andruw Jones
- FAS3 Vladimir Guerrero
- FAS4 Scott Rolen
- FAS5 Jose Guillen
- FAS6 Jose Cruz, Jr.
- FAS7 Darin Erstad
- FAS8 Tony Clark
- FAS9 Scott Spiezio
- FAS10 Kevin Orie
- FAS11 Pokey Reese
- FAS12 Billy Wagner
- FAS13 Matt Morris
- FAS14 Jeremi Gonzalez
- FAS15 Hideki Irabu
All-Star Memories
This 10-card set features highlights from the 1997 All-Star Game. Each card features a "star in motion" pattern that was laser etched into the card.
- ASM1 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- ASM2 Jeff Conine
- ASM3 Mike Piazza
- ASM4 Randy Johnson
- ASM5 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- ASM6 Fred McGriff
- ASM7 Moises Alou
- ASM8 Hideo Nomo
- ASM9 Larry Walker
- ASM10 Sandy Alomar, Jr.
'97 All-Stars
This 20-card set features the starting lineups of the 1997 All-Star Game. Alex Rodriguez, who was the American League's starting shortstop, was not under contract to Topps at the time and his place in the checklist was filled by All-Star Game MVP Sandy Alomar, Jr.
- AS1 Greg Maddux
- AS2 Randy Johnson
- AS3 Tino Martinez
- AS4 Jeff Bagwell
- AS5 Ivan Rodriguez
- AS6 Mike Piazza
- AS7 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- AS8 Ken Caminiti
- AS9 Tony Gwynn
- AS10 Edgar Martinez
- AS11 Craig Biggio
- AS12 Roberto Alomar
- AS13 Larry Walker
- AS14 Brady Anderson
- AS15 Barry Bonds
- AS16 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- AS17 Ray Lankford
- AS18 Paul O'Neill
- AS19 Jeff Blauser
- AS20 Sandy Alomar, Jr.
Rookie Reprints
This 15-card set features reprints of Hall of Fame players’ Topps rookie cards. These types of insert sets would become a staple of many Topps releases in the late 1990s and 2000s, but these were the first. The cards have been re-sized to modern, standard-sized cards.
Each card is sequentially-numbered in small type on the reverse side, distinguishing them from the originals.
- 1 Luis Aparicio
- 2 Richie Ashburn
- 3 Jim Bunning
- 4 Bob Feller
- 5 Rollie Fingers
- 6 Monte Irvin
- 7 Al Kaline
- 8 Ralph Kiner
- 9 Eddie Mathews
- 10 Hal Newhouser
- 11 Gaylord Perry
- 12 Robin Roberts
- 13 Brooks Robinson
- 14 Enos Slaughter
- 15 Earl Weaver
Autographs
Rookie Reprint Autographs
This 14-card set parallels the Rookie Reprint set. Richie Ashburn died before he was able to sign and is the only player from the Rookie Reprint set not included. This was one of the first sets to feature on-card autographs of Hall of Famers, and were very popular at the time of their release and have maintained much of their value. The Eddie Mathews and Hal Newhouser cards are particularly notable due to the passing of the two stars before the autograph insert card explosion of the 2000’s.
- 1 Luis Aparicio
- 3 Jim Bunning
- 4 Bob Feller
- 5 Rollie Fingers
- 6 Monte Irvin
- 7 Al Kaline
- 8 Ralph Kiner
- 9 Eddie Mathews
- 10 Hal Newhouser
- 11 Gaylord Perry
- 12 Robin Roberts
- 13 Brooks Robinson
- 14 Enos Slaughter
- 15 Earl Weaver
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