The 1952 Bowman Football Set Registry Collectors Thread
weinhold
Posts: 503
As this seems to be one of the more popular vintage football card sets to collect, I thought it was high time to have a dedicated thread. I just started the 1952 Bowman Large Football Registry this summer, where most of my additions were cards that I already had for the Football HOF RCs Registry. I've since added a few more, and currently rank a humbling 21st out of 30 registry sets.
The set's bright colors, simple yet attractive design, high number of Hall Of Famers, and considerable challenge to complete it in high grade have all fueled my desire to make this my first Company Set Registry. Yes, a set so attractive that I will buy commons!
The cards of some teams, such as the Washington Redskins cards, virtually explode with those effervescent gold-and-maroon hues. L.A. Rams cards have the mega-cool color scheme goin' on too. What a timeless classic, and few cards embody "miniature art" better than this one.
Note that I intentionally named the thread to accommodate both 1952 Bowman Large and Small Registries.
NOTE: Edited months later only to repair the broken link to the scan.
The set's bright colors, simple yet attractive design, high number of Hall Of Famers, and considerable challenge to complete it in high grade have all fueled my desire to make this my first Company Set Registry. Yes, a set so attractive that I will buy commons!
The cards of some teams, such as the Washington Redskins cards, virtually explode with those effervescent gold-and-maroon hues. L.A. Rams cards have the mega-cool color scheme goin' on too. What a timeless classic, and few cards embody "miniature art" better than this one.Note that I intentionally named the thread to accommodate both 1952 Bowman Large and Small Registries.
NOTE: Edited months later only to repair the broken link to the scan.
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Comments
looking for low grade t205's psa 1-2
I do love these cards and have bought and sold many of them in my tenure as a Vintage Football guy, there is no question this set is my favorite. I consider myself a novice when it comes to collecting this set but I do know that no matter how you try or how much disposable income you have this set will drive you insane trying to complete it in 7+ grade, Ive said it numerous times that certain cards become available once every few years- sometimes longer.
The centering is a major problem with the majority of these cards too, even some PSA 8's are touched by bad centering as far as eye appeal goes. I got around 50% complete with a 6+ gpa and said forget it, I regret selling off the majority of my collection but it was the right thing to do for me. My 2 big cards - the Van Brocklin and Conerly were in 7 holders but had some "issues" to them such as poor centering on the Conerly and a touch of back damage and a tad undersized on the Van Brocklin, I was able to post a nice profit on both cards so it was worth it to me to liquidate them.
I plan on picking a few back up here and there in decent condition but definatly wont challenge you in your quest
#16 "The Giff" - Classic action pose with a poppin' background. Historically a significant "Top 250" card.
#120 Deacon Dan Towler - Stellar complimentary Rams colors make this one of the set's better cards much like #25 Tank Younger and #137 Bob Waterfield.
#30 Sammy Baugh - The hottest piece in the joint - not just the 1952 Bowman Football Set, but one of the most attractive football cards ever issued. Slingin' Sam's maroon jersey and helmet stripe on top of a backdrop of orange hues fading to ochre remind me of the pallet of color range found on a Rainier Cherry. Bowman definitely dropped one sick rectangle on us here. This is also one of my favorite players to collect as I have registered a Sammy Baugh Player Set.
Strangely, this most comely of Sam Baugh cards has something in common with that red carpet photo of Kim Kardashian in People Magazine that I surely never saw or ogling Lady Gaga in that last video that I certainly never replayed on YouTube. Truth be told, the commonality is that it's hard to stop looking at all three.
Fabulous to see such activity in the set. I just added some more scans to my fledgling effort. -Keith
The Rote is a fun looking card, love the expression on his face along with the autumn leaves in the backround giving it that football weather atmosphere.
Here are some of the my favs..at least ones that havn't been shown yet...
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Steve
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Paul, I should have bought your Van Brocklin when I had the chance a few months ago. I was pleased to get the Graham from you though! You're right - the autumn leaves in the Kyle Rote background look more seasonal than the green-leafed backdrop on the Halas card. Halas must have shown up early for training camp two-a-days. Thanks for adding in what the box looks like - uh, what are the two players on the right side of the box doing? Dude, can you imagine cracking wax on 1952 Bowman Large? It would be a "must" to post on YouTube.
BDB, I clicked on your link. Is that an authentic Sammy Baugh jersey above your fireplace? Even a replica would be cool. (More Kardashian too?).
