Vote: Favorite Bowman set 1948-1955
 

I was toying with the idea of splitting this into two polls, one 1948-51, the other 1952-55, but in the end I went with one.

Bowman
 

I just recently finished that run and the listed SCD variations for each set. The 53 Color set was the first one I did, and remains my favorite. But it's cost and poor sales relative to the 53 Topps set forced them to truncate the set and go to B&W late in the year. Doing the latter set was not very exciting, as much for the lack of major players as the B&W.

Not sure if you are counting 53 as one or two sets.


The 53 Bowman Musial, the main reason I decided to do the set, remains one of my favorite cards

I am working on the 55 set now and am about 80% done. I like them the best because of the cool Color TV look. I just wish it had a Ted Williams card.

1955
 

I would like it better if it did not have 5000 umpire cards :)

Bowman was on the ropes after 52, 53 and 54. I think they made an interesting gamble in 55 with the "color TV" concept, hoping the recent introduction of color TVs into American households would cause the cards to be the ones to have. The fact that the % of householders with color TVs by 1955 was still small may have thwarted the strategy.

I like the look of the 1953 set, but the lack of names on the front is a bit of a drawback for me. I can recognize the stars, but the commons need some form of identification. And the backs on that set and Bowman cards in general are kind of boring, especially compared to the Topps sets.

It looks like I'm actually with the majority on this one, which is a first. I've always loved the 53 set and think the 53 Reese has the coolest image of any vintage card I have seen.

Maybe the choices should have been "1953" or "not 1953". :D

I love the 54's, the Mantle is among my favorite cards of his, the 55's were the 1st vintage I ever saw and I've always loved the horizontal design and (somewhat) unique TV design. The 48 is great (as is the 51 for the same reason) because of all the rookies.

But my vote is still for the 1953's. Beautiful set all the way through, but I agree it's missing names on the front.

Slightly OT - Is there a more significant group of sets for our hobby than what Bowman put out in 1948? (Baseball, Football & Basketball)

Rookies
 

Your observation about rookies in 48 and 51 is interesting. The competition with Topps began in 51 on a scattered 5 set shotgun approach by Topps . From 52 on Bowman had the advantage of contracts with many established stars, but Berger did a better job from 52 onward in signing up new rookie talent for Topps

53 Bowman, may be the nicest set of all time.
I gotta say though, the 52 Bowmans are nice also.

From memory, I like them all. But agreed, the '53 set might be the best post-war set I've ever seen. It's just gorgeous.

55 Bowman is, in my opinion, the most underappreciated set of all time and has the most underappreciated Mantle card ever.

Agreed. I love the Mantle and just recently bought a copy for my collection.

I have completed all these sets except the 49 which I am about 80% done. I really like most of them, for different reasons, and had trouble voting for just one. I chose 49 because it didn't seem to get much love. I like the set for the relatively huge (1/3 of the set) high number run, the number of fantastic rookie cards (Jackie, Satchell, Duke, etc.), the quasi-primitive nature of the artwork, and the interesting set of variations. Its hard to argue with 53, 55 or 52 though.

Worse yet, the umpire cards are high numbered cards. Paying top dollar for an umpire card just doesn't seem right.

-Z

I love the 54s and will one day put a set of them together. Great looking cards, great HoF list of players, and of course the Ted Williams is a famous card in the hobby.
I am beginning to toy with the idea of putting the 53 set together. If not the entire set then the HoFers.
It is such an aesthetically pleasing set. Just great photography. The Mantle is of course a biggie but it really doesnt break the bank in the VG/EX range.

1951 set obviously has a lot of iconic cards, and probably is the best-looking one overall, but I'll have to go with '49, heart says you can't beat that pre-war look.
Sure, they should've done better with some of them, but it still has Musial, Robinson, Paige, the Brooklyn greats, and of course, a couple of my favorite Sox cards.

Moll-mania
 

You have to think that the umpire cards were an unfortunate braincramp late in the press run of Bowman's final year. The high-number series packs cost the same nickel as the low-numbers, but George could not have had any idea that card collectors fifty years on would have to pay a premium for ump cards. Maybe Bowman execs really thought that kids whose parents had splurged on color tv's would be more attracted to Jim Honochick's kisser than Roberto Clemente's rookie card in their competitor's high number series.

1955
 

By 55 Bowman, which had the early advantage on player contracts, was losing ground to Topps. Lack of players to fill up sheets caused them to go the umpire route in the last run. Traditionally sales were light for both companies late in the year, and Bowman was in a death spiral by then. Fortunately for the Bowman family itself, they cashed out in 51 before Berger began the Topps onslaught in 52