2012 Topps: "Rookie Patches" Insert Set
2002 Upper Deck Sweet Spot: "Rookie Gallery Jerseys" Insert Set
1997 Proline: "Emerald Autographs" Insert Set
2012 Topps: "Rookie Patches" Insert Set
Jay's Football Cards
Pinnacle: Other Titles
My Pinnacle: Other Titles Collection (Updated December 24th, 2021)
1995 Pinnacle Club Collection: “Emmitt Smith” #226
To me, Pinnacle was the king of the "One Hit Wonders". I don't even know if they were "Hits" or "Wonders", but they were "One", nonetheless. From "Pinnacle: Certified" to "Pinnacle: Inside" to "Pinnacle: X-Press", Pinnacle was trying to create a solid title that the hobby loved over and over again without much fanfare, or so it seemed. The first of these "One Hit Blunders" was the "Pinnacle: Club Collection" title, (See the 1995 Pinnacle Club Collection: "Emmitt Smith" #226 left). Now this one was a real winner. When I say a set has 261 cards, you would think that's a good thing, but not for this set. Each player had 9 cards in the set, (that's a total of 29 unique players). Some teams didn't have any players in the set while some teams had 2 QBs. For their extremely poor effort in selecting players, this set earned the #9 spot on my "Least Favorite Sets" list.
Next up on Pinnacle's "Blunder" list was the 1996 "Pinnacle: Laserview" set. This set was a monstrous 40-card set. And it gets better, there are NOT 40 different players. Pinnacle decided the Laserview set needed 2 different types of
1996 Pinnacle Laserview: “Jim Everett" #12
Pinnacle was really onto something. That something being small, worthless sets with a pathetic list of players. In 1997, Pinnacle released another winner; it's "Pinnacle: Inscriptions" set. The name for this set may have come from the "Inscriptions Autographs" that were included in the Laserview set left. I actually liked the card design for this set, (See the 1997 Pinnacle Inscriptions: "Jr. Seau" #25 above right). The problem with this set to me was again, it's size; 50-cards. With only one of those being a defensive player. Just awful. Why bother releasing this gem? The saving grace for this set? Pinnacle, again hid autographs within this measly disaster of a set, (See the 1997 Pinnacle Inscriptions: "Warren Moon" Autograph #22 right). The autos were sweet, but I always feared they would fade. And you can see that on some cards online.
1997 Pinnacle Certified: “Keith Byars” #98
Pinnacle was not yet done with their "blunders" in the 1997 season. They also released a gigantic, (At this point, anything over 100 that Pinnacle released should've been considered gigantic), 150-card set. I mean, Pinnacle must've broken the bank for this set. The cards had a peel-away protective coating on the front. I never did peel anything off. (Note: As with anything this hobby does, "Topps: Finest" and "Topps: Stadium Club" also had the protective coating on some cards too). To me, the cards were ugly, but they did have a better player selection. By that I mean, every team was represented, (See the 1997
1997 Pinnacle Inscriptions: “Jr. Seau” #25
1995 Pinnacle Inscriptions: “Warren Moon" Autograph #22
designs, so a few players had 2 cards each, (See the 1996 Pinnacle Laserview: "Jim Everett" #12 below left). I was so close to putting this set on my "Least Favorite Sets" list, but I figured the Laser technology probably set Pinnacle back a little so I cut them some slack. Nevertheless, this set was awful. There was one silver lining to this set, the "Inscriptions Autographs" insert set.
Pinnacle Certified: "Keith Byars" #98 left). Even though I didn't like the main set, I did like the "Certified Gold Team" insert set, (See the 1997 Pinnacle Certified: "Karim Abdul-Jabbar" Certified Gold Team #15 left). I normally don't like these types of cards, but these were cool.
1997 was a banner year for "Pinnacle" and their "One Hitters". Next on their list was the "Pinnacle: Inside" set. Again, the huge sets were just pouring out of the Pinnacle warehouse, this one being another 150-card goliath, (See the 1997 Pinnacle Inside: “Orlando Pace" RC #123 below left). The rookie cards had some very cool photography and the player selection was much better, this set was actually a keeper. But the real grabber regarding this set was that the cards were sold in a can. Hence, the name; "Pinnacle: Inside". This set also featured a really nice, hard to find, autograph insert set. There were 28 autographs, mostly QBs, (Pinnacle loved quarterbacks), in this set, (See the 1997 Pinnacle Inside: “Heath Shuler" autograph #25 below right). I'd like to point out that every player signed on the "White" block except for Heath.
1997 Pinnacle Inside: “Orlando Pace” RC #123
Next up on Pinnacle's list of "One Hitters" is the "Pinnacle: X-Press". I know you won't believe me when I tell you that this set was a robust 150-card release. At this point, I'd love to be able to ask someone at Pinnacle, why they didn't just create one 450-card set with 20-card insert sets looking like the other two releases. Wouldn't that have been the same thing? Anyway, I thought the cards looked great, especially the rookie cards, (See the 1997 Pinnacle X-Press: "Troy Davis" RC #124 below left). It was right around this time, 1997 in fact, that the rookie cards kind of took on a life all their own. Upper Deck led the way with some really cool rookie cards, but Pinnacle was not far behind. Poor Troy had the look on his card that we all had regarding Pinnacle's sets; still waiting for something worth our time to come out of their
factory. The "97 X-Press release also had some very nice insert sets as well, my favorite being the "Divide and "Conquer" set. It's still is very difficult to find and still commands a very high book value. The other nice insert set is the "Bombs Away" set which is much easier to obtain, (See the 1997 Pinnacle X-Press: "Trent Dilfer" Bombs Away #17 below right.)
1997 Pinnacle Certified: “Karim Abdul-Jabbar” Certified Gold Team #15
1997 Pinnacle Inside: ”Heath Shuler” Autograph #25
We'll never know which of the "One Hitters" In 1997 would have come back in "98 because, in September 1998, Pinnacle closed it's doors. We do know that "Pinnacle: Inside" was a survivor. One of the "Pinnacle: Inside" sets was the "Stand-Up Guys" insert set. The cards fit together to form a "+" in order to stand up, hence the name. There were 25 cards in this promo set, making it a pretty awesome set to complete, if possible, (See the 1998 Pinnacle Inside: "Miami Dolphins" Stand-Up Guys #17 below right).
1997 Pinnacle X-Press: ”Troy Davis” RC #124
1998 Pinnacle Inscriptions: ”Aikman / Irvin / Smith” Pen Pals #2*
*Note: I do not own this card.
1997 Pinnacle X-Press: ”Trent Dilfer” Bombs Away #17
Of all the "One Hitters" to come from Pinnacle factory in the '97 it seems only the "Pinnacle Inscriptions" title survived. It made a small, but very significant appearance in '98. There was a small, yet very plentiful 3-card sealed promo set to make an appearance, but the real winner was the Pinnacle Inscriptions: "Pen Pals" autograph set, (See the 1998 Pinnacle Inscriptions: "Aikman / Irvin / Smith" Pen Pals #2 left). I believe this set fits right up there with some of the better autograph sets to come out in the last 20 years. Just the fact that it's NOT supposed to exist is so cool. And most of the cards aren't even signed. One of Pinnacle's last additions to the hobby landscape was this gem. Amazing!!
1998 Pinnacle Plus: ”Troy Aikman” A Piece of the Game #6
Some other cool promo cards to make it out of the Pinnacle labs in '98 were the "Pinnacle Plus: A Piece of the Game" insert set. It's another great insert set, but it would've been better if it was a memorabilia set, (See the 1998 Pinnacle Plus: "Troy Aikman" A Piece of the Game #6 below right). This set was a very nice 10-card set and another awesome set to complete, if possible. But the "Pinnacle: Plus" promos weren't done yet, there was also the "Pinnacle Plus: Sunday's Best". This set was a 15-card set, (See the 1998 Pinnacle Plus: "Eddie George" Sunday's Best #13 below right). Just another set in a long list of gifts Pinnacle gave the hobby before they closed up shop.
In closing, the sets on this page weren't all that to look forward too. Too many of the sets on this page were either too small or too short-lived to be of any consequence. The prices that these sets command on eBay tell you all you need to know about them. From the "Pinnacle: Certified" set to the "Pinnacle: X-Press" set and all the sets in-between, one can easily purchase all of them any day of the week. And even all the "Top Tier" players that Pinnacle selected for these sets, couldn't save them. There was one saving grace on this page and that was all the promo sets that snuck out. From the "Pinnacle: Plus" to the "Pinnacle: Inside" these sets are real gems.
I have complete sets:
Pinnacle Certified Series:
1) 1997 Pinnacle Certified Set
A) Certified Team Insert
B) Certified Team (Gold) Insert
C) Certified Epix Orange Insert
D) Certified Epix Purple Insert - Incomplete ( 7 / 24 )
Pinnacle Club Collection Series:
1) 1995 Pinnacle Club Collection Set
Pinnacle Inscriptions Series:
1) 1997 Pinnacle Inscriptions Set
A) Autographs Insert - Incomplete ( 29 / 31 )
B) V2 Insert
2) 1998 Pinnacle Inscriptions Set - Does Not Exist
A) Pen Pals Insert - Incomplete ( 10 / 11 )
B) Inscriptions Promo Set
Pinnacle Inside Series:
1) 1997 Pinnacle Inside Set
A) Autographs Insert - Incomplete ( 20 / 29 ) *
2) 1998 Pinnacle Inside Set - Does Not Exist
A) Stand-Up Guys Insert - Incomplete ( 22 / 25 ) *
Pinnacle Laserview Series:
1) 1996 Pinnacle Laserview Set
A) Eye Of The Prize Insert
B) Inscriptions Autographs Insert
Pinnacle Mint Series:
1) 1996 Pinnacle Mint Set
A) Coins Set
2) 1997 Pinnacle Mint Set
A) Coins Set
3) 1998 Pinnacle Mint Set
A) Coins Set
B) Mint Gems Insert
C) Impeccable Insert
D) Minted Moments Insert
E) Lasting Impressions Insert
Pinnacle Performers Series:
1) 1998 Pinnacle Performers Set - Does Not Exist
A) Big Bang Insert - Unreleased / Incomplete ( 4 / 20 ) *
Pinnacle Plus Series:
1) 1998 Pinnacle Plus Set - Does Not Exist
A) Sunday’s Best Insert - Unreleased / Incomplete ( 13 / 15 ) *
B) Go To Guys Insert - Unreleased / Incomplete ( 21 / 30 ) *
C) A Piece of the Game - Unreleased / Incomplete ( 6 / 10 ) *
D) Team Pinnacle - Unreleased / Incomplete ( 2 / 4 ) *
Pinnacle X-Press Series:
1) 1997 Pinnacle X-Press Set
A) Bombs Away Insert
B) Pursuit Of Paydirt Insert
1998 Pinnacle Inside: ”Miami Dolphins” Stand Up Guys #17
1998 Pinnacle Plus: ”Eddie George” Sunday's Best #13