1951 Bowman baseball cards

In 1950 the Bowman Gum Company of Philadelphia were the only company to release a national baseball card set. The 1950 Bowman set included 252 cards and the cards measured 5.2cm x 6.4cm (2-1/16in by 2-1/2in). The front of the cards featured hand-painted color reproductions of actual black and white photographs.
In 1951 a similar style was used, hand-painted colour reproductions of black and white photographs, some of the 1950 images were reused on the 1951 card set. But Bowman increased the size of the cards to 5.2cm x 7.9cm ( 2-1/16in by 3-1/8in) and increased the number of cards to 324. This was the biggest set of baseball cards at the time.
In 1950 Bowman had a monopoly, but in 1951 Topps entered the baseball card market with their 52 card blue back, 52 card red back playing card game.
The two most desired cards from the 1951 Bowman set are the rookie cards of Mickey Mantle #253 and Willie Mays #305, both of which are horizontal cards. Mantle wasn't included in the 1951 Topps set, he had to wait until the following year for his Topps debut. Some notable omissions from the 1951 set were Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial and Jackie Robinson.
I really like the Bowman sets from the 1950's. With some fear of being shunned by the baseball collecting fraternity, I prefer the Bowman cards over the Topps from this era. That is until 1955 when Bowman ceased to produced baseball cards.

The three cards I obtained from e-bayUK were:

#20 Del Crandell (Crandall) Boston Braves

#27 Jim Konstanty Phillies

#125 Bill Rigney New York Giants

As an added bonus the seller added these two 1957 Topps 'football' cards, not in any great condition but the design is lovely. I am not a collector of football, so if someone can give them a good home it would be appreciated.

1955 Bowman

I have asked it before and I don't mind repeating myself. What is the matter with '55 Bowman cards? Why is there no love for '55 Bowman - 'the TV set'?

I won an auction on e-bay UK for 49 cards from this set, without challenge. They may not be in the best condition, ranging from poor to fair, but they are from the 1955...and Bowman...and I love this set. The last set produced under the Bowman name until it resurfaced in 1989.

The previous owner (owners)has made some of these cards unique. A number are cut down by a fraction possibly to make them fit in some sort of holder, wallet or pocket? A few more have names added; C.C owned a couple, then one or two have been used a playing cards with 2 and 4 added to the four corners of the back.

The best individualisation by far is #96 Ray Narleski. At first glance I thought of Superbad but then realised that the previous owner had drawn daggers across his arms and face. The back was subjected to a similar fate. What is that about?

For those who are interested the auction included;

#4 Eddie Waitkins Orioles

#67 Don Larson Yankees

#83 Max Surkont Pirates

#96 Ray Narleski Indians

#106 Del Rice Cardinals

#107 Solly Hemus Cardinals

#120 Ed Burtschy Athletics

#127 Hank Majeski Indians

#131 Willard Marshall White Sox

#137 Bob Talbot Cubs

#140 Bobby Shantz Athletics

#141 Wes Westrum Giants

#144 Art Houtteman Indians

#145 Bob Nieman White Sox

#146 Don Liddle Giants

#150 Bill Klaus Red Sox

#153 Eddie Robinson Yankees

#155 Gerry Staley Redlegs

#157 Ernie Johnson Braves

#162 Charlie Maxwell Orioles

#163 Sid Gordon Pirates

#165 Maurice McDermott Senators

#169 Carl Furillo Dodgers

#176 Joe De Maestri Athletics

#177 Willard Nixon Red Sox

#180 Johnny Logan Braves

#182 Bob Rush Cubs

#190 Fred Baezewski Redlegs

#192 George Strickland Indians

#193 Howie Judson Redlegs

#197 Ralph Kiner Indians

#203 Steve Gromek Tigers

#211 Sonny Dixon Athletics

#212 Jack Dittmer Braves

#217 Del Crandall Braves

#218 Joe Adcock Braves

#219 Whitey Lockman Giants

#221 Skinny Brown Red Sox

#223 Hal Jeffcoat Cubs

#226 W.J.McKinley Umpire

#237 Johnny Wyrostek Phillies

#249 Billy Gardner Giants

#257 Tom Alston Cardinals

#261 Walt Moryn Dodgers

#271 Bob Hopper Indians

#299 Lonnie Warneke Umpire

#300 Tommy Byrne Yankees

#307 R.A. Pinelli Umpire

#310 Ken Lehman Dodgers

They are rough, pre-loved, but what an addition to the collection.

1952 Bowman

Only a short while ago I obtained some 1952 Bowman cards. Four cards to be exact and their condition was fair to poor. I was happy because I had some 1952 Bowman cards in my collection. I wasn't sure why I was able to grab these cards when I realised that 1952 was the first year of the Topps brand. Topps were bigger and there was more to collect. I discovered an interesting article describing the '52 Bowman cards as the 'forgotten set' because it is overshadowed by the '52 Topps.

