1951 Bowman Football

[Jayworld]

Well, after several years of musing, I've decided to take the dip and try to start/finish the 1951 Bowman football set in about VG-/VG+ condition (no graded cards). My reasons are simple: I have always loved the painted artwork of the 1950-52 Bowman baseball cards, and the 1951 Bowman baseball set has been and is my favorite, but unfortunately that set is too cost prohibitive to complete (with the Mantle, Mays, high numbers, etc.), so it currently is at 62 cards (with a Williams and Campanella so far)...

So, the 1951 Bowman football set appeals to me; love the similar backs to the baseball set, love the fronts with the player names plus the team logos (why didn't they do this for baseball?) Over the past two weeks, I've acquired seven cards so far. In researching, I see the Landry, Baugh, Graham cards to be the top cost cards; anyone have any suggestions or tips as I start through this amazing set?

Thanks!

[LuckyLarry]

You are right, it's a great set! I'm four cards short of a full set and don't really have any advice except have fun with your cards!
Larry

[Jayworld]

Larry:
Thanks, and that's awesome! Which four are you missing?

[jefferyepayne]

Congrats, Jay! Keep us posted and show your cards as you get them. 1951 isn't difficult to put together so you should be able to just focus on finding ones you like and enjoying the ride. Here are a few others besides the ones you mentioned that are stars you'll need to snag.







Of course, no set is complete without its wrapper ...



jeff

[Jayworld]

Wow, very cool, Jeff. Thanks for sharing. I will certainly post my cards as I acquire them. Will probably be a long process. I've been working on and off on the 1951 Bowman baseball since 1979! Of course, with a really attainable goal, the 1951 football won't take near that long!

[LuckyLarry]

Originally Posted by Jayworld

Larry:
Thanks, and that's awesome! Which four are you missing?

#2 Otto Graham
#4 Norm Van Brocklin (RC)
#20 Tom Landry (RC)
#90 Tony Canada

[PowderedH2O]

This is one of my favorite football sets ever. I'm slowly working on it as well. I was about 75% through it in PSA 7 or higher, then sold all of my graded cards. I'm about 30% in now in Vg-Ex/Ex. Even in mid grade, they are gorgeous!

[S_GERACE]

Hi Jay,
You've picked a beautiful set to work on! I also think it's very undervalued (I don't collect as an investment but it is something that you should be aware of). Most of the attention goes toward the 1950 and the two 1952 sets (Large & small) due to the abundance of rookie cards in them but this set is every bit as nice in my book.

A few of the attributes that you'll want to be aware of are the following:

1.) As with any vintage issue, well centered cards can be tough to find. The cards overall are relatively plentiful with the high #'s being slightly tougher to find. From what I've read about the set, the Lavelli card is one of the more difficult cards to find centered.

2.) Print lines and sub par registration are common with this issue (much like the baseball issue from the same year). I always look at the team logo as my litmus test for optimal picture quality. This is important on cards like the Baugh where his face is little and even a slight shift in the print quality can make the details muted (imo).

3.) Again, similar to the baseball issue wax stains on the reverse are fairly common. As long as they're not huge, I don't really worry about it.

Good luck on your pursuit and keep everyone posted. Here are some of the key cards from the set in my collection (I know, its a lot but its one of my favorite sets and I'm proud of them).

[LuckyLarry]

Some more favorites

[BigDaddyBowman]

I have been building the 51 Bowman set for about 5 years now. The last 3 years have been a slow go...but did just upgrade and picked this card up. First addition to the set in over a year. About 5 cards from completion.

[BigDaddyBowman]

Being an old center and an offensive line coach I have always loved this card.

[BigDaddyBowman]

Since being a Cleveland Browns fan all I have is the past....here are the cards of the greatest team ever...the 40/50 Browns!

[DBesse27]

That Bulldog Turner is siiiiick! Love the Otto and Groza too. I was sort of collecting Groza for a while. Believe I have most of his cards except his rookie.

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Sweet 51s everyone!

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[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Steve, those Rams cards are so awesome! Every time I cruise through looking at 51s and 52s, the Rams cards stand out! I think I am going to work on this set, thanks to the inspiration provided by Jay. Can't wait to get the Rams cards!

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[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Oh, I did buy a common the other day. Kalminar was my first one because he's a Ram!

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[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Originally Posted by vintagebaseballcardguy

Oh, I did buy a common the other day. Kalminar was my first one because he's a Ram!

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Sorry, Kalmanir.

Originally Posted by Steve D

Here's my L. A. Rams team set:






Steve

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[DBesse27]

I agree that those are some great Rams cards!

[Jayworld]

Keep those great scans coming! Such an awesome looking set.

I will post my scans later this week. Will have 7-8 cards to post (so far).

Also, through some research, saw that the topic of the 1951 Bowman football set had been discussed on the forum back in 2007:
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=111176

[PowderedH2O]

Anyone know of sheets that fit these?

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing.

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[DBesse27]

I just love the Landry cards being shown

[jefferyepayne]

In theory I always liked the idea of using 4 pocket sheets for small sets where each card is also inside a top loaders. Lots of protection with that method. The issue I've had is that if you happen to tilt the binder towards the top when picking it up, some of the cards side out of their pockets and spill out onto the floor or table. Same thing has happened when I've used 4 pocket sheets to hold graded cards ... particularly PSA holders.

So for raw cards I always use the smallest pocket available that they fit into to keep them from moving around too much. I don't even try to put graded cards in binders any longer.

jeff

[Jayworld]

Since my initial post on 5/31 (at which time I had 7 cards), I have added 17 more, including Sammy Baugh and Y.A. Tittle. Total of 24 cards now and counting, with only one below the VG-/VG+ range and will be a filler (purchased as part of a 4-card lot). This is one really nice set, and I'm having fun collecting football cards, something that I have not done since 1979. Here's what I have so far:

[Hot Springs Bathers]

Looking at these great cards make me wish that someone still made pages for this size card, same goes for Chicle or Goudey sixed cards?