August 2011 Group Break - 1997 Fleer (Packs #1-9)

For 1997 Fleer kept the matte style for the cards, but dropped some of the thick gold foil imprints for the player's names.  The glossy Tiffany parallels went from 1 per pack to 1:20 packs.  This retail box has 18 packs with each pack containing 10 cards.  Inserts include:

- Lumber Company (retail only) 1:48 - these are cool "round" die-cut cards
- Night & Day 1:240 - 3D cards similar to the recent Topps 3D cards
- Team Leaders 1:20 - die-cut
- Golden Memories 1:16
- Rookie Sensations 1:6

Pack 1:

#370 Chan Ho Park (Dodgers)
#206 Ken Griffey Jr. (Mariners)
#293 Eric Davis (Reds)
#005 Cesar Devarez (Orioles)
 
#26 Brian Jordan - Team Leaders (Cardinals)
#067 Greg Norton (White Sox)
#061 Ozzie Guillen (White Sox)
#345 Ricky Gutierrez (Astros)
#101 Felipe Lira (Tigers)
#399 Jason Isringhausen (Mets)

These Team Leader cards are different...but I like different.  I think there is a Gwynn and a Chipper card in this set for me to track down.

Pack 2:

#201 Rich Amaral (Mariners)
#193 Mark McGwire (A's)
#006 Scott Erickson (Orioles)
#232 Mickey Tettleton (Rangers)

#12 Bob Abreu - Rookie Sensations (Astros)
#019 Roger Clemens (Red Sox)
#496 Paul Molitor (Twins)
#463 Joey Hamilton (Padres)
#484 Marcus Jensen (Giants)
#191 Jose Herrera (A's)

I can't say that I'm a huge fan on this Rookie Sensations design.  Too bad no one claimed the Astros.

Pack 3:

#348 Todd Jones (Astros)
#035 George Arias (Angels)
#369 Antonio Osuna (Dodgers)
#487 Allen Watson (Giants)
#294 Willie Greene (Reds)
#215 Matt Wagner (Mariners)
#344 Tony Eusebio (Astros)
#106 Ruben Sierra (Tigers)
#388 Ugueth Urbina (Expos)
#404 Robert Person (Mets)

Pack 4:
#251 Steve Avery (Braves)
#172 Ramiro Mendoza (Yankees)
#354 Billy Wagner (Astros)
#204 Joey Cora (Mariners)
#250 Mike Timlin (Blue Jays)
#163 Mariano Duncan (Yankees)
#494 Chipper Jones (Braves)
#430 Jeff King (Pirates)
#140 Bob Wickman (Brewers)
#271 Mark Wohlers (Braves)

Pack 5:

#154 Kirby Puckett (Twins)
#040 Jim Edmonds (Angels)
#352 James Mouton (Astros)
#255 Tom Glavine (Braves)

#03 Albert Belle - Lumber Company (Indians)
#016 Todd Zeile (Orioles)
#313 Neifi Perez (Rockies)
#211 Edgar Martinez (Mariners)
#346 Mike Hampton (Astros)
#029 Heathcliff Slocumb (Red Sox)

Wow!  These Lumber Company cards are really cool.  Beat the odds with this one too.

Pack 6:

#017 Darren Bragg (Red Sox)
#229 Dean Palmer (Rangers)
#277 Tyler Houston (Cubs)
#058 Mike Cameron (White Sox)
#205 Russ Davis (Mariners)
#274 Leo Gomez (Cubs)
#429 Jason Kendall (Pirates)
#117 Jeff Montgomery (Royals)
#464 Rickey Henderson (Padres)

#263 Greg Maddux (Braves)

I figured there would be others that would appreciate the awesomeness of this card.

Pack 7:

#455 Dmitri Young (Cardinals)
#291 Jeff Branson (Reds)
#175 Mariano Rivera (Yankees)
#032 Mo Vaughn (Red Sox)
#353 Shane Reynolds (Astros)
#173 Jeff Nelson (Yankees)
#289 Turk Wendell (Cubs)
#328 Jeff Conine (Marlins)
#107 Justin Thompson (Tigers)
#170 Jim Leyritz (Yankees)

Pack 8:

#182 Willie Adams (A's)
#015 David Wells (Orioles)
#020 Wil Cordero (Red Sox)
#186 Scott Brosius (A's)

#14 Wilton Guerrero - Rookie Sensations (Dodgers)
#408 Ricky Bottalico (Phillies)
#224 Darryl Hamilton (Rangers)
#081 Dennis Martinez (Indians)
#431 Jon Lieber (Pirates)
#134 Ben McDonald (Brewers)

Pack 9:

#282 Ryne Sandberg (Cubs)
#202 Jay Buhner (Mariners)
#158 Dave Stevens (Twins)
#310 Andres Galarraga (Rockies)
#021 Jeff Frye (Red Sox)
#155 Brad Radke (Twins)
#080 Kenny Lofton (Indians)
#363 Wilton Guerrero (Dodgers)
#118 Jose Offerman (Royals)
#416 Mickey Morandini (Phillies)

Another Ryno for Matt Pederson!

One half of the box down.  Still looking for a few of the other inserts.  I'll be back w/ the 2nd half shortly.