The 1997 Fleer Ultra baseball card set was released at the height of the vintage baseball card boom of the mid-1990s. Fleer Ultra had found huge success the prior two years with innovative insert sets featuring star players like Griffey Jr. and the introduction of Holofoil parallels. For 1997, Fleer Ultra continued pushing boundaries with revolutionary technology while also highlighting the sport’s biggest stars and moments from that season.
The base set totaled 252 cards and featured every player on a Major League roster at the time of production. Unlike most other ’90s sets, the photography and design of Fleer Ultra cards looked quite modern even by today’s standards. Photos were high resolution and centered on crisp white borders. The backs portrayed stats alongside a summary of the player’s career up to that point. Rosters were also up-to-date, including call-ups and late-season additions not found in other releases.
Paramount Autographs was the seminal new insert set for 1997 Fleer Ultra, featuring 35 actual autograph cards signed by current MLB players on special blue ink parallels. These autographs pioneered the concept of licensed, on-card signed memorabilia in baseball cards at significant premiums over unopened boxes. Some star autographed cards now command thousands based on the player’s Hall of Fame career coupled with the originality of being truly hand-signed versus auto-sticker patches of later years.
Additional inserts included Studio Hometown Heroes highlighting each franchise, action photos from Studio Squad set, and retro-style Stadium Club Legacy cards recreating iconic photos in that design. Topps-esque Action Packed parallels captured dramatic plays on-field. Plus several star rookies entered their MLB debut year and received extra treatment like Hideo Nomo’s Gridiron Greats dual football/baseball issue.
While the base set is quite common today given the large print run during the sport’s peak popularity, certain parallel variations and inserts from 1997 Fleer Ultra have taken on tremendous collector interest and increased value over the years. Below are details on some of the most coveted, investment-worthy cards from the set and their estimated current values:
Ken Griffey Jr. Paramount Autograph (#PA27) – High-grade copies of Griffey’s signed blue auto regularly sell for $3,000-$5,000 given his all-time great career and the extreme rarity of a true on-card autograph from his early Seattle Mariners days before myriad injuries slowed him down.
Derek Jeter Paramount Autograph (#PA23) – As one of the most iconic Yankees of all-time and a surefire Hall of Famer, Jeter’s blue auto is extremely tough to acquire in high grade. Near mint copies trade hands for $2,000-$3,500 depending on centering and condition specifics.
Piazza/Smoltz Dual Autograph (#PA30) – This unprecedented dual signed card of two future Hall of Famers has only ever been pulled a handful of times per reliable population data. Estimates put this 1/1 parallel’s value comfortably into the $8,000-$12,000 range today.
Hideo Nomo Studio Squad (#SS27) – As one of baseball’s first major Japanese starters to make an impact in MLB, Nomo’s debut season was hugely influential and newsworthy. Highly-graded versions of this popular rookie card pull between $400-$800.
Mariano Rivera Studio Hometown Heroes (#HH38) – One of the most dominant and consistent closers ever, Rivera’s hometown New York card is a must-have for Yankees PC collectors. Near mint to mint copies trade between $200-$350.
Derek Jeter Stadium Club Legacy (#SCL13) – This retro-styled issue depicting Jeter’s iconic jump-throw from the 1996 ALCS cemented his star power early. Strong examples in the PSA/BGS 9-10 range can fetch $150-$250.
Chipper Jones Hometown Heroes (#HH23) – Representing the Atlanta Braves, this card of the future Hall of Famer who spent his entire career with one franchise holds value for team collectors. Mint grades go for $75-$150 depending on year.
While the base cards and many common parallels of 1997 Fleer Ultra hold little monetary worth today, the innovative insert sets launched elements of the modern memorabilia card market. Scarce autographs and parallels of emerging stars like Jeter, Rivera, Piazza and rookie issues of Nomo or Jones maintain respectable value recognition for their baseball historical significance within the vintage 90s card era. Overall this remains one of the most visually appealing and influential Fleer Ultra releases that helped popularize the brand at the peak of the sport’s popularity.
