Building 1953 Bowman Color Full Set
 

Well, I have decided to take the plunge and build a full set of 1953 Bowman color cards. Who could know? But I do have many cards over what I consider the best baseball years ever that are considered desirable. So when I made a swap a few weeks back and acquired some really nice '52 Topps and '53 Bowman color cards, I had to pause and reflect on just how awesome these two sets truly are. I have no full sets. I did as a kid, and I miss that, very much. It was something that at that time, my dad and I both enjoyed together collecting and building those sets. I now wish I never got away from them. I have no false hope of putting together a '52 Topps set at this late point of my life, but I now have the really hard to get or pricey '53 Bowman colors, including Mantle and Reese and others, so why not? After reading through this wonderful blog about your sets, I've decided to give it a go myself. It won't be anything to write home about, condition wise, and I want it to be all raw cards, so please wish me luck. I imagine adding the black and whites to make it an entire set.

Complete sets have always been my favorite part of collecting (guess it stuck with me once I got used to trying to finish them as a kid). Even with items as modest as collecting all the mini NFL helmets from those quarter machines in the '80s.

And with how today's market focuses a lot more on individual cards, you can sometimes buy vintage sets for reasonable prices. I tried to do that as much as possible after I started collecting again.

Good luck jingram. It is a great set and it has my favorite Musial.

Good luck!
 

I am not per se a set collector, but if I was 53 Bowman color would definitely be on the list of sets I would collect - just a beautiful set! Please post pics of some of your cards and share the progress you make!

Here is what I got via trade. Believe me, I gave up good cards to get these. Also, 3 cards that came in the mail today. There will be a few more pricey ones, perhaps, but I think it can be done over the next few months. Won't be the most high-end set, but it will be the first set I've built in 50 years!

I had a handful of 53 Bowmans, all stars, including the Mantle when I was a teenager in the late 70s. I ended up selling them in order to go to a summer debate institute. Almost 40 years later, I saw two raw 53 Bowmans at a local show for .50 each. I bought them out of nostalgia; however, it opened a Pandora's Box and I began piecing a set together.

Many on this board can speak with greater authority than I can about collecting this set. I can share my experiences from the last year in compiling my Bowman set from scratch.

1. It isn't a hard set to complete and with the exception of several cards not too terribly expensive to piece together. One poster suggested purchasing a complete set. That would save money and then you would have to upgrade only as necessary. It's also fun to piece it together, more on that in a bit.

2. When I began my quest last December I had planned to purchase raw cards in vg condition. The commons would be in vg/ex at best and the stars in fair to good condition. That didn't last very long. I have this compulsion to improve my cards and as in the past all the cards had to be in vg/ex across the board. Then I decided that I wasn't happy with the look of certain cards and now I'm crafting my set where I have a few cards in vg/ex while the others have to be in ex to ex-mint. About 30 of the cards are graded, including the Mantle, Berra, both combo cards, some minor stars and various singles throughout the set. One day I hope to trade my graded cards for their raw equivalents as I keep the set in plastic sheets in a binder.

3. As I keep upgrading I end up with extras. At this point I have had over 100 extras which I have hoped I could use to trade for other upgrades. That hasn't worked out as I had hoped. Virtually all of my purchases have come from eBay which has added to roughly 5.00 per card to my cost. There are also many cards available in vg/ex or less condition, meaning I'm in competiton with other sellers/collectors to get rid of my extras. As I said earlier, this isn't a hard set to complete and if you focus and remain focused on a certain grade, you'll do fine.

4. Ebay seems to be the easiest source for 53 Bowman color, but if you can buy locally or attain them from fellow collectors you have a better chance of saving money. I live in southeast Los Angeles County where there aren't many outlets to purchase 53 Bowmans, the stores that do have some are way on the other side of Los Angeles which I don't have much of an opportunity to visit. Singles for 53 Bowmans don't appear as often on the collector's sites, though there are groups through social media where there's activity. Some collectors who read this post and are active could speak to that.

5. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to raw cards. Some collectors and sellers have a broad interpretation, particularly when it comes to cards in the vg/ex to ex-mint range. I've had my best luck purchasing through Kent Jones and Sirius on eBay when it comes to accurate descriptions and competitive pricing. Greg Morris also provides quality cards, but his auctions attract lots of bidders and raw cards sometimes sell at higher prices. I've only had three instances where an eBay purchase of a 53 Bowman didn't meet the description, but it was taken care of in a quick and professional manner. Shop carefully as you'll probably see that card you'll need many more times in the future.

6. When I worked in the hobby at shows and in baseball card stores in the 70s and 80s "advanced" collectors collected Bowmans, but pricing was fairly simple: the first and last cards, high numbers and Dodgers/Yankees cards usually sold for more. After the rookie craze in the early 80s, rookie cards for vintage sets also sold for more. Getting back into this I've learned that pricing has grown more complex. Way back when Bobby Shantz generally sold as a common, in the 53 Bowman set he's considered to be a minor star and will sell for more than other commons. Others that may end up costing more are the Smokey Burgess, Curt Simmons, Mel Parnell, Joe Nuxhall, Billy Pierce, Hector Rodriguez, and Bob Rush. Minor stars, at least back when I was active working in the hobby, such as Minoso, Kluszewski, Reynolds, and Adcock have asking prices well above commons. Billy Martin is priced above some HOF players. Robin Roberts and Ralph Kiner usually can be found cheaply in vg/ex condition. High numbers 113-129 tend to cost a bit more than other high numbers, especially if their centered.

7. Centering didn't mean all that much when I collected and having a card in ex-mint was fine. When I rediscovered the 53 Bowmans I also learned that centering was a major issue with this set. Many collectors now consider centering extremely important and will pass on otherwise nice cards that have imperfect centering. In putting this set together either I found perfectly centered cards that were damaged in other ways or cards that presented nicely but have 70/30 centering or worse on a fairly common basis. My set is "imbalanced" as I didn't have the patience or funds to acquire that "perfect card." The high numbers frequently appear off-center and I've noticed that most of the lower numbers have more borders showing at the top and to the left side of the card. I have had difficulty finding the Easter and Joost centered. It's also difficult in the high numbers to find the Yost, Drews, Feller, Mitchell, Michaels, Ryan, Jones, Dente, Shea and Allie Clark well-centered.

I love looking at this set, not only for its aesthetic beauty but because it brings me back to a time when I read the backs of the cards and there was a magic in being surrounded by older cards, even if I didn't always have the funds to purchase them, which was often, and still happens today. Oh, well, some things I guess don't change! Happy collecting and please share your progress with others on this discussion board.

Wow, that is an outstanding post and great advice. Many, many thanks. There really is something about this set, and the '52 Topps, that I just way overlooked before.

Up to 36 cards now. It might not take the 2 years I planned for to get it done. I think I have the expensive, hard to get cards. Here are the cards I have acquired since my last post. Some are clearly in better shape than others. The Billy Pierce card is basically creased in two, but it is signed. This is more fun than I could ever have imagined! Who knew that throwing a few dollars around could be this enjoyable?

I have some raw 53 Bowman colors if you're interested in making a deal. Good luck building, it's one of my favorite sets.

It's nice to see that you're having fun. The Drews that you acquired is difficult to find centered, so you did well there. I also have a number of 53 Bowman color extras for sale, if needed.

I am noticing all kinds of imperfections in these cards as I move along...off centering, print lines, print blobs/pixels/spots, and blurriness. It isn't a thing with me, as I am not OCD or trying to build the world's greatest set here. But #44, the Berra-Bauer-Mantle I picked up, is so out of focus that, if it wasn't real, it looks like it was made on a child's printer. And it looks like all #44 cards are that way. How do you get something like that graded high? Bribe the grader? Still, beautiful cards.

