Another Gorgeous Marchetti Keith! Congrats, I had that one on my watch list but never pulled the trigger. I assume that should get a .5 bump up so I suggest you place that in your review box
Mark- how far along are you on your set? I see you posting many beautiful SGC holdered '52's....
<< <i>Another Gorgeous Marchetti Keith! Congrats, I had that one on my watch list but never pulled the trigger. I assume that should get a .5 bump up so I suggest you place that in your review box
Mark- how far along are you on your set? I see you posting many beautiful SGC holdered '52's.... >>
Paul, I'm about 20% complete with the set. I have five more coming from Olsonarch soon. I think there have been some pretty nice deals recently on them.
<< <i>Another Gorgeous Marchetti Keith! Congrats, I had that one on my watch list but never pulled the trigger. I assume that should get a .5 bump up so I suggest you place that in your review box
Mark- how far along are you on your set? I see you posting many beautiful SGC holdered '52's.... >>
Paul, I'm about 20% complete with the set. I have five more coming from Olsonarch soon. I think there have been some pretty nice deals recently on them. >>
Agreed, I bought the Van Brocklin from him. He had some very nice looking cards up for sale, all very nice for the grade too.
Mark, your SGC frames surrounding the 1952 Bowman artistry sure provide a nice compliment to the subject.
Ryan, yes those exquisite Rams colors and logo pop on a Bowman Small card too.
Perkdog, I'll be calling you P-Money for a while now. You win the prize and you straight knocked it out the box with those two winners. High grade, visually appealing, and bringing the thumpin' ancillary HOF RC appeal; right up my alley. You've unearthed some virtual gems here. So I see this also lifts you to a swell Grade Point Average of NM+ for the set.
'52 Large Gifford and McElhenny 8s just aren't floating around all the time. I think that on many levels, some can consider the 1952 Bowman Large Frank Gifford card the most important New York Football Giants card ever printed.
BTW P-Money - it took a series of annoying phone calls? Sheesh, to lasso those handsome antiquities, I'd tolerate an hour on the horn with Gilbert Gottfried. Way to go.
P-Money? Gotta admit I like it Keith! However You & Ryan are the big dogs in our threads, my collection dwarfs your two collections!
Yes I am extremley excited about these cards and fortunate to have even found them- it was actually just dumb luck to be honest.
And Keith what I meant by a "series of annoying phone calls" was Me annoying the person who had these in their possesion!
Edit: I almost feel hypocritical about showing these after I clearly stated several months ago that I was done with the registry & the high grade card game but I guess the 'ole saying here holds true