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The 1952 Topps set was huge in almost every way. It had 407 cards, larger than any single-year issue to that point. The cards themselves were physically larger than collectors had been used to…some kids in 1952 trimmed their Topps cards with scissors to match the size of their Bowman Baseball Cards. The Bowman Baseball Cards featured a painted picture and used team logos on the front for the first time. The Bowman Baseball Card set features the first Topps cards of Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, and the rookie cards of Hall of Famers Eddie Mathews and Hoyt Wilhelm, and it is the Mantle card that may be the most sought-after in the hobby. (Some collectors don’t know this, but Mantle was a double-printed card; there are actually twice as many Mantle cards as there are of Al Dark.)

The Bowman Baseball Card set also has such a high degree of scarcity in its high series that some collectors will consider their 1952 set complete at 310 cards. In those days, card manufacturers issued their sets in two or more series to keep collectors buying their product throughout the baseball season. This also allowed baseball card companies to feature rookies and show traded players in their new uniforms. In most cases the final series would be issued around the beginning of football season, and merchants were less likely to order cards to sell so late in the season. As a result, fewer baseball cards got into circulation, and those final series tend to be scarce when compared to earlier series. In 1952, Topps’ final series has become legendary for its scarcity; rumors have circulated that the cards were widely distributed in Canada and that a garbage barge sent many of them to the bottom of the ocean.

1953 Bowman Gil McDougald Hobby experts may debate why the 1952 Topps high series is so scarce, but there is little debate that Bowman Baseball Cards paid attention. Bowman Baseball Cards 1953 cards were the same size as Topps’, and featured full-color player photos for the first time (Topps would not regularly use color photos on their cards until 1957). The design was simple, with no name, position or team listed on the front of the Bowman Baseball Cards. The backs featured statistics instead of a write-up, similar to the backs Topps had used in 1952. Bowman Baseball Cards issued a similar, separate series with black and white photos later in the season, because they could not afford to produce more color cards.

Production costs were not the only fatalities of the competition between Topps and Bowman Baseball Cards. Both Topps and Bowman Baseball Cards companies tried to get exclusive contracts from top players. Topps did not issue six cards in its 1953 set and dropped four cards from its 1955 set as a result of losing players to Bowman. In 1954, Bowman Baseball Cards lost Ted Williams after issuing his card in its set (resulting in a rare, very expensive card), while Topps featured Williams on the first and last cards in its 1954 set. Mickey Mantle was missing from Topps’ 1954 and 1955 sets, neither company had Stan Musial, and Topps had Jackie Robinson. The competition ended after the 1955 season when Topps bought Bowman Baseball Cards out.

Throughout the 1950s, there was much more for baseball card collectors to get excited about. Also noteworthy during this era were the (mostly regional) food issues. Most of these sets were issued as promotional items with hot dogs (Briggs Meats, Wilson Franks, Stahl-Meyer Franks and later Kahn's) or potato chips (Dan-Dee), or even dog food (Red Heart in 1954). The Exhibit Supply Company of Chicago also issued postcard-sized player cards during this era in penny vending machines. Wheaties issued a set in 1952 after a long run of featuring baseball players on its box panels, and cards were once again issued with tobacco: Red Man issued All-Star sets from 1952 through 1955.

Like radio before it, the development of broadcast television during the 1950s helped baseball immensely. Television not only brought the games into the fans' homes, it allowed the kids to see their favorite players in action. The fact that two of baseball's "golden eras" ran concurrently with the advent of radio (1920s) and television (1950s) is probably not a coincidence. Unlike the 1920s, this era also featured a healthy baseball card market. The influence of TV was so evident by 1955 that Bowman Baseball Cards final set was designed to show its players inside a television screen.

Bowman Baseball Cards at the Library of Congress Site

The Other Trading Cards Are

Baseball Cards

Candy Baseball Cards

Gum Baseball Cards

Post War Baseball Cards

Rare Baseball Cards

Topps Baseball Cards

Topps Baseball Cards - Competition

Tobacco Baseball Cards

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William Youngerman, Inc. Bank of America Building - 150 East
Palmetto Park Road - Suite 101 -
Boca Raton, FL 33432
(561) 368-7707 or (800 ) 327-5010