All the Way to the Pinnacle, Zenith (Acme?) of the Hobby

A while back, I found a box of 1997 Pinnacle Zenith on ebay for under $20 delivered.  This was a product that I could never have afforded as a kid with a part-time job, so I had never cracked any of it.  At that price, I decided it would be fun.

So, to give a brief review of a product that has only been out for 20 years or so, I like the design on it.  It looks high-class, 90s style, but isn't too busy, like many of its late-90s contemporaries.  The inserts are actually harder to come by, and not as prolific as many sets, which I like.  It gives them a little more value to me, plus makes it easier to build the set.  I came close on only one box.  The biggest drawback, to me, is the lack of rookies.  The "rookies" in this set are actually the class of 1996, which makes these second-year cards.  Nobody from the class of 1997 is to be found.  Oh well; I like many of the names in the '96 class, so I was glad to see them anyhow.  I also have a slight problem with the set name.  Pinnacle Zenith.  Is that not a bit redundant?  But I guess I won't let that retract from the cards.

The box I opened contained 24 packs of 6 cards each.  I'll roll these out 4 shiny, gold-foil packs at a time.  I apologize for the white space on the scans.  My photo editor isn't saving any changes I make, so I finally gave up on trying to crop them.

Pack 1

Well, the first pack brings me 3 Hall of Famers.  I especially like the design of the Season Highlights subset.  It's just a little bit more than the solid circle of the regular base cards.

Pack 2

Not much to speak of here in Pack 2.  Thurman Thomas is a HOFer and an All-Decade guy, but the rest of the pack is pretty uneventful.  I do appreciate the crowd acknowledgement by Adrian Murrell, though.

Pack 3

Two Heisman winners here, including one of my all-time favorites, Barry Sanders.  A Barry appearance will make me happy with pretty much any pack.

Pack 4

Two more Hall of Famers, but the big news is my first insert.  The V2 set is seeded about one per box, and I pulled this lenticular of Joey Galloway.  A solid player, if not the biggest name.

I'll keep it going with other pulls from this box later on.