1948 Bowman Set a Realistic Target |
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Friday, 28 August 2009 |
 Think you can't afford to try building a 1940s baseball card set? Think again.
It won't win any design awards, but for collectors, the 1948 Bowman baseball set has carved out its own unique place.
Consisting of just 48 cards, with virtually no real scarce, high-dollar cards, the set is attractive for anyone looking for a reasonable challenge that carries a story or two behind it.
When the spring of 1948 rolled around, it had been almost three years since the end of World War II. Paper shortages had ended production of baseball and other sports cards after Pearl Harbor. By '48, Bowman Gum saw an opportunity and cranked its presses year-round, producing baseball, basketball and football cards.
The baseball set, of course, came first. Many youngsters born too late to remember Goudey or Play Ball sets, discovered baseball cards for the first time. A one-card penny pack yielded one of 36 cards that spring, with 12 others added later in the season.
It quickly became apparent to those who bought packs with a fervor that the game's two biggest stars were not included. Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams don't show up on Bowman's first products. They would soon appear on the next major set, 1948-49 Leaf. Still, there were recognizable faces in Bowman's debut issue and many would become Hall of Fame rookie cards.
 Measuring 2 1/16 x 2 1/2 and featuring black and white photos, the 1948 Bowman cards are not the most attractive in dealer showcases today. The set does, however, pack a pretty good star-powered punch. Stan Musial's rookie card is here. So is Yogi Berra's. And Warren Spahn. And Red Schoendienst. And Ralph Kiner and Phil Rizzuto. Where do you find the rookie card of 1951 Giants home run hero Bobby Thomson? '48 Bowman. Yet none of them are outrageously expensive today. EX-NM copies are $75-250 each. Even a PSA 8.5 Berra sold at auction for less than $4,000 earlier this year.
The challenges include single prints. Bowman printed 36 cards in its first series, then removed 12 cards from its printing sheet and put 12 new players in. The single prints are worth roughly twice as much as their common counterparts. Rizzuto's card is an SP and along with Musial and Berra, create the three toughest targets for collectors. Many collectors have put together high quality graded sets for under $10,000. Ungraded EX-NM sets shouldn't run more than $1500-2000.
When collected piece by piece, the 1948 Bowman set is a very attainable goal for a fan of vintage cards looking to move into an issue that's both historic and affordable.
1948 Bowman baseball for sale |
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