Reflections on 1949 BOWMAN's (25 HOFers, many Rookies)...show-N-tell us of your cards

[tedzan]

It's sort of disappointing that this 1949 BOWMAN thread has not received more responses. It's a classic BB card set of 252 cards. The largest color set since the 1933 GOUDEY set.

OH WELL ! Let's see if we can generate some more interest by including the mysterious 1949 BOWMAN Pacific Coast League (PCL) set of 36 cards. Bowman expanded their market
to the west coast by introducing the PCL cards. Judging by their design and their colors, my guess is that these 36 cards were printed and issued during the Summer of 1949.

In the 1970's and early 1980's, the general consensus in the hobby was that these cards were only issued as sheets, of which the cards were hand-cut. This myth was dismissed in
the late 1980's by several finds.

Displayed here is the PCL waxpack wrapper.

…..…...... extremely rare 1949 PCL wrapper .................................................. ................... regular 5-cent 1949 wrapper

.


Since the early 1980's, in the process of acquiring all 36 cards Factory-cut, I have completed 3.4 sets
of these PCL cards. Here is page #1 (of 3 pages) in my 1949 BOWMAN album.





……………….…...… Factory-cut ………..………..…..………...…………….. Hand-cut







Stay tuned for more 1949 PCL stuff....which includes my first "big deal" with Alan "Mr Mint" Rosen....and, my PCL find.

And, if you have some of these very "rare gems", don't be shy, share them with us.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[jason.1969]

Originally Posted by tedzan

It's sort of disappointing that this 1949 BOWMAN thread has not received more responses. It's a classic BB card set of 252 cards. The largest color set since the 1933 GOUDEY set.



OH WELL ! Let's see if we can generate some more interest by including the mysterious 1949 BOWMAN Pacific Coast League (PCL) set of 36 cards. Bowman expanded their market

to the west coast by introducing the PCL cards. Judging by their design and their colors, my guess is that these 36 cards were printed and issued during the Summer of 1949.



Displayed here is the PCL waxpack wrapper.



…..…...... extremely rare 1949 PCL wrapper .................................................. ................... regular 5-cent 1949 wrapper



.





Since the early 1980's, in the process of acquiring all 36 cards Factory-cut, I have completed 3.4 sets

of these PCL cards. Here is page #1 (of 3 pages) in my 1949 BOWMAN album.











……………….…...… Factory-cut ………..………..…..………...…………….. Hand-cut















Stay tuned for more 1949 PCL stuff....which includes my first "big deal" with Alan "Mr Mint" Rosen....and, my PCL find.



And, if have some of these very "rare gems", don't be shy, share them with us.





TED Z



T206 Reference

.

Ted, I only posted once here but I've been loving all the info and pics! Thank you!!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[jayshum]

Can you comment on the light and dark backs of the first series (1-73 minus #4)? Are the dark backs rarer? When I put my set together without paying attention to the backs, I ended up with 44 light backs and 28 dark backs so it appears that the dark backs are harder to find. Do you know if that is really true?

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by jayshum

Can you comment on the light and dark backs of the first series (1-73 minus #4)? Are the dark backs rarer? When I put my set together without paying attention to the backs, I ended up with 44 light backs and 28 dark backs so it appears that the dark backs are harder to find. Do you know if that is really true?

Hi Jay

BOWMAN printed and issued their 1st series (72 cards) with White backs. These cards were very plentiful in the Spring of 1949, especially in the Northeast.
The Gray backs followed (circa May-June 1949), and it's my understanding that these cards were distributed in the South. And, the Mid West.

Apparently, the Gray backs were printed in lower quantities than the White backs.

TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Hi Jay

BOWMAN printed and issued their 1st series (72 cards) with White backs. These cards were very plentiful in the Spring of 1949, especially in the Northeast.
The Gray backs followed (circa May-June 1949), and it's my understanding that these cards were distributed in the South. And, the Mid West.

Apparently, the Gray backs were printed in lower quantities than the White backs.

TED Z

T206 Reference
.

Hi Ted,

Thanks for the confirmation. I am currently trying to find the backs that I don't have in my set, and so far, the white backs have definitely been easier to get.

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by jayshum

Hi Ted,

Thanks for the confirmation. I am currently trying to find the backs that I don't have in my set, and so far, the white backs have definitely been easier to get.

Jay

I have two complete sets (252 cards). The first one with all the 1st series cards with White backs. And, the 2nd set with all Gray backs.
Completing the 1st series cards with Gray backs took me a long time. Bobby Doerr (#23) was the last one I needed.

Which reminds me....regarding the Gray backs, the first 36 cards [#1 - 3, 73, 5 - 36] were considerably more difficult to find with Gray
backs than cards #37 - 72.

Was this pattern the same for your ?


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Jay

I have two complete sets (252 cards). The first one with all the 1st series cards with White backs. And, the 2nd set with all Gray backs.
Completing the 1st series cards with Gray backs took me a long time. Bobby Doerr (#23) was the last one I needed.

Which reminds me....regarding the Gray backs, the first 36 cards [#1 - 3, 73, 5 - 36] were considerably more difficult to find with Gray
backs than cards #37 - 72.

Was this pattern the same for your ?


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

When I initially collected the set, of the 28 grey backs I have, 16 were from the first 36 cards and 12 were from the second 36 cards so it doesn't seem like it so far. We'l see how it goes now that I am trying to find the specific back colors. Also, the Bobby Doerr card I originally had was a grey back.

My set is generally VG to VG/EX so that could have something to do with it as well.

Would you say the grey backs tend to have a premium since they appear to be more scarce?