Latest revision as of 15:26, 29 August 2022

Description

1997 SP (by Upper Deck) is a 184-card set released in the Summer of 1997. The first 15 cards make up the "Great Futures" subset and are all printed on etched foil. Card #184 was a late addition to the product. In addition, cards #160-#180 and #184 might have been short-printed (although this was never confirmed by the manufacturer).

This product is significant as it was the first to feature "Buy Back" autographs.

Distribution

30 packs plus two "Inside Info" box toppers per box, eight cards per pack (MSRP: $4.39). Hobby only.

Reviews

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Hobby Odds
Base	184	-	?
Marquee Matchups	20	-	1:5
Special FX	48	-	1:9
Ken Griffey, Jr. Baseball Heroes	10	2000	?
Game Film	10	500	?
SPx Force	10	500	?
SPx Force Autographs	10	100	?
Vintage Autographs	32	varies	?

Checklist

Base Set

Great Futures

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1 Andruw Jones GF
2 Kevin Orie GF
3 Nomar Garciaparra GF
4 Jose Guillen GF
5 Todd Walker GF
6 Derrick Gibson GF
7 Aaron Boone GF
8 Bartolo Colon GF
9 Derrek Lee GF
10 Vladimir Guerrero GF
11 Wilton Guerrero GF
12 Luis Castillo GF
13 Jason Dickson GF
14 Bubba Trammell GF RC
15 Jose Cruz, Jr. GF RC

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NOTES:

It is believed, but not confirmed by Upper Deck, that cards #160-#180 were short-printed. With that said, building a set is attainable.
Card #184 was a late addition to the set, and is also believed to be short-printed.

16 Eddie Murray
17 Darin Erstad
18 Garret Anderson
19 Jim Edmonds
20 Tim Salmon
21 Chuck Finley
22 John Smoltz
23 Greg Maddux
24 Kenny Lofton
25 Chipper Jones
26 Ryan Klesko
27 Javy Lopez
28 Fred McGriff
29 Roberto Alomar
30 Rafael Palmeiro
31 Mike Mussina
32 Brady Anderson
33 Rocky Coppinger
34 Cal Ripken, Jr.
35 Mo Vaughn
36 Steve Avery
37 Tom Gordon
38 Tim Naehring
39 Troy O'Leary
40 Sammy Sosa
41 Brian McRae
42 Mel Rojas
43 Ryne Sandberg
44 Mark Grace
45 Albert Belle
46 Robin Ventura
47 Roberto Hernandez
48 Ray Durham
49 Harold Baines
50 Frank Thomas
51 Bret Boone
52 Reggie Sanders
53 Deion Sanders
54 Hal Morris
55 Barry Larkin
56 Jim Thome
57 Marquis Grissom
58 Dave Justice
59 Charles Nagy
60 Manny Ramirez
61 Matt Williams
62 Jack McDowell
63 Vinny Castilla
64 Dante Bichette
65 Andres Galarraga
66 Ellis Burks
67 Larry Walker
68 Eric Young
69 Brian L. Hunter
70 Travis Fryman
71 Tony Clark
72 Bob Higginson
73 Melvin Nieves
74 Jeff Conine
75 Gary Sheffield
76 Moises Alou
77 Edgar Renteria
78 Alex Fernandez
79 Charles Johnson
80 Bobby Bonilla
81 Darryl Kile
82 Derek Bell
83 Shane Reynolds
84 Craig Biggio
85 Jeff Bagwell
86 Billy Wagner
87 Chili Davis
88 Kevin Appier
89 Jay Bell
90 Johnny Damon
91 Jeff King
92 Hideo Nomo
93 Todd Hollandsworth
94 Eric Karros
95 Mike Piazza
96 Ramon Martinez
97 Todd Worrell
98 Raul Mondesi
99 Dave Nilsson
100 John Jaha
101 Jose Valentin
102 Jeff Cirillo
103 Jeff D'Amico
104 Ben McDonald
105 Paul Molitor
106 Rich Becker
107 Frank Rodriguez
108 Marty Cordova
109 Terry Steinbach
110 Chuck Knoblauch
111 Mark Grudzielanek
112 Mike Lansing
113 Pedro Martinez
114 Henry Rodriguez
115 Rondell White
116 Rey Ordonez
117 Carlos Baerga
118 Lance Johnson
119 Bernard Gilkey
120 Todd Hundley
121 John Franco
122 Bernie Williams
123 David Cone
124 Cecil Fielder
125 Derek Jeter
126 Tino Martinez
127 Mariano Rivera
128 Andy Pettitte
129 Wade Boggs
130 Mark McGwire
131 Jose Canseco
132 Geronimo Berroa
133 Jason Giambi
134 Ernie Young
135 Scott Rolen
136 Ricky Bottalico
137 Curt Schilling
138 Gregg Jefferies
139 Mickey Morandini
140 Jason Kendall
141 Kevin Elster
142 Al Martin
143 Joe Randa
144 Jason Schmidt
145 Ray Lankford
146 Brian Jordan
147 Andy Benes
148 Alan Benes
149 Gary Gaetti
150 Ron Gant
151 Dennis Eckersley
152 Rickey Henderson
153 Joey Hamilton
154 Ken Caminiti
155 Tony Gwynn
156 Steve Finley
157 Trevor Hoffman
158 Greg Vaughn
159 J.T. Snow
160 Barry Bonds
161 Glenallen Hill
162 William VanLandingham
163 Jeff Kent
164 Jay Buhner
165 Ken Griffey, Jr.
166 Alex Rodriguez
167 Randy Johnson
168 Edgar Martinez
169 Dan Wilson
170 Ivan Rodriguez
171 Roger Pavlik
172 Will Clark
173 Dean Palmer
174 Rusty Greer
175 Juan Gonzalez
176 John Wetteland
177 Joe Carter
178 Ed Sprague
179 Carlos Delgado
180 Roger Clemens
181 Juan Guzman
182 Pat Hentgen
183 Ken Griffey, Jr. CL
184 Hideki Irabu RC