There is however some of the bigger names in baseball included in the Bowman set such as: Mickey Mantle #101, Willie Mays #218, Stan Musial #196 (there wasn't a Musial card in 1952 Topps)and Duke Snider #116, to name but a few and what would it be like to be a player collector of Ebba St. Claire #172, Hoot Evers #249, Enos Slaughter #232 or Eddie Stanky #160. Perhaps they did it on purpose but Mickey Mantle #101 is between Sibby Sisti #100 and Peanuts Lowrey #102.

So why is the '52 Bowman set not as popular with today's collectors as the '52 Topps?

Size? Perhaps. Bowman stuck with the 2-1/16 X 3-1/8 cards that had served them well in previous years and Topps on the other hand went bigger with 2-5/8 X 3-3/4 inch.

Set size? Bowman 252, Topps 407.

Information? The bigger Topps card allowed for more statistical information to be printed including past years records. One third of the back of the Bowman card is an advertisment for the Bowman Gum Company.

Picture? Both used the same process of colourised black and white photographs of the players. Bowman provided a background, usually a stadium, while many of the Topps cards had plain mono-colour backgrounds. Was Bowman an inferior card?

Lack of Rookies? Only 3 notables in Bowman. Every card could be considered a 'Rookie' in the Topps set.

Kudos? Last of the small Bowman sets. First of the 'Modern' bigger Topps era.

The upshot is, I was able to pick up seven more of the 1952 Bowman set, including three Boston Red Sox cards. There was no interest in the auction, I won all of them with 1 bid. I added:

#117 Bill Wright Red Sox
#120 Al Corwin Giants
#127 Dick Sisler Reds
#129 Gus Niarhos Red Sox
#137 Stan Rojek Browns
#139 Jerry Priddy Tigers
#140 Ray Scarborough Red Sox.

These could all be considered to be in fair condition, but I won't quibble about condition. I may be the only person around that likes these more than '52 Topps. Then again I do not own any '52 Topps so that could sway it in favour of '52 Bowman.

1955 Bowman baseball Yankees

I cannot begin to understand the collecting habits of card collectors in the UK. Recent game used cards and in particular autographed cards go for sometimes stupid amounts of money, while cards as important to the hobby as these 1955 Bowman go for 99p.
The 1955 Bowman baseball card set was the last that the Bowman Gum Company produced. The company was bought by Topps in 1955 and the Bowman brand didn't resurface for another 30plus years.

The auction was for three Yankees, which included two Rookie cards; #68 Elston Howard and #167 Bob Grim plus #201 Allie Reynolds. The Elston Howard card is of major significance as he was the first African American to play for the Yankees and was in his MLB rookie year. In contrast Allie Reynolds retired in 1954, after a long and successful career which started in 1942 with the Cleveland Indians and ended with the Yankees. Both players featured in many All-Star and World Series games.

The third player,Bob Grim bounced around few clubs until he played his final game in 1962 when he was with Kansas City Athletics.

The seller also included a 1978 Topps Don Gullett and a 1979 Topps Jim Beattie.

1952 Bowman

These would be more at home at 'Things done to cards' but I picked up these 4 1952 Bowman cards on e-bay UK for the massive amount of 99p. Yes I was a little surprised as well.
We have card #59 Murray Dickson Pirates, #89 Billy Hitchcock Athletics, #73 Jerry Coleman Yankees and #7 Mike Garcia Indians.

Not the best examples of this set but much loved and nice looking cards none the less.
It's a shame that Topps didn't persevere with the Bowman Heritage brand. The modern versions, based on the 1950's Bowman designs, have always been a favourite of mine. I was lucky enough to secure the 2005 Bowman Heritage Rookie card of Jacoby Ellsbury recently as well.

I also found that these cards came in 1 card penny packs, so it would technically cost you $2.52 to buy the entire set of 252 cards. On the back it explains that you could purchase a $1.00 baseball cap for 50cents and 5 wrappers. Oh to be alive and collecting in 1952.

2008 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects Baseball

They forget the K.I.S.S motto~ Keep it Simple Stupid ~ with this set.
There are 55 cards in the Bowman base set.
There are 55 cards in the Bowman Chrome base set.
There are 110 cards in the Bowman Prospects base set.
There are 110 cards in the Bowman Chrome Prospects base set.
There are parallels for the Bowman: Red, Blue, Gold and a printing plate.
There are parallels for the Bowman Chrome: Red, Orange, Gold, Blue, Refractors, X-Fractors, Super fractors and printing plates.
I won't go into the variety of autographs...
This pack came from Rob at Texas Rangers Cards. There 7 cards in every pack of which 2 are Bowman Chrome.

The pack:

BDP1 Nick Adenhart Angels

BDP48 David Robinson Yankees

BDP17 Jaime Garcia Cardinals Chrome

BDPP16 Shane Dyer Bay Rays Chrome

BDPP63 Matt Cerda Cubs Gold

BDPP77 Cliff Pennington Athletics

BDPP101 Fernando Martinez Mets

No Red Sox!
The Resume, Skills and Up-close information on the back is very interesting. But if there is one thing I have learnt from these cards, about the up and coming players, is that they cannot sign their name for toffee. Most look like a scribble. It might be a minor complaint but they must know that there is a possibility of hitting the big time and their signatures will be sought after. A little effort and practice. I know a minor and very picky complaint.