1997 SP

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.

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

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1997) AND (setname = 'SP') AND (num < 16); </sql2wiki>

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.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1997) AND (setname = 'SP') AND (num > 15); </sql2wiki>

Inserts

Inside Info

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.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1997) AND (setname = 'SP Inside Info'); </sql2wiki>

Marquee Matchups

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1997) AND (setname = 'SP Marquee Matchups'); </sql2wiki>

Special FX

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.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1997) AND (setname = 'SP Special FX') ORDER BY num +0 ASC; </sql2wiki>

Ken Griffey, Jr. Baseball Heroes

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

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1997) AND (setname = 'SP Griffey Heroes'); </sql2wiki>

Game Film

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.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player FROM cards WHERE (year = 1997) AND (setname = 'SP Game Film'); </sql2wiki>

SPx Force

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.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1997) AND (setname = 'SP SPx Force'); </sql2wiki>

Autographs

SPx Force Autograph

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.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1997) AND (setname = 'SP SPx Force Autograph'); </sql2wiki>

Vintage Autographs

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.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT info,player,serial FROM cards WHERE (year = 1997) AND (setname = 'SP Vintage Autographs'); </sql2wiki>

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