the 55 bowman mantle...
 

Thumbs down. One of his least attractive cards to my way of thinking.

Love the 55 Mantle 👍🏻 highly undervalued imo.

Glad I picked this up a couple of years ago.

Not a big fan of the 55 bowmans...but i do like that the umpires are depicted.

Great card ! I love the look and feel of it . I think just because they were made by bowman they are deemed inferior. Also when it comes to collecting most collectors follow the pack. And for years the general consensus has been that they ugly . I don't see it that way I love the Aaron most of all .

due to the set design or Mick's pose?

I agree with you Bob, the thinner border at the bottom of the cards centering does look better to the eye. Both of your cards are very nice.

The pose is OK, I think it's the set. Prefer more of a head shot for the most part then again I like the 57 and 65 batting poses so that can't be the problem.

I recently picked up a well centered 6 for my Mantle run. It's my least favorite card of his. Just not a fan of the set design or his pose.

I'm not a fan of the set at all.

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Shame on you Bob. There's no such thing as " just another Mantle card ".

Probable my least favorite regular issue... but it's growing on me.

The pose is ok, I'm just not a fan of the design. I guess 1987 Topps ruined wood grain borders for me.

But can we all agree it's better than the Topps Mantle that year?

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Are you referring to the SI insert or something else?

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'54 Bowman Mantle
 

A '54 Bowman Mantle that is nicely centered, where the wood grain is not chipped is harder to find than in almost any other issue. That being said, it always seems as if the high-end cards are not in demand as much as in other sets.

I like the youthful look on this card - but personally find the '56 Topps still my favorite.

Z

back when I did my Mantle runs, this was one card I did NOT LIKE!!!!!

My Vote Is
 

For what it is worth....I call this card a classic. The TV (That I grew up with) motif is enough to seal the deal for me. Plus I have fuzzy memories of opening the '55 Bowman wax packs right off of the corner store counter. So...there is that nostalgic factor for me personally. For all of you young folks that did not experience the Clunk-Klunk-clunk of turning those knobs...I encourage you to buy one of these TV sets,working or not, at a garage sale, just for the thrill of the sound....

I wasn't around in 1955 but I remember growing up with some older TVs that still had the nobs you had to turn by hand, including a black and white one at my grand parents place. My aunt even had one missing the nobs. We had to use a set of pliers to change the channel.

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Hallalulah
 

You bet. Those plastic parts that went over the metal "stud" were not very durable. The pliers on top of the set were very standard for the era. Thank you for sharing that detail. With the fine cabinetry associated with this stuff many peeps have come to call this "Talking Furniture". I know we are getting a bit off topic and I apologize for that.

I love the 55...I have a SGC 5 example with decent centering for my Mantles and a couple not graded. He looks so young and it's a great pose. I am partial to the 55 Bowmans though as I had some poor examples as a kid of some commons when it was really difficult to get your hands on anything that old. Nostalgic for me.


My worst Mantle BY FAR is the 1967 Topps. I think the 67's are one of the most popular set designs of the 60s, and that card is so dissapointing. The background is even ugly...terrible card. How much do you think the value would be if you take 1967 Topps card 277 Steve Whitaker and imagine Mantle in that pose and background. What a Yankee image...love that card. I believe the 65 Topps has a premium value due to pose, had the Whitaker pose been used in 67 I would guess the card to have twice the value. My theory anyhow.

John O I totally agree with you. The 67 Mantle Card is awful :-( 65 and 60 are my two favorite Mantle cards in the 60's, 66 a close third imo looks wise.

1955
 

I only did the set to finish the run, but kind of like it. The umpire cards may be unique but we're a pain since they are high #s. The set was a last ditch effort by Bowman and I think they hoped the TV format would become a draw. However, in 1955 there were not many households with color TVs.

There are 2 recurring print defect versions of the 67 Mantle

Never was a huge fan of the design of the set. But as someone mentioned, the Umps in the set are cool.

Love the '55 Bowman Mantle. Probably love the '53 a little more, but still a classic card. Bowman did a much better job with Mantle than Topps did.

Great card!
 

I like the 55 bowman too, especially if it is centered and with strong
corners. I got a fellow board member to agree with me and now he is
following my lead and putting it on his want list.

just like your love of the Duke of Flatbush, the Red Heart Ashburn and the 38 Joe D .... people follow your lead

Yep!

I love all those 50s players, teams. I guess I just have a love of the game in the 50s-60s. the golden age.