1996 Donruss

Description

1996 Donruss was a 550-card set released in two series of 330 and 220 cards, respectively -- unchanged from the previous year. The full-bleed fronts featured the player nameplate in white ink in the upper right corner and his team logo, uniform number, and Donruss logo in a silver-foil box in the center bottom of the card, accented with team colors.

Donruss upped the number of insert offerings to nine for this year, plus a parallel set, for a total of ten chase cards in the set - the highest amount to that point. A main selling point of the product was that all non-parallel inserts were serial-numbered, with each waxbox yielding at least one.

This was the final Donruss product released under the ownership of the Finnish conglomerate Huhtamäki Oy, as they sold the company to Pinnacle Brands in May of 1996. It was also the final year that famed artist Dick Perez would help produce the Diamond Kings insert set.

Rated Rookies were again scattered throughout the base set like previous years and was the only subset. The only notable player with a Rookie Card in the set was Mike Cameron.

Distribution

Series One Hobby: 36 packs per box, 12 cards per pack (MSRP: $1.79).

Series Two Hobby: 18 packs per box, 12 cards per pack (MSRP: $1.79).

Retail: 12 cards per pack.

Insertion Ratios

Series One

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Hobby Odds	Retail Odds
Base	330	-	?	?
Press Proofs	330	2000	1:12	1:12
Diamond Kings	14	10,000	1:60	1:60
Elite Series	6	10,000	1:75	1:75
Hit List	8	10,000	1:105	1:105
Showdown	8	10,000	1:105	1:105
Power Alley	10	4500	1:92	N/A
Power Alley Die-Cut	10	500	?	N/A
Long Ball Leaders	8	5000	N/A	1:96

Series Two

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Hobby Odds	Retail Odds
Base	220	-	?	?
Press Proofs	220	2000	1:10	1:10
Diamond Kings	17	10,000	1:30	1:30
Elite Series	6	10,000	1:40	1:40
Hit List	8	10,000	1:60	1:60
Freeze Frame	8	5000	1:60	1:60
Round Trippers	10	5000	1:55	N/A
Pure Power	8	5000	N/A	1:80

Checklist

Promos

This eight-card set was issued to preview the set prior to release. These promos featured the same design as the base cards but had "PROMOTIONAL SAMPLE" stamped diagonally across the front and back of the card.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player FROM cards WHERE (year = 1996) AND (setname = 'Donruss Samples'); </sql2wiki>

Base Set

Series One

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1996) AND (setname = 'Donruss') AND (num < 331) ORDER BY num +0 ASC; </sql2wiki>

Series Two

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1996) AND (setname = 'Donruss') AND (num > 330) ORDER BY num +0 ASC; </sql2wiki>

Parallels

All 550 base cards were available as a Press Proof parallel. Each card featured "PRESS PROOF" stamped in gold foil along the side of the card front and a gold-foil finish over the Donruss logo box. Each Press Proof is limited, but not serial-numbered to 2000 copies.

Inserts

Diamond Kings

This 31-card set again featured the top player from each team through a rendition by artist Dick Perez. This was the fifteenth and final year Perez produced the Diamond Kings insert as Pinnacle Brands, who bought Donruss in May of 1996, chose other artists in the following years. Further, this was also the final year that each MLB team was represented in the set.

Continuing the trend from previous years, the 1996 edition featured a new design with gold-marble borders and a black background supplementing the artistic player portrait.

For the first time ever, all Diamond King cards were serial-numbered (10,000 copies). Cards #DK-1-#DK-14 were exclusive to Series One packs while cards #DK-15-#DK-31 were inserted in Series Two packs.

Cards #DK-29 and #DK-30 are designated "King of Kings" while card #DK-31 is the checklist.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1996) AND (setname = 'Donruss Diamond Kings'); </sql2wiki>

Elite Series

The sixth edition of Donruss' staple insert set continued with a twelve-card series split evenly across Series One and Two. Compared to the high bar set by the 1995 set, this year's design was considerably less ornate but still featured silver foil borders, a silver-marbled background, and a small window for the color player photo.

