A Guide to Baseball's First Patch Card: 1997 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr

In 1997, Upper Deck released a product that would change card innovation forever. Included in the set was a chance to pull the first ever patch card, a card with a swatch of a game worn jersey by the player. Fittingly, one of the first made was card number GJ1, Ken Griffey Jr., one of the highest collected players in the hobby still today.

The pack odds were incredibly rare at one out of every 800. And the set, called Game Jersey, was a selection of only three players: Ken Griffey Jr., Tony Gwynn, and Rey Ordonez.

The card featured a photo of the player on the upper part of the card, with the jersey patch nestled right below. Each one has baseball-centric uniform pinstripes and a nice black border at the bottom. The writing on the card is gold inlay.

Low Pop Count Across All Companies

The pop count across the three big grading companies is incredibly low. With PSA, the pop count for Griffey is just 99. None have been given a GM 10 grade. PSA has graded 32 copies of the Rey Ordonez and just one has received a GM Mint 10 grade. Gwynn has the most graded copies at 120. Amazingly, PSA has given three copies of Gwynn's jersey card a GM Mint 10 grade. A total of 245 cards across all three players have been graded with PSA.

Beckett is the next company in graded numbers. A total of just 74 copies across all three players have been sent to BGS. Griffey makes up most of that 74 with 50 copies graded. And just like with PSA, there have been no copies that earned a 9.5 grade. There are 21 BGS graded copies of Gwynn's card. Five cards got a BGS grade of 9.5. Ordonez makes up a measly three of the 74 total graded BGC copies. None of those three have received a GM 9.5.

Tony Gwynn's 1997 Upper Deck Game Jersey card. | eBay | https://ebay.us/m/jWBVsi

The third biggest grader with the lowest graded copies is SGC. According to their pop count just 48 copies of across all three players have been graded with SGC. Griffey has 26 graded SGC versions of this card. Gwynn has 15 SGC graded copies, and Ordonez has just seven graded SGC copies. SGC is the only company to not have issued a GM Mint grade. The highest grade SGC has given to any of these cards is nine, with a Griffey copy earning one and Gwynn getting five.

The Market For The Game Jersey Cards

The market for these cards is strong, especially with Griffey. Using the Card Ladder Sales feature, a Griffey copy graded a BGS Mint 9 sold on February 15, 2026 for an astonishing $7,603 via eBay auction after 35 bids.

The value really dips down with Tony Gwynn. Card Ladder shows that there was a PSA Mint 9 (a comparable grade to BGS) that sold on September 25, 2025 for just $408

While he was a great player, Rey Ordonez was by far the least accomplished player in the set, and it's reflected in his card sales. The last sale of a raw 1997 Upper Deck Rey Ordonez Game Jersey card was on January 5, 2026. The card ultimately sold for $75 on eBay via Best Offer. While $75 is not close to the other two players in the set, $75 for a 1997 card of a average-to-above average player is a pretty good return.

What It Did For The Card Hobby

It was the first of it's kind. But the Game Jersey set in 1997 was by far not the last. Now collectors can chase patch autographs, jumbo patch cards, and even cards with bases, or gloves, or pieces of the bases imbedded into the cardboard. It makes you wonder what they'll think of next.