Lots of thoughts and opinions on this set.
It's been expressed before that the Chicle set was supposed to have 240 players in it according to info on the back. Assuming this was true, they were likely planning many, many more premiums as well. 17 is a really odd number for a set!
My bet is that all of the individual photos (like Kostka) were slated to be cards in the set as well but they didn't get around to manufacturing them. We know from a letter sent from National Chicle to the Eagles that a collector has that Chicle had requested photos of every player on the roster.
Re: the numbering. If you look closely, all of the premiums are in alphabetical order by title (first the individual players and then the action/team photos) with the exception of Cotton and Ace at the end. My bet is that these two were discovered after the original checklist had been created so they just added them to the end instead of reordering them all and confusing people who already had the checklist by number. The backs are blank.
#1 Joe Bach was head coach of the Pittsburgh Pirates and one of the seven mules who blocked for the four horseman of notre dame. He has a card in the 1952 Bowman set (one of the coaches cards)
#6 Joe Maniaci of Fordham played for the Bears and Dodgers in the NFL
#8 Walter Switzer of Cornell
#15 Dixie Howell of Alabama played briefly for the Skins in the NFL
#16 Cotton Warburton of USC turned down an offer to play for the Bears and went into business in Hollywood
jeff