It is possible to find cards that are "higher quality" but it will require patience and money. I am focused on having cards that have clear images, no creases or wrinkles with reasonable corners. I have decided to live with non-perfect centering and wax stains on the reverse. I find myself continually upgrading, spending additional money. I know I have to move on soon as I want to begin a 59 set and my 53 set is nice as it stands. Decide early the direction you was to take your set and enjoy.

Casey and Tere, thanks for offering up your extras. I may very well be interested. I just got quite a few, and I am putting in a pool heater, so it might be a few weeks before I can wheel and deal, if that's okay.

I hate when real life interferes with my collecting!

This post had me go back and look at my #44

Not the greatest of photos and not sure how it compares to others you’ve seen

This was part of my first submission to PSA in 2014. I bought this card from one my dad’s friends in the early 80’s. Jake had collected the cards as a kid. I always thought the Mantle was the best conditioned card in the group I bought. It came back a 5 (my introduction to what diamond cuts do to a grade / value. Was surprised when this came back a 8. Had a few other cards grade 8 as well

No problem, shoot me a PM with your e-mail address and I'll send you some scans when you are ready.
Thank you,
Phil

In case you haven't seen it, the current Clean Sweep Auction has a large number of 1953 Color Bowmans listed individually so you may want to take a look at it to help with your set.

I am going to say something controversial and I hope it doesn't get me banned from the board.

I don't love the 53 Bowman Color set. (ducks)

I have it. I have a 5.5 Mantle, and most of the other stars including Feller, Reese, Yogi, etc. are between PSA 4 and PSA 6.

I liked this set early on and enjoyed piecing it together. However, after I got it all in the binder, I have realized just how many pictures looked exactly alike. I feel like the set is a combination of the Davey Williams Card and Joe G. card and everything (except Pee Wee) seems to be derivative of that.

Even with the terrible lighting, I prefer 57 Topps to 53 Bowman Color and will always consider 54-56 topps to be my all time favorites (especially '56).

You will enjoy building it and at 160 cards, it is a reasonable quest, but while I will always look forward to pulling the binder and checking it out on occasion, I had to sit on the psychiatrist couch and confess that it isn't my favorite... :)

Overall it is a beautiful set, but individually some of the photos are murky. The first one that comes to mind is the Surkont. For me it looks like the photo was taken through a glass of water being used as a filter! The Perkowski also comes out a bit muddled. Rodriguez, card #98, has too much shadow which obscures the facial details. There are several other issues which I'll leave for the moment to see if anyone else has opinions on any of the images.

I'm not bashing the set, I thoroughly enjoy mine, it has far more positives than negatives. There are perhaps 10-15 cards that were flawed in their photography or finish.

See my comment below yours. I am a fan of the set, but there are certain cards that didn't work due to either photography or the printing. I also enjoy some of the muddied 57s as the photos are softer in focus, which I like, in comparison to the 55s and 56s. I think the 56 is a great set and wished I owned one, but I would still enjoy the 53 Bowman and 57 Topps sets even more.

I have the Mantle and the Musial. At one time, I set out to build it. I didn't get that far in (20 or so) when I came to similar conclusions. I like it but don't love it as I once did. Perhaps I will come back around someday. When it comes to Bowman, 1950-1952 are my favorites.

I am now up to 55 cards out of 160. Just got Davey Williams, Vic Wertz, Sam Jethroe, Art Houtteman, and Sid Gordon, #s 1 thru 5. Also got Whitey Lockman and Robin Roberts. Going faster than I envisioned, so far. Yes, I too am noticing a lot of commonality to the photo shots, and afore-mentioned flaws...this set comes from a simpler time, I get that, but jeez louise, so many focus issues, printer lines, off centering, miscuts, etc., etc. Still, it's like a who's who of all the ballplayers my dad talked about. And God help me, I do love the simple color photo fronts, and all the bio info on the backs.