Each Elite Series card was serial-numbered to 10,000 copies and sequentially-numbered as a continuation of the set that began in 1991, pickup up from where the 1995 set left off. The first 9900 copies of cards 61-66 were inserted into Series One packs while cards 67-72 were exclusive to Series Two. The last 100 Series One cards were randomly inserted as Series Two "Super Packs" which contained the entire twelve-card Elite Series set.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player FROM cards WHERE (year = 1996) AND (setname = 'Donruss Elite'); </sql2wiki>

Hit List

This sixteen-card set highlighted the top hitters in the game on a silver and team-colored foil board. All cards were serial numbered to 10,0000. Cards 1-8 were inserted into Series One packs while cards 9-16 were exclusive to Series Two.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player FROM cards WHERE (year = 1996) AND (setname = 'Donruss Hit List'); </sql2wiki>

Showdown

This set showcased eight high-profile batter/pitcher matchups that potentially could occur during Interleague play which would debut the following season. Each Showdown insert featured both players on the card front against a black and gold-foiled backdrop. Each card was serial-numbered to 10,0000 copies and randomly inserted into Series One packs.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player FROM cards WHERE (year = 1996) AND (setname = 'Donruss Showdown') ORDER BY num +0 ASC; </sql2wiki>

Power Alley

This ten-card set highlighted the top power hitters in the game on a card featuring a grey background, team colored diamonds, and a silver holographic center section overlayed by patterned lines. Power Alley inserts were serial-numbered to 5000 copies and exclusive to Series One Hobby packs.

The first 500 copies of each Power Alley insert were die-cut on both sides of the card, marking the first time Donruss featured a parallel of an insert set in its products.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player FROM cards WHERE (year = 1996) AND (setname = 'Donruss Power Alley'); </sql2wiki>

Long Ball Leaders

This eight-card set honored the players that hit the longest home runs in the 1995 season on a silver-foil bordered card with a black-gradient colored baseball, black background, and team-colored insert nameplate. Home run details (i.e., date hit, stadium, distance) were also in team-colored text, in a curved outline of the baseball graphic on the card front. Long Ball Leaders were serial-numbered to 5000 copies exclusive to Series One retail packs.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player FROM cards WHERE (year = 1996) AND (setname = 'Donruss Long Ball Leaders'); </sql2wiki>

Freeze Frame

This eight-card set captured high-quality action photos of the top players in the game on a rounded corner, black background card. Each Freeze Frame insert was serial-numbered to 5000 copies and inserted in Series Two packs.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player FROM cards WHERE (year = 1996) AND (setname = 'Donruss Freeze Frame'); </sql2wiki>

Round Trippers

This ten-card set showcased the top home run hitters in the game on a textured and bronze etched-foil design with a smooth-surfaced home plate feature that housed the 1995 home run total of the player. Round Trippers were serial-numbered to 5000 copies and exclusive to Series Two Hobby packs.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player FROM cards WHERE (year = 1996) AND (setname = 'Donruss Round Trippers'); </sql2wiki>

Pure Power

This eight-card set highlighted the top power hitters in the game on a red-orange, gradient etched-foil card background with a die-cut hole at the bottom of the card that simulated a baseball breaking through the card front. Each card was serial-numbered to 5000 copies and exclusive to Series Two retail packs.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player FROM cards WHERE (year = 1996) AND (setname = 'Donruss Pure Power'); </sql2wiki>

Donruss
Triopoly Era: 1980-81 Donruss Test - 1981 - 1982 - 1983 - 1984 - 1985 - 1986 - 1987
Junk Wax Era: 1988 - 1989 - 1990 - 1991 - 1992 - 1993
Post Junk Wax Era: 1994 - 1995 - 1996
Pinnacle Brands Era: 1997 - 1998
Donruss-Playoff Era: 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005
Panini America Era: 2014 - 2015 - 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019 - 2020 - 2021 - 2022 - 2023 - 2024
Optic: 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019 - 2020 - 2021 - 2022
All-Stars: 1983 - 1984 - 1985 - 1986 - 1987 - 1988 - 1989
Highlights: 1985 - 1986 - 1987
The Rookies: 1986 - 1987 - 1988 - 1989 - 1990 - 1991 - 1992 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2014 Donruss The Rookies Update
Baseball's Best: 1988 - 1989 - 1990
Other Donruss Brands: 1983 Donruss HOF Heroes - 1984 Donruss Champions - 1985 Donruss HOF Sluggers - 1987 Donruss Opening Day - 1988 Donruss Team Books - 1989 Donruss Traded - 1990 Donruss Learning Series - 1993 Donruss Elite Dominators - 1997 Donruss Team Sets - 1998 Donruss Collections -1998 Donruss Days - 2002 Donruss Originals