Inserts

Inside Info

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This 25-card set was inserted into each waxbox as a box topper. Each card features a pull-out tab that gives the "Inside Info" on the player. Due to the nature of the card, and the large amount of foil along the borders, these cards are extremely difficult if not impossible to find in mint condition.

Each waxbox was supposed to come with only one Inside Info, but some yielded two.

1 Ken Griffey, Jr.
2 Mark McGwire
3 Kenny Lofton
4 Paul Molitor
5 Frank Thomas
6 Greg Maddux
7 Mo Vaughn
8 Cal Ripken, Jr.
9 Jeff Bagwell
10 Alex Rodriguez
11 John Smoltz
12 Manny Ramirez
13 Sammy Sosa
14 Vladimir Guerrero
15 Albert Belle
16 Mike Piazza
17 Derek Jeter
18 Scott Rolen
19 Tony Gwynn
20 Barry Bonds
21 Ken Caminiti
22 Chipper Jones
23 Juan Gonzalez
24 Roger Clemens
25 Andruw Jones

Marquee Matchups

Ken-Griffey-Jr.jpg?id=1e0affe3-6e5f-42ce-aa87-13048daefaf8&size=original&side=front&.jpg Andres-Galarraga.jpg?id=f1657906-6dd7-4af9-9101-575968b93bbd&size=original&side=front&.jpg

MM1 Ken Griffey, Jr.
MM2 Andres Galarraga
MM3 Barry Bonds
MM4 Mark McGwire
MM5 Mike Piazza
MM6 Tim Salmon
MM7 Tony Gwynn
MM8 Alex Rodriguez
MM9 Chipper Jones
MM10 Derek Jeter
MM11 Manny Ramirez
MM12 Jeff Bagwell
MM13 Greg Maddux
MM14 Cal Ripken, Jr.
MM15 Mo Vaughn
MM16 Gary Sheffield
MM17 Jim Thome
MM18 Barry Larkin
MM19 Frank Thomas
MM20 Sammy Sosa

Special FX

Tony-Gwynn.jpg?id=4af6fb22-fc3d-4b8c-adb4-3e32ededb846&size=original&side=front&.jpg Alex-Rodriguez.jpg?id=dd302195-b279-48f7-bd68-e91d582a08ef&size=original&side=front&.jpg

The 1997 edition of Special FX would be the last. Unlike previous years, there is no die-cut parallel -- all the cards are die-cuts.

Card #48 does not exist. A 49th card of Alex Rodriguez done in the style of the previous year's Holoviews Die-Cuts was included in 1997 packs.

1 Ken Griffey, Jr.
2 Frank Thomas
3 Barry Bonds
4 Albert Belle
5 Mike Piazza
6 Greg Maddux
7 Chipper Jones
8 Cal Ripken, Jr.
9 Jeff Bagwell
10 Alex Rodriguez
11 Mark McGwire
12 Kenny Lofton
13 Juan Gonzalez
14 Mo Vaughn
15 John Smoltz
16 Derek Jeter
17 Tony Gwynn
18 Ivan Rodriguez
19 Barry Larkin
20 Sammy Sosa
21 Mike Mussina
22 Gary Sheffield
23 Brady Anderson
24 Roger Clemens
25 Ken Caminiti
26 Roberto Alomar
27 Hideo Nomo
28 Bernie Williams
29 Todd Hundley
30 Manny Ramirez
31 Eric Karros
32 Tim Salmon
33 Jay Buhner
34 Andy Pettitte
35 Jim Thome
36 Ryne Sandberg
37 Matt Williams
38 Ryan Klesko
39 Jose Canseco
40 Paul Molitor
41 Eddie Murray
42 Darin Erstad
43 Todd Walker
44 Wade Boggs
45 Andruw Jones
46 Scott Rolen
47 Vladimir Guerrero
49 Alex Rodriguez 1996

Ken Griffey, Jr. Baseball Heroes

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A continuation of the Baseball Heroes anthology, the 1997 edition stars Ken Griffey, Jr. Each card is serial-numbered to 2000 copies.