On the subject of Baugh and one of the more blazing cards in the set, I'll "sling" my Sam here:
<< <i>That is one hot looking 1952 Bowman Large Jim Lansford PSA 8 for auction over there at Andy Madec Sportscards' latest offering. Eye-popping color and POP 6, only two grading higher. >>
That is pretty much what you would call an "Elusive PSA 8" it will be worth what it gets which I guess will be somewhere in the 12-15K range, although I believe Davalillo needs one for his set so it could reach the 20K mark.
This card outside of PSA 8 is drastically over hyped AND over priced, I see psa 5's and 6's with QF in the $2500 range which is ridiculas, there are much tougher cards to find in the set such as the Schweder, John Lee Hancok and more than likely the Stydahar as well.
Great looking card though and a must have for a Registry collector who is looking for competition!
<< <i>
<< <i>That is one hot looking 1952 Bowman Large Jim Lansford PSA 8 for auction over there at Andy Madec Sportscards' latest offering. Eye-popping color and POP 6, only two grading higher. >>
That is pretty much what you would call an "Elusive PSA 8" it will be worth what it gets which I guess will be somewhere in the 12-15K range, although I believe Davalillo needs one for his set so it could reach the 20K mark.
This card outside of PSA 8 is drastically over hyped AND over priced, I see psa 5's and 6's with QF in the $2500 range which is ridiculas, there are much tougher cards to find in the set such as the Schweder, John Lee Hancok and more than likely the Stydahar as well.
Great looking card though and a must have for a Registry collector who is looking for competition! >>
On cue from Perkdog, here's two of my SPs from this great set:
The '52 Bowman Large Waterfield and especially Tank Younger card look terrific for the Rams color scheme. They're beauties, Paul! You know, it's funny. The Waterfield and Younger scans have now been posted on this thread at least twice but they're so captivating that it hardly matters. Looking at them could never get old.
Here's one from my collection below. Although "Concrete Charlie" represents my favorite team, I can see through any Eagles bias to know that most '52 Bowman Redskins and Rams cards look better in my opinion. Hopefully this should appear clearer than my earlier posts with this new scanner:
-Keith
P.S. The Message Board wouldn't let me spell John Hancok with the proper spelling, stating that it is a "forbidden word".
Above are two cards from my collection that depict two Cleveland Browns HOFers. Wide Receiver Dante "Glue Fingers" Lavelli was Quarterback Otto Graham's battery-mate.
There's kind of an interesting story between Perkdog & I about this Otto Graham card. I'm almost sorry to place the scan here, Paul.
-Keith
Link
Went for over $10K!
Steve
Based only on eye appeal, are the 1952 Bowman Large your favorite Vintage Football set? If not, is it in your Top Five? Here's mine...uh, at least today
#1) 1952 Bowman (Large)
#2) 1951 Bowman
#3) 1935 National Chicle
#4) 1950 Bowman
#5) 1955 Topps All-American
In order...
1952 Bowman Large
1951 Bowman
1953 Bowman
1950 Bowman
1956 Topps
1954 Bowman
1955 Bowman
I dont really care for the AA set only because it was not a set made up of current players at that time, also I know this is blashpemy to some but I do NOT like the 57 Topps set whatsoever.
1-1952 Bowman Large
2-1950 Bowman
3-1951 Bowman
4-Mayo Cut Plug
5-1957 Topps
1951 Bowman
1952 Bowman Large
1948 Bowman
1950 Bowman
1955 Bowman
1935 National Chicle...I can't put anything above my beloved Bowman!
By the way, does anyone know if BMW cards still has that ginormous 52 Bowman large find stashed away still..or are they all in general population now?
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<< <i>mine changes all the time..but currently
1951 Bowman
1952 Bowman Large
1948 Bowman
1950 Bowman
1955 Bowman
1935 National Chicle...I can't put anything above my beloved Bowman!
By the way, does anyone know if BMW cards still has that ginormous 52 Bowman large find stashed away still..or are they all in general population now? >>
PERSONALLY I believe he has it stashed. He is selling some High Grade Smalls on ebay, I bet he doesnt want to "Flood" the market with the Large cards, I talked with him extensivly last year and he was very evasive to me and wouldnt offer me any "big cards" I mean he found THOUSANDS of these and has yet to put them out there as far as I know.
<< <i>
<< <i>mine changes all the time..but currently
1951 Bowman
1952 Bowman Large
1948 Bowman
1950 Bowman
1955 Bowman
1935 National Chicle...I can't put anything above my beloved Bowman!
By the way, does anyone know if BMW cards still has that ginormous 52 Bowman large find stashed away still..or are they all in general population now? >>
PERSONALLY I believe he has it stashed. He is selling some High Grade Smalls on ebay, I bet he doesnt want to "Flood" the market with the Large cards, I talked with him extensivly last year and he was very evasive to me and wouldnt offer me any "big cards" I mean he found THOUSANDS of these and has yet to put them out there as far as I know. >>
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I agree with you Paul...over time his supply of higher grade 52's will hit the market...and it will dfinately impact the "market value."
