NHL 1996/97 Upper Deck Superstar Showdown - No SS5A - Wayne Gretzky

This two-series, 390-card set was distributed in 12-card packs. The set was highlighted by the use of actual game dating for much of the photography, the selection of which included some of the most memorable moments of the '96 season. The set is noteworthy for including Wayne Gretzky in his new uniform as a New York Ranger both in the set and on all packaging. The set also contained a 15-card Star Rookie subset (#181-195), a 13-card Through the Glass subset (#196-208), a 10-card On-Ice Insight subset (359-368) and four checklist cards. Several key rookies appeared in this set, including Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Daniel Tkaczuk, and Dainius Zubrus. The "Meet the Stars" promotion was continued in this set, which gave the collector an opportunity to win a chance to meet "The Great One" himself. Trivia cards were inserted one in every four packs and Instant Win cards one in every 56 packs. These cards are not widely traded, but are now worth about ten cents each.

Randomly inserted in first series packs at a rate of 1:4, this 60-card set featured 30 different one-on-one match-ups of the NHL's top stars. Each of the card fronts displays a single player photo with a die-cut design that enables the cards to be matched together in pairs.

Wayne Gretzky - New York Rangers