1997 Flair Showcase

Description

1997 Flair Showcase (produced by Fleer) was a 540-card fractured set released that summer and consisted of 180 players on three different levels/"Rows", with each Row featuring a unique front design:

• Row 2: "Style" design
• Row 1: "Grace" design
• Row 0: "Showcase" design

The Row 2 cards were easiest to find, while the Row 0 cards were the toughest.

Each "Row" was then sub-divided into three, 60-card sub-sections featuring a different cardback icon:

• Showtime: Baseball icon
• Showstopper: Batter icon
• Showpiece: Glove icon

Each of the 180 players in the set had one card in each of the three rows, with a specifically assigned cardback icon per Row, meaning each player had 3 base cards total. The "Seat" number on back represented the card number in the set.

1997 Flair Showcase was most notable for introducing "Masterpieces", the first ever "true" one-of-one parallel.

Distribution

24 packs per box, five cards per pack (MSRP: $4.99). Hobby only. 67,500 boxes produced.

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Showtime	Showpiece	Showstopper
Style (Row 2)	1-60 (1.5:1)	61-120 (1:1.5)	121-180 (1:1)
Grace (Row 1)	61-120 (1:2)	121-180 (1:3)	1-60 (1:2.5)
Showcase (Row 0)	120-180 (1:5)	1-60 (1:24)	61-120 (1:12)

Although the odds are not listed on the box, a typical 24-pack Hobby box should yield four Showcase Showtime cards, two Showcase Showstoppers and one Showcase Showpiece card.

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Odds
Legacy Collection	540	100	1:30
Masterpiece	540	one-of-one	1:3000
Wave of the Future	27	-	1:4
Diamond Cuts	20	-	1:20
Hot Gloves	15	-	1:90
Million Dollar Moments	45	-	one-per-pack
Alex Rodriguez Emerald Exchange	1	25	1:64,800

Checklist

Promos

A three-card "strip" was distributed to dealers and the Hobby media a few months prior to the release of 1997 Flair Showcase. The strip contained reprints of the three Alex Rodriguez base cards later issued in packs and featured "PROMOTIONAL SAMPLE" text diagonally across the front and back.

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

Base Set (Section 1)

• Row 2 (Style front; Showpiece back)

• Row 1 (Grace front; Showstopper back)

• Row 0 (Showcase front; Showtime back)

For brevity's sake, only one "Row" is listed below. The checklist for all three Rows is identical. Also note that only Row 2 cards are considered "true" rookie cards for those players. All base cards are labeled "Section 1" on the back, distinguishing them from the parallel sets, which were labeled "Section 0" on the back.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1997) AND (setname = 'Flair Showcase Row 2'); </sql2wiki>

Parallels (Section 0)

All 540 base cards (180 players from all three "Rows") are available in a Legacy and Masterpiece parallel. These parallels are distinctive from the base cards as both feature a black and white background and labeled "Section 0" on the cardback, differing from all base cards which are labeled "Section 1".

Legacy Collection

Legacy Collection parallels are recognizable for the use of a distinctive and reflective-blue foil on the player's nameplate (front and back of card), Flair Showcase logo (front), "Legacy Collection" logo (front), and serial-number stamp (back). However, the player photos, Row design, and holographic finish were the same as the base versions. All Legacy Collections were serial-numbered to 100 copies.

Masterpiece

Masterpiece parallels are recognizable for the use of a distinctive and reflective lavender foil on the player's nameplate (front and back of card), Flair Showcase logo (front), "Legacy Collection" logo (front), and serial-number stamp (back). However, the player photos, Row design, and holographic finish were the same as the base versions. All Masterpieces were stamped: "The Only 1 of 1 Masterpiece" on the back.

The Masterpiece parallel was a notable set in Hobby history as it was the first set to reduce a print run to only a single set. At a time when scarcity and serial-numbered inserts/parallels was at its peak, the creation of the one-of-one was a landmark concept that forever changed The Hobby. It was the ultimate chase card as it was the only one of its kind. Masterpieces brought almost as much criticism as it did praise from collectors as it effectively eliminated player collectors' chances to procure one copy of every card of their favorite star. Nonetheless, in response, other card companies developed their own one-of-one parallels in the subsequent months and following years and has remained a Hobby staple today.

Given the buzz around this set, a detailed history of one particular high-profile Masterpiece chase was reported on by Beckett Baseball Card Monthly: in 1997, a California dealer sought to acquire all three Ken Griffey, Jr. Flair Showcase Masterpieces. He was able to purchase two of the three for $14,000 and $15,750, respectively; however, the third Masterpiece was found by a teenager in Alaska who was offered an amount rumored to be around $24,000, which he refused. While the collector was scrutinized, he refused temptation and stated that he had found the ultimate card of his favorite player and wanted to keep the card. As a post-script, in the fall of 1999 the two other Griffey Masterpieces were auctioned on eBay. The final bid of $6800 for one of them did not come close to meeting the seller's reserve price.

Inserts

Wave of the Future

NOTES

• Cards #WF1 and #WF2 were added late in the production run. All of the other cards are sequentially-numbered "X of 25".
• Card #11 is a rookie-year card (but NOT a "Rookie Card") of David Ortiz (billed as "David Arias-Ortiz"), who, for some reason, was not included in the base set.

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1997) AND (setname = 'Flair Showcase Wave of the Future'); </sql2wiki>

Diamond Cuts

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

Hot Gloves

1997 would mark the final year for Hot Gloves, which had been a staple of the Flair/Flair Showcase brand dating back to 1994. This year's set featured a die-cut flame design (instead of a die-cut glove in previous years) with heat-sensitive ink. The fire design all around the card would change from bright red-orange to light-orange and white when when touched or exposed to heat.

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

Million Dollar Moments

See 1997 Fleer Million Dollar Moments

Autographs & Game-Used

Alex Rodriguez Emerald Exchange

Twenty-five Alex Rodriguez Emerald Exchange cards (good for an autographed Rodriguez fielding glove) were randomly seeded into packs. The card fronts were similar in design to the regular Row 2 card, except for green foil accents. The cardback, however, consisted entirely of text explaining prize guidelines. The deadline to exchange the card was 8/1/98

<sql2wiki database="carddb"> SELECT num,player,info FROM cards WHERE (year = 1997) AND (setname = 'Flair Showcase Alex Rodriguez Emerald Exchange'); </sql2wiki>

Flair
1993 - 1994 - 1995 - 1996 - 1997 Flair Showcase - 1998 Flair Showcase - 1999 Flair Showcase - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 Flair Showcase
Other Flair sets: 2003 Flair Greats

Fleer Showcase
2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005
Other Showcase Sets: 1997 Flair Showcase - 1998 Flair Showcase - 1999 Flair Showcase - 2003 Fleer Avant - 2004 Fleer Sweet Sigs