When Pacific Ornaments inserts tried to give Clark Griswold a run for his money
By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation has no shortage of memorable moments. One of them involves Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) lighting up the skies with his circuit-breaking decorations.
And as bright and busy as the Griswold house was, Pacific Ornaments inserts took a similarly busy approach to the holidays. Yes, baseball, football and hockey cards that doubled as things that could be hung from a Christmas tree.
The line began with a 20-card insert set in 1999 Pacific Prisms Football. They’re each die-cut into one of five different shapes: a bell, stocking, Christmas ball, wreath or tree (complete with a star on top). If that weren’t enough to make them stand out in a product that had plenty of flash to begin with, the cards are printed with wild foil backgrounds that plaster “Merry Christmas” and plenty more into the background.
And, yes, the first ones even came with a piece of string to hang them with.
Pacific Ornaments inserts continued on through 2001 in four more sets. All carried the same basic premise of the In 2000, it expanded into baseball. 1999-00 Revolution Hockey was the only time they were used for that sport.
It’s a matter of taste and preference when it comes to the Pacific Ornaments. Loud and quirky has its fans as well as its detractors. It’s the same with the busy, Griswold-esque houses that line the streets during the holidays. Some just keep on driving while others get to appear on television specials.
Value-wise, the Pacific Ornaments don’t carry a premium for their holiday theme. Most can be found for a few dollars with only a handful of top players commanding much more.
Here’s a breakdown of all five of the Pacific Ornaments sets produced over the years sorted by sport (baseball then football then hockey).
2000 Pacific Baseball Ornaments Checklist
1:12.5 packs.
1 Mo Vaughn, Anaheim Angels
2 Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves
3 Greg Maddux, Atlanta Braves
4 Cal Ripken, Baltimore Orioles
5 Nomar Garciaparra, Boston Red Sox
6 Sammy Sosa, Chicago Cubs
7 Frank Thomas, Chicago White Sox
8 Manny Ramirez, Cleveland Indians
9 Larry Walker, Colorado Rockies
10 Jeff Bagwell, Houston Astros
11 Mike Piazza, New York Mets
12 Roger Clemens, New York Yankees
13 Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
14 Scott Rolen, Philadelphia Phillies
15 J.D. Drew, St. Louis Cardinals
16 Mark McGwire, St. Louis Cardinals
17 Tony Gwynn, San Diego Padres
18 Ken Griffey Jr., Seattle Mariners
19 Alex Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners
20 Ivan Rodriguez, Texas Rangers
2001 Pacific Baseball Ornaments Checklist
1:18.5 packs. #21-24 are retail-only.
1 Rafael Furcal, Atlanta Braves
2 Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves
3 Greg Maddux, Atlanta Braves
4 Cal Ripken, Baltimore Orioles
5 Nomar Garciaparra, Boston Red Sox
6 Pedro Martinez, Boston Red Sox
7 Sammy Sosa, Chicago Cubs
8 Frank Thomas, Chicago White Sox
9 Ken Griffey Jr., Cincinnati Reds
10 Manny Ramirez, Cleveland Indians
11 Todd Helton, Colorado Rockies
12 Vladimir Guerrero, Montreal Expos
13 Mike Piazza, New York Mets
14 Roger Clemens, New York Yankees
15 Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
16 Pat Burrell, Philadelphia Phillies
17 Rick Ankiel, St. Louis Cardinals
18 Mark McGwire, St. Louis Cardinals
19 Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants
20 Alex Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners
21 Troy Glaus, Anaheim Angels
22 Tom Glavine, Atlanta Braves
23 Jim Edmonds, St. Louis Cardinals
24 Ivan Rodriguez, Texas Rangers
1999 Pacific Prisms Football Ornaments Checklist
1:25 packs.
1 Jake Plummer, Arizona Cardinals
2 Jamal Anderson, Atlanta Falcons
3 Cade McNown, Chicago Bears
4 Tim Couch, Cleveland Browns
5 Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys
6 Deion Sanders, Dallas Cowboys
7 Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys
8 Terrell Davis, Denver Broncos
9 Barry Sanders, Detroit Lions
10 Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers
11 Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts
12 Mark Brunell, Jacksonville Jaguars
13 Fred Taylor, Jacksonville Jaguars
14 Dan Marino, Miami Dolphins
15 Randy Moss, Minnesota Vikings
16 Drew Bledsoe, New England Patriots
17 Terrell Owens, San Francisco 49ers
18 Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers
19 Steve Young, San Francisco 49ers
20 Jon Kitna, Seattle Seahawks
2000 Pacific Revoltuion Football Ornaments Checklist
1:25 packs.
1 Thomas Jones, Arizona Cardinals
2 Jake Plummer, Arizona Cardinals
3 Jamal Anderson, Atlanta Falcons
4 Jamal Lewis, Baltimore Ravens
5 Cade McNown, Chicago Bears
6 Corey Dillon, Cincinnati Bengals
7 Peter Warrick, Cincinnati Bengals
8 Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys
9 Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys
10 Mike Anderson, Denver Broncos
11 Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis Colts
12 Edgerrin James, Indianapolis Colts
13 Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts
14 Mark Brunell, Jacksonville Jaguars
15 Daunte Culpepper, Minnesota Vikings
16 Ron Dayne, New York Giants
17 Plaxico Burress, Pittsburgh Steelers
18 Marshall Faulk, St. Louis Rams
19 Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams
1999-00 Pacific Revolution Hockey Ornaments Checklist
1:25 packs.
1 Paul Kariya, Anaheim Ducks
2 Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Ducks
3 Sergei Samsonov, Boston Bruins
4 Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres
5 Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames
6 Peter Forsberg, Colorado Avalanche
7 Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche
8 Ed Belfour, Dallas Stars
9 Mike Modano, Dallas Stars
10 Brendan Shanahan, Detroit Red Wings
11 Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings
12 Pavel Bure, Florida Panthers
13 Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
14 John LeClair, Philadelphia Flyers
15 Eric Lindros, Philadelphia Flyers
16 Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins
17 Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightning
18 Curtis Joseph, Toronto Maple Leafs
19 Mats Sundin, Toronto Maple Leafs
20 Mark Messier, Vancouver Canucks
Wot… no soccer!!!!
Yeah, might have to get some of these for next year. I dig the Cardinals guys and my wife will like the Phillies on the list.
I need that Peter Forsberg for my Avalanche collection!
I have one of the (…embarrassed look…) Cade McNown ornaments. Obviously I’m a Bears fan (and I still have a hard time paying for anything with McNown on it.) The ornaments are quite unique and festive, in a Clark Griswold sort of way. I miss some of the old Pacific stuff.