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Wow, well what a scientifically meaningful study I've spawned. So collectors of 1952 Bowman Large also generally feel that it's the nicest-looking set. Imagine that!
Are BMW's subject Bowman Larges graded? If I were them, I wouldn't be aggressive about offering nice cards in a tough economy. I too would put the lesser ones on the block first.
<< <i>Interesting...didn't know that about BMW. Sounds like a good time to wait to buy to see what the market holds going forward? How do you think he will ultimately release them into the hobby? >>
I have no clue as this find goes back to 2002 and Ive seen articles that show him at a table holding 10 each of Gifford Rookies BOTH Large and small ( 20 total ) Oh and on that table shows 24 STACKS of cards each with a Large Jim Lansford on top.
Accorging to his article he found- 3,351 assorted Bowman Large cards along with 5,000+ more Bowmans 1950-1955, the only breakdown in his article of individual 52 Large's are as follows...
38 Norm Van Brocklins, 45 Grahams, 33 Giffords, 59 Charlie Trippi's and 22 Jim Lansford even though it clearly shows 24 on the table.
Again I dont know what his deal is other than he is a huge pain to deal with, he talked in circles with me for about 6 months when I was trying to deal with him- apparently $5000 of my money was no good for him. Someday I will run into him at a show and I will try to clear the air with him but until then he is a mystery man as far as Im concerned.
Edit- By the Way Brian I know you read these forums and if you can remember accordinging to our last email I did promise not to bash you and you can see I kinda kept my word. Feel free to email me if you got a problem with anything Ive said.
I would think that the release of these cards would be done in a very slow, random way over a long period of time. I would also guess that some have been cherry picked by the elite collectors and are already out in circulation.
I believe that many of these cards were graded by SGC.
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<< <i>Holy Smokes! >>
I saw that too...an "ugly" 9 IMO...well ugly might be too harsh, but not centered well enough to get me to pay that kind of dough.
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I added a card to my set tonight (depicted below). Well, how cute. Now that I've added the Ziegler, Perkdog and I occupy successive spots on the Registry and we even updated our sets on the same day. Isn't that just so...dear?
I'm surprised that the reverse of Zigs' 1952 card reads that he was the Eagles' leading rusher in 1950 and 1951. So where the heck was "Big Boy" Steve Van Buren? Maybe he was slowing down.
I finally got around to scanning and adding cards to my sets, here are some more of my '52's, I will post up some other Football in the Vintage Football thread as well.
<< <i>I finally got around to scanning and adding cards to my sets, here are some more of my '52's, >>
Hey Paul...does this mean that your back to building the great 52 Large set? Are the Graham and Nomellini cards the ones you said you were going after recently? Nice cards!
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Over the weekend I set up a table at a small local card show (more on that later in the Sports Cards & Memorabilia forum) and sold my Gifford 4. I only sold it because the buyer paid me twice what I bought it for, and a PSA 4 is a replaceable grade. I'm sure not selling many cards into this rough economy. In fact, I've been regularly buying cards from this economy because this is probably a smart time to buy "on the dip". To that end, I'm on the creep for a Giff now.
For me, the Gifford, Graham, Van Brocklin, and Baugh are the four most special cards when considering the factors of beauty, value, and popularity (with nods to the low POP commons and others like the Matson, Marchetti, Van Buren, etc.). Congrats on newly landing one more of the four, Paul. Classic stuff.
<< <i>
<< <i>I finally got around to scanning and adding cards to my sets, here are some more of my '52's, >>
Hey Paul...does this mean that your back to building the great 52 Large set? Are the Graham and Nomellini cards the ones you said you were going after recently? Nice cards! >>
Thats a big negative as of right now
<< <i>Perkdog, nice material! All of your late additions are NM condition or better, so...nice grades too! I most like the HOFers - Graham, Nomellini, Tunnell, and Joe Perry. I'm glad you've re-added an Otto Graham since you sold me mine a while ago. There was a nice grouping of PSA 7+ 1952 Bowman Larges that ended on eBay earlier this week offered open-auction style; I hope you were the beneficiary on some of those attractive offerings.