Make it 57. Got Cass Michaels and Enos Slaughter, both for $18. The Enos Slaughter card is worth talking about; it is in real nice shape and decently centered. Another of the famous out of focus photos and a sort of dark streak along the lower back, but not too bad otherwise. That's where I am going with this set...raw and flawed, up to a point, and able to be handled without worry.

Raw and flawed are my favorite cards. The first 50s card I ever bought was a 1953 Color Bowman. Still have it and it is still my only card from the set.

Just doing a casual search, it appears that the black and white set will be a more difficult affair altogether...fewer cards means fewer available, and higher priced. The color set, once you get past the sticker shock with Mantle, Reese, Berra, Ford, and a few others, the price really drops off. Well over 100 others can be had in vivid color for less than $10 each for decent raw cards. Black and whites are another animal altogether; even the commons are $25 up.

Progress report - up to 74/160. As you can see, the high dollar cards are done. Some of the high numbers seem to be a bit pricey for commons, but I suppose that's due to scarcity.

I have the following cards for sale/trade: 6, 13, 22, 24, 28, 31, 35, 40, 42, 50, 53, 56, 63, 64, 70, 71, 72, 75, 76, 79, 82, 88, 91, 95, 103, 107, 110, 120, 122, 123, 127, 131, 132, 133, 137, 139, 141, 142, 147, 148, 150, 155, 159.

Sometime next week I'll have 129, 144 and 149 available.

If there's any of these you'd like to look at, please let me know and I'll send images to you.

Continued success in your adventure.

Phil aka Tere1071

Phil you did great on that Feller. Always feels good to knock a main one off the list in that manner :cool:

Thank you. I have one already, but the centering from left to right is 25/75; however the image and corners are sharp. Some cards display well with that type of centering, I don't think the Feller does, that's why I bought this one this evening. Here's the one I'm replacing.



Attachment 424299

I have 8 cards on your needs list if you're interested send me a PM.

Phil, Casey...I am indeed interested. But the "commanding officer" states that my card collecting is officially on hold until Christmas. Okay, I understand that. If as in previous years I get Visa/MC gift cards, if you still have cards I need, I will indeed want to talk deals.

I imagine I will still have cards, I bought another 10 in the last two days. My limit has also been reached. Hopefully I can sell some of my Heritage master sets for me funds.

Update time...after a sweetheart of a trade with Phil (he got cash, I got cards) from this forum, and re-investing Christmas gift cards for 53 Bowman color cards, the tally now stands thus: 118/160 That's just 42 left to go! I made a deal with my wife, back before Christmas...I will scoop the cat boxes (we have 5 cats!) for 2 years if she will allow me to finish this set by buying a few of these cards every week until it's done. And she agreed to it. Even she appreciates this really cool set. It won't be anything to write home about, as the cards are all over place. Mickey Mantle, Pee Wee Reese, Stan Musial, etc., are all primo. Some of the commons, not so great. Billy Pierce is almost creased in two, but it is autographed, and I suspect was clothespinned to somebody's bicycle against the spokes, but I would rather have than a mint card.

Hello everyone, James is a great guy and hopefully some of you who have extra 53 Bowman stars can help him out.

Phil aka Tere1071

Would like to trade for a Bowman color Spahn, Pesky, and Doby in excellent to excellent-mint condition.

Mission Complete!
 

I began this quest back at the beginning of last September. Today it comes to an end, 160/160, following a deal with Kevin (8thAveVB) for the remaining cards I needed to complete the set.

I guess the pandemic and this forum got me going. When I worked out a big trade back in September, I was initially going after 52 Topps. But that set is colossal in both checklist and in cost; not possible to start collecting going in cold at this point. So my trade partner offered a fair lot of 1953 Bowman color, including Mantle and all the other big stars. And off I went, helped immeasurably by folks on this forum with advice. Then Phil (tere1071) stepped in with another big lot. How can I ever appropriately thank you, Phil and Kevin?