91 Ken Griffey, Jr.
92 Ken Griffey, Jr.
93 Ken Griffey, Jr.
94 Ken Griffey, Jr.
95 Ken Griffey, Jr.
96 Ken Griffey, Jr.
97 Ken Griffey, Jr.
98 Ken Griffey, Jr.
99 Ken Griffey, Jr.
100 Ken Griffey, Jr.

Game Film

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Game Film features an embedded piece of acetate that's designed to look like a film slide (not unlike the Slideshow inserts from 1994 Leaf). Each card is serial-numbered to 500 copies.

GF1 Alex Rodriguez
GF2 Frank Thomas
GF3 Andruw Jones
GF4 Cal Ripken, Jr.
GF5 Mike Piazza
GF6 Derek Jeter
GF7 Mark McGwire
GF8 Chipper Jones
GF9 Barry Bonds
GF10 Ken Griffey, Jr.

SPx Force

Todd-Hollandsworth-Mike-Piazza-Raul-Mondesi-Hideo-Nomo.jpg?id=fbcf66a2-3997-49d6-8ef8-5c129cdef920&size=original&side=front&.jpg

This set features four players on a "Holoview" card done in the style of that year's SPx set. Each card is serial-numbered to 500 copies.

1 Ken Griffey, Jr. / Jay Buhner / Andres Galarraga /
2 Mark McGwire / Albert Belle / Brady Anderson / Cec
3 Frank Thomas / Mo Vaughn / Jeff Bagwell / Ken Cami
4 Sammy Sosa / Barry Bonds / Jose Canseco / Fred McG
5 Greg Maddux / Roger Clemens / John Smoltz / Randy
6 Alex Rodriguez / Derek Jeter / Chipper Jones / Rey
7 Mike Piazza / Hideo Nomo / Raul Mondesi / Todd Hollandsworth
8 Juan Gonzalez / Manny Ramirez / Roberto Alomar / I
9 Tony Gwynn / Wade Boggs / Eddie Murray / Paul Moli
10 Vladimir Guerrero / Scott Rolen / Andrew Jones / T

Autographs

SPx Force Autograph

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SPx Force Autograph is a parallel of the insert of the same name. However, only one of the four players depicted signed the card. For brevity's sake, we are only listing the signee in the checklist.

Each card is hand-numbered to 100 copies.

1 Ken Griffey, Jr.
2 Albert Belle
3 Mo Vaughn EXCH
4 Gary Sheffield
5 Greg Maddux
6 Alex Rodriguez
7 Todd Hollandsworth
8 Roberto Alomar
9 Tony Gwynn
10 Andruw Jones

Vintage Autographs

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To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the SP brand, Upper Deck repurchased a number of SP cards from previous years, had the cards autographed by the players, and randomly inserted them into packs. Each card is hand-numbered and packed out inside a penny sleeve along with an Upper Deck Authenticated certificate of authenticity. Both the card and the COA have UDA stickers with matching serial-numbers applied to them.

NOTES

Mo Vaughn's 1997 buyback packed out as an redemption card. Only 250 redemptions were seeded into packs; however, Vaughn wound up signing 293 1997 SP cards. (Vaughn was the only player who signed his current-year card) The remaining 43 cards would eventually be used as redemption replacements. The 1995 Mo Vaughn did not surface until 2001, again, as a redemption replacement.
This set is checklisted below as: year, insert set (if applicable), player, production figure.

93 Jeff Bagwell 7
95 Jeff Bagwell 173
96 Jeff Bagwell 292
96 MM Jeff Bagwell 23
95 Jay Buhner 57
96 Jay Buhner 79
96 SFX Jay Buhner 27
93 Ken Griffey, Jr. 16
93 PP Ken Griffey, Jr. 5
94 Ken Griffey, Jr. 103
95 Ken Griffey, Jr. 38
96 Ken Griffey, Jr. 312
93 Tony Gwynn 17
94 Tony Gwynn 367
94 HV Tony Gwynn 31
95 Tony Gwynn 64
96 Tony Gwynn 20
94 Todd Hollandsworth 167
93 Chipper Jones 34
95 Chipper Jones 60
96 Chipper Jones 102
96 Rey Ordonez 111
96 MM Rey Ordonez 40
94 Alex Rodriguez 94
95 Alex Rodriguez 63
96 Alex Rodriguez 73
94 Gary Sheffield 130
94 SFX Gary Sheffield 4
95 Gary Sheffield 221
96 Gary Sheffield 58
95 Mo Vaughn 75
96 Mo Vaughn 293

SP
SP Era: 1993 - 1994 - 1995 - 1996 - 1997
SP Authentic Era: 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - 2010

SP Legendary Cuts: 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - 2011
SP Top Prospects: 1995 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001
Other SP Brands: 1995 SP Championship Series - 1999 SP Signature Edition - 2001 SP Game Bat Edition - 2001 SP Game Bat Milestone - 2001 SP Game Used - 2004 SP Game Used Patch - 2004 SP Prospects - 2007 SP Rookie Edition - 2012 SP Signature Edition