Over the weekend I set up a table at a small local card show (more on that later in the Sports Cards & Memorabilia forum) and sold my Gifford 4. I only sold it because the buyer paid me twice what I bought it for, and a PSA 4 is a replaceable grade. I'm sure not selling many cards into this rough economy. In fact, I've been regularly buying cards from this economy because this is probably a smart time to buy "on the dip". To that end, I'm on the creep for a Giff now.
For me, the Gifford, Graham, Van Brocklin, and Baugh are the four most special cards when considering the factors of beauty, value, and popularity (with nods to the low POP commons and others like the Matson, Marchetti, Van Buren, etc.). Congrats on newly landing one more of the four, Paul. Classic stuff. >>
Glad you made a nice profit on that Giff Keith, agreed that a PSA 4 is definately expendable especially for 100% profit!
And yes I did land the Graham, Parker & Nomellini from that recent offering on Ebay, I overpaid about $25 on the Graham but Im OK with that, the Parker is one that Ive always wanted as well but my high bid of $65 was never good enough for some reason but this time it was- go figure. The Nomellini is a great looking card, one of those ( like the Perry ) that just exemplifies 1950's Football cards IMO There was a PSA 7 Tank Younger that I retracted my bid on because after looking at the card ( Im not sure if you looked or not ) but it had a horrible tilt to it, personally it looked trimmed to me and I decided to stay away.
I look forward to your post on your set up at the card show.
You're back with a Van Brocklin again! Way to go. The Dutchman pumping the white football; one of the top cards of the set and looking nice in it's SGC holder. You know Van Brocklin's got a place in my heart too since he was the Eagles' QB last time they won it all in 1960 (hoooo boy...that's a really long time ago
I'm still amped that you're already back with an Otto Graham too. You know, the '52 Otto is mega-cool. I like his 1950 rookie card well enough. However, waiting two years from then is an improvement in a lot of ways since you get the same artistry in a larger scale. Here I go getting excited about '52 Bowman Large again.
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I had to leave a comment in the #8 Ranked Set "Cardscanner". It's pretty cool that he owns the top set with virtually all scans shown. I really appreciate that kind of thing. It makes for a good reference too.
1952 Bowman Large just continue to impress me the more I look at them and deal with them. If any non-collector ran smack on a collector for calling some Sports Cards "miniature art", then I suspect you could get the non-collector nodding their head in agreement once they see some 1952 Bowman Football cards.
Well, at some point I need to rock just the right Doaker 8. In the meantime I'll happily "peace out" with my 7...
I almost threw my computer through the wall because I was trying to bid on that Van Brocklin with 20 seconds left. I put in a high bid of $250.00 and when I clicked the bid button, my computer hour glass started spinning and by the time it was "unfrozen" my bid did not register. I was swearing up and down when I saw it go for so low! I feel better knowing that you won it though..and my bid not registering saved you some dough
congrats on a great card!
I like things better when you were on a cardboard "vacation!"
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<< <i>Paul.....funny story...
I almost threw my computer through the wall because I was trying to bid on that Van Brocklin with 20 seconds left. I put in a high bid of $250.00 and when I clicked the bid button, my computer hour glass started spinning and by the time it was "unfrozen" my bid did not register. I was swearing up and down when I saw it go for so low! I feel better knowing that you won it though..and my bid not registering saved you some dough
congrats on a great card!
I like things better when you were on a cardboard "vacation!"
That is freaking hilarious! I didnt think to check in with you about it because I figured you wouldnt be interested because of your nice 6! Glad we didnt bump heads anyways... I feel bad that happened to you but at the same time Im smiling!
Im pumped about the Van Brocklin, easily my top 3 in favs in the set- Baugh & Giff are my others...
Happy Turkey Day guys! We should all be thankful that we are blessed in our lives that we can enjoy and share this great hobby together.
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<< <i>Paul nice pick-up! I like your tradition....great minds think alike! Although not a 52 large...I picked up this beautiful 6 for my 51 set today...a tough #1 card of the set.
Happy Turkey Day guys! We should all be thankful that we are blessed in our lives that we can enjoy and share this great hobby together. >>
Agreed Ryan, we always need to take a minute and count our blessings
Super looking card too, you got yourself a winner with that PSA 6!
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Darn, I was sleepin' on that SGC 70 Large Van Brocklin, so congrats there! I like the Millner tie-in with Slingin' Sam.
It's funny, the above tradation and scans fit right in with what I did. I bought BMW Cards' Marchetti - depicted below - on Thanksgiving Eve. This is my third PSA-graded '52 Large Marchetti now. Why? Sometimes when Hall Of Fame Rookie card and 1952 Bowman Large card meet, it simply becomes overwhelming and just too hard for me to exercise appropriate restraint.