The 1997 Pinnacle brand baseball card release was one of the most exciting and anticipated issues from the trading card manufacturer during the mid-1990s. Coming off several years of producing innovative baseball card designs and insert sets that captured the imagination of collectors, Pinnacle went “all-in” on their 1997 offering with a record 880 total cards made up of 688 base cards, parallels, and 192 insert/variations cards split among several distinctive subsets.
Some of the most popular players of the late 90s era such as Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Cal Ripken Jr., and Tony Gwynn graced the fronts of packs and boxes of the 1997 Pinnacle set looking to captivate collectors. Griffey and Bonds, two of the true superstars and fan favorites of their generation, were prominently featured in many of the promotional materials and advertisements used by Pinnacle to promote the release.
The base card design for 1997 was unique with a sharp-edged rectangular border framing each player photo on a light grey background. Player names were placed vertically along one side of the cards with team and position information below. The dominant photo image and clean uncluttered design lent the 688 base cards an attractive yet understated elegance appealing to collectors. Rarity factors for the base cards ranged from relatively common for most players to odds ratios of 1:864 packs for the true short prints and difficulties like the Sammy Sosa retro variation card.
While the base cards fulfilled the core collecting needs of set builders, it was Pinnacle’s innovative inserts that provided the excitement for the 1997 release. The marquee insert of the year was the “Action All-Stars” subset featuring borderless full body action shots of 30 top MLBers. Additional inserts like “Diamond FX” with iridescent foil effects, “Diamond Kings” featuring regal crown uniform artwork, and “Prime Cuts” highlighting iconic career moments made for beautiful and imaginative collector chase cards.
Perhaps no insert resonated with the collector base more than Pinnacle’s popular franchise player retrospective “Then & Now” dual image design. Featuring side-by-side younger and older photos of franchise greats like Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn, the 24-card “Then & Now” insert embodied the nostalgia many fans felt for baseball history. Parallel versions like “Then & Now Retro” shot on retro looking film stocks further expanded this premium subset.
For the true high-end chase, Pinnacle issued four ultra-short printed 1/1 commemorative rookie patch autograph cards as part of their exquisite “Pinnacle Prestige” insert set featuring Jaret Wright, Jason Kendall, Tim Duncan, and Derek Jeter. Along with ex-pro athletes, collectors vied to find these literally one-of-a-kind rookie patch autographs packed at an estimated 1 per 2800 boxes of 1997 Pinnacle.
While Pinnacle’s 1997 flagship baseball offering was met with widespread collector acclaim, the release was not without issue. Complaints emerged of low print runs leading to scarcity of even base rookie and star cards. The sets heavy reliance on parallel and insert subsets to augment the base card count also alienated some traditionalists. Questions were also raised about the true scarcity of some inserts like the treasured “Pinnacle Prestige” 1/1 autographs.
These quibbles did little to dampen the long term legacy and solidified cult following the 1997 Pinnacle set achieved among collectors. Over 25 years later, the innovative inserts, sharp aesthetics, and superstar featured players continue to entice collectors to break wax in search of 1990s cardboard relics from “the hobby’s high water mark.” While out of reach for most but the deepest pocketed collectors today, the allure and mystique of Pinnacle’s 1997 release lives on as one of the true classics from the golden age of the baseball card boom.
