1997 Zenith
Description
1997 Zenith is a 50-card set, released by Pinnacle Brands in the Summer of 1997. In a radical departure for the brand, each pack contained five standard-size base cards and two 8" X 10" parallels with a suggested retail price of $9.99.
The set contains 42 established player cards and eight rookie cards (43-50).
Due to the high price, puny base set, lack of collectible inserts, and the unpopularity of the over-sized cards, '97 Zenith was not well received by collectors and did not sell well. About five years later, long after Pinnacle had gone out of business, boxes of late-90s era Pinnacle and Donruss cards began showing up at K-Mart stores nationwide, including surplus '97 Zenith boxes for only $19.99 a box.
Distribution
10 packs per box, 5 cards plus two over-sized cards per pack (MSRP: $9.99)
Reviews
Insertion Ratios
| Cards | Total Cards | Numbered To | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 50 | - | 5:1 |
| 8 X 10 | 24 | - | one-per-pack |
| 8 X 10 Dufex | 24 | - | one-per-pack |
| V-2 | 8 | - | 1:47 |
| Z-Team | 9 | 1000 | 1:99 |
Checklist
Promos
The Big Picture
These six 8" X 10" photos were released as promos to demonstrate what the 1997 Zenith 8 X 10's would look like. They have the notation "The Big Picture" at the bottom of the card.
A Dufex version of the Alex Rodriguez's card was also produced.
- 1 Frank Thomas
- 4 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 5 Mike Piazza
- 13 Alex Rodriguez
- 17 Derek Jeter
- 19 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- 13 Alex Rodriguez Dufex
Base Set
- 1 Frank Thomas
- 2 Tony Gwynn
- 3 Jeff Bagwell
- 4 Paul Molitor
- 5 Roberto Alomar
- 6 Mike Piazza
- 7 Albert Belle
- 8 Greg Maddux
- 9 Barry Larkin
- 10 Tony Clark
- 11 Larry Walker
- 12 Chipper Jones
- 13 Juan Gonzalez
- 14 Barry Bonds
- 15 Ivan Rodriguez
- 16 Sammy Sosa
- 17 Derek Jeter
- 18 Hideo Nomo
- 19 Roger Clemens
- 20 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 21 Andy Pettitte
- 22 Alex Rodriguez
- 23 Tino Martinez
- 24 Bernie Williams
- 25 Ken Caminiti
- 26 John Smoltz
- 27 Javy Lopez
- 28 Mark McGwire
- 29 Gary Sheffield
- 30 David Justice
- 31 Randy Johnson
- 32 Chuck Knoblauch
- 33 Mike Mussina
- 34 Deion Sanders
- 35 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- 36 Darin Erstad
- 37 Kenny Lofton
- 38 Jay Buhner
- 39 Brady Anderson
- 40 Edgar Martinez
- 41 Mo Vaughn
- 42 Ryne Sandberg
- 43 Andruw Jones
- 44 Nomar Garciaparra
- 45 Hideki Irabu RC
- 46 Wilton Guerrero
- 47 Jose Cruz. Jr. RC
- 48 Vladimir Guerrero
- 49 Scott Rolen
- 50 Jose Guillen
Parallels
8 X 10
Each pack of 1997 Zenith had two over-sized cards, which partially-parallel 24 cards in the base set. One card is printed on glossy cardboard, the other on Dufex.
- 1 Frank Thomas
- 2 Tony Gwynn
- 3 Jeff Bagwell
- 4 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 5 Mike Piazza
- 6 Greg Maddux
- 7 Ken Caminiti
- 8 Albert Belle
- 9 Ivan Rodriguez
- 10 Sammy Sosa
- 11 Mark McGwire
- 12 Roger Clemens
- 13 Alex Rodriguez
- 14 Chipper Jones
- 15 Juan Gonzalez
- 16 Barry Bonds
- 17 Derek Jeter
- 18 Hideo Nomo
- 19 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- 20 Hideki Irabu
- 21 Andruw Jones
- 22 Nomar Garciaparra
- 23 Vladimir Guerrero
- 24 Scott Rolen
Inserts
V-2
This eight-card, over-sized, set is produced using Lenticutar motion technology -- similar to that of Sportflix. It's unclear what "V2" means or represents.
- 1 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 2 Andruw Jones
- 3 Frank Thomas
- 4 Mike Piazza
- 5 Alex Rodriguez
- 6 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- 7 Derek Jeter
- 8 Vladimir Guerrero
Z-Team
This nine-card, over-sized, set features an all-star caliber squad of players printed on full Mirror Gold Holographic Mylar foil card stock. Each card is serial-numbered to 1000 copies.
- 1 Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 2 Larry Walker
- 3 Frank Thomas
- 4 Alex Rodriguez
- 5 Mike Piazza
- 6 Cal Ripken, Jr.
- 7 Derek Jeter
- 8 Andruw Jones
- 9 Roger Clemens
| Zenith |
|---|
| Pinnacle Brands Era: |
| Donruss-Playoff Era: |