And with cards here and there from Sirius, here I am with a full set. It is all raw, in binder. I cracked out Curt Simmons and Del Ennis from PSA slabs so I could have all 160 cards numerically in the binder. And the quality of my cards is literally all over the place, VP to NM, and everything in between. There are printer lines, blurred images, print blobs, off centering, you name it. I am perfectly okay with all of that. I wanted a hands on set like I had as a kid. First complete set I have put together since 1970, 50-something years ago.

Congratulations—that's quite a feat to piece that puppy together. :)

Good job, Jim. I'm pleased that you completed the set. I look at mine constantly, although that's easy as it's my only vintage set. Are you going to work on another set?

One thing I have noticed on this forum is that 53 Bowmans don't come up much for sale or even discussion on Net54. I became a member when it was recommended that I'd find more 53 Bowman's here from far more trustworthy collects than on any other forum. I've enjoyed many other things at this site and check here multiple times daily, but I wished that I could see more 53 Bowmans here than on eBay, the taxes plus the shipping has been costly.

Thanks, Bob and Phil!

I am thinking of trying the black and white set next, to go with this set, for the entire 53 Bowman. I'm hot and cold, but I imagine I will go ahead and give it a try after I enjoy this completed set for a while and take a break.

One thing I notice. There is a lot of talk about off center, print lines, blurred photos, and what have you with the fronts of these cards. The backs of mine are all over the place as well. Some are slightly reddish, some are gray, some are light, and some dark. I have not noticed this with any other cards except 1961 Topps. Anyone else notice this?

Quality control certainly didn't match the aesthetics. Finding certain cards that are centered is time-consuming and in some cases expensive. About 40% of my set is off-center, mostly from top to bottom. Another problem with the 53 Bowmans is what I refer to as ink debris, usually either black specs around the borders and pink smears on the images. There are a number of print bubbles as well on the borders and green blemishes again on the image. Does anyone have the Spahn? Look at the bill of his cap, in some cases, it looks like champagne bubbles have landed on it!

I think the main pleasure is just to have them. This may sound horrific to some but this is money well-spent, not well-invested. It's fun and though my overall set is between vg/ex to ex and I've paid more money over the past year than what they're probably worth, to be able to look at them and upgrade some here and there, there's no worry if the "investment" gains or loses money.

Congratulations to you, Jim. You did it the right way, getting the key cards out of the way early makes it a lot easier to finish up.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Congrats...finishing ANY set from the 50s is an awesome accomplishment. I have owned many Bowman cards from all the years, and have NEVER owned a 53. Can't explain that, they are beautiful cards. I appreciate all I learned reading through this post. Again, congrats...so cool you can now grab a beer on a random night and peer through the work where you have a memory behind every card. Killer Mantle too...

Good choice! Here are a couple of pics to get you in the mood. :cool:

https://caimages.collectors.com/psai...31Woodling.jpg https://caimages.collectors.com/psai...039Stengel.jpg

Wow, Bob, those are fantastic!

I have no doubt that these black and white cards were to be the third color card series, and with Casey Stengel and, yes, Gene Woodling, who at this time was a star, in this set, it's hard not to think so. Then there's Larry Jansen, Jim Konstanty, Hoyt Wilhelm, Ralph Branca, and many others who I always thought strange that they were not in the color set.

I believe the story that Bowman put all their eggs into the color cards basket, and when the second, high-numbered series didn't sell well, they had no choice but to put out the so-called third series separately, in a different wrapper, in less expensive black and white.

There is an account of Bowman’s efforts in 1953 to retake the baseball card market with bigger color cards after the 52 Topes success in Dean Hanley’s “The Bubble Gum War: The Great Bowman & Topps sets from 1948 to 1955”. The 53 Bowman set, revered today, was a bust in the 53 market against the 53 Topps set.

Congrats on finishing the Colored set. Agree the B&W is a must for “completion”