The Z-Word

1995 was the peak or crowning point for the word "zenith".  According to the Collins Dictionary, "zenith" is the time when something is most successful or powerful.

1955 Bowman #199

Now up until that year, I had always associated the Z-word with televisions.  But that all changed in 1995.  That's when Pinnacle (which is synonymous with "zenith") released its Zenith line of trading cards as a way of competing with other card manufacturers' high end products.  From that moment on... the Z-Word made me think of sports cards instead of electronics.

Unfortunately back then... I was still in college with only a part-time job, so I had to pick and choose what I opened.  I can't remember opening any packs of Zenith that year, but I was the guy who hung out at my LCS watching others busting open the stuff.

The Z-Team inserts were the cards most collectors were hoping to pull.  They utilized Pinnacle's popular Dufex technology and the checklist included big names like Cal Ripken Jr., Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Thomas, and Barry Bonds.  But the biggest draw was their perceived rarity.  Seeded at 1 in every 72 packs, people weren't guaranteed to pull them from a box (of 24 packs).  Plus there were 18 cards in the set, so if you were lucky enough to pull a big name... it meant you pulled something pretty special.

Remember this wasn't a low-end product.  According to Baseballcardpedia... packs had an MSRP of $5.  It wouldn't surprise me if guys like Griffey and Ripken commanded triple digits at card shows and card shops.  These inserts were released right around the time eBay was starting up and online card exchanges were still in their infancy stage, which meant collectors didn't have instant access to specific players.

1995 Zenith Z-Team #12

I honestly don't remember if the Tony Gwynn popped up in my area.  If it did, I didn't buy it for one reason or another.  Over the years, the card joined the plethora of 90's inserts that got lost in the shuffle and forgotten over time.

A few months ago, I decided to add it to my saved eBay searches.  Can't remember what jogged my memory.  Maybe it was a blog post of yours or a YouTube video.  Regardless... I sat around and waited for a copy to fall into my budget which was around $10.  Then two weeks ago, I finally added it to my collection with a winning bid of $5.58 (+ $4.77 tax & shipping).  I went 35¢ over budget... but I can live with that.

By the way... fans of Zenith are still in luck.  Panini has produced baseball, football, and racing Zenith products as recently as 2021.  But to me... Zenith products and the Z-word itself peaked back in 1995.

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!