Flashback Product of the Week: 1997 Zenith Baseball

The phrase “less is more” really applies to this product.  1997 Zenith Baseball was a true bomb, even though I think the set was well designed.  The card fronts feature full action shots with very little added to them.  Not even the player’s name is on the front of the card.  In addition to the photo you’ll find the Zenith name and the letter “R” if that player was a rookie.  That’s about it.  All the regular info can be found on the back.  From a design point of view it reminds me a lot of the early Stadium Club sets.

Where 1997 Zenith takes a turn for the worse is when they decided to include two jumbo 8″ x 10″ cards per pack.  They weren’t the most popular thing collectors had seen.  Not to mention the MSRP on a single pack was $9.99.  That price may seem small by today’s standards, but back then it was a big deal.  Plus the entire set is only 50 cards.

The chase cards to look for would be V-2 (1:47) and Z-Team (1:99).  The V-2 cards measure 8″ x 10″ and are made with lenticular technology and look like giant Sportflix cards.  Z-Team ones are printed on fancy gold foil and are individually numbered out of 1,000.

This product may have made it if they would have gotten rid of the oversize cards, expanded the checklist, and lowered the cost per pack.  Full boxes can be found for under $30.00.

 

What Was Inside That Dare To Tear Box Topper?

A couple of weeks ago I held a contest for a sealed Felix Potvin 2010-2011 Zenith Dare To Tear box topper.  Matthew Wilson from the blog Tenets of Wilson was the lucky winner.  I received an e-mail from Matthew early today.  The urge to open it was too much to handle and Matthew decided to tear.  Inside waiting for him wasn’t a base card or a parallel.  Instead what was waiting for him was a Taylor Hall 2010-2011 Donruss Elite RC Auto #’ed/99.  The odds of pulling a card like this are out of this world.  I couldn’t be more happy for Matthew.  I’m glad one of Sports Card Info’s contests could yield such a high-dollar card.  This has to be the most valuable card awarded to a reader.  The last Taylor Hall ’10-’11 Elite RC Auto #’ed/99 sold for $125.00.

Contest: Will You Dare To Tear? – Revisited – NOW CLOSED

Last week’s winner of the Felix Potvin 2010-2011 Zenith Dare To Tear 5×7 sealed box topper never came forward, so I’m hosting the contest again.  Inside this bad boy could be a base card, parallel, or autograph.  Good luck!!!

Contest Details:

• This contest will end Friday, August  12, 2011 @ 8:00 p.m. EST
• To enter, please leave a comment in this post
• You can enter once per day
• The winner will be selected at random
• Please provide a valid e-mail address when entering
• The winner will receive an e-mail when the contest is over
• The winner has one week to send me their contact information or the contest will be held again
• Once the contest is over, I will need the winner’s mailing address so I can ship them this card for FREE!!!

Dare To Tear Contest Winner Announced

Congrats to Sean Dickerson on being the lucky winner of the Felix Potvin 2010-2011 Zenith Dare To Tear 5×7 Box Topper.  Once Sean Dickerson sends me their mailing address, this card will be mailed ASAP.  Thanks.

Contest: Will You Dare To Tear? – NOW CLOSED

Last week I pulled this Felix Potvin 2010-2011 Zenith Dare To Tear 5×7 box topper.  Inside could be anything from a base card to an autograph.  If your the lucky winner, what will you do?  Keep it sealed or tear it open?

Contest Details:

• This contest will end Friday, July  29, 2011 @ 8:00 p.m. EST
• To enter, please leave a comment in this post
• You can enter once per day
• The winner will be selected at random
• Please provide a valid e-mail address when entering
• The winner will receive an e-mail when the contest is over
• Once the contest is over, I will need the winner’s mailing address so I can ship them this card for FREE!!!

2010-2011 Zenith Hockey Box Break & Review

Design: 

Is it just me or do hockey products have better designs when compared to other sports?  Clean look and the on-card autographs are always a bonus.  Its been awhile since I’ve busted a Zenith product.

Price: 

Boxes have been selling for $80.00 – $90.00.

“Hit” Quality: 

Each box contains (3) “hits”.  One of them will be an autograph.  I like that Panini brought back the classic Dare To Tear 5×7 box toppers.  During the mid-90’s I pulled a Joe Sakic Dare To Tear 5×7 promo from a Tuff Stuff magazine.  These are the original rip cards.  I pulled the following:

Autographs

• Zac Dalpe Rookie Auto #’ed/999

Relics

• Ryan Callahan Gifted Grinders Jersey #’ed/299
• Ryan Kesler Jersey

Rookies

• Eric Tangradi RC #’ed/999

Short Printed Legends

• Dave Schultz #131
• Rod Gilbert #116
• Darren Pang #121
• Joe Sakic #119

Other Notable Cards

• Ryan Getzlaf Gifted Grinders #12
• Nazem Kadri / Phil Kessel / Jonas Gustavsson Mozaics #18
• Joe Thornton Chasing the Cup #9
• Kristopher Letang Red Hot parallel #104
• Tim Thomas Grease is the Word #2
• Felix Potvin Dare To Tear #245

Overall: 

Overall, I give 2010-2011 Zenith Hockey 3 goalie masks out of 5 (1=poor & 5=perfect).  Its great to bring back the old Zenith brand that was so popular during the 90’s.  Its especially cool to see the Dare To Tear cards make a comeback.

Pinnacle Zenith Dare to Tear

Last night I was reading a book by Dr. James Beckett called “Collecting Baseball and other Sports Cards”, and while reading the history of hockey cards I came across a list of top cards.  One that stood out to me came from a pack of 1997-1998 Pinnacle Zenith Dare to Tear, which was the first product to feature “cards within cards”.  I remember this product so well because back when it came out I subscribed to Tuff Stuff and sometimes they would include promo cards in the magazine.  One month I got a promo card of Joe Sakic from this set and within the card was an Eric Lindros normal sized card.  I wonder if this is where Topps got their idea for the “rip card”?  I miss Pinnacle and Zenith.  They had some of the coolest insert cards ever made for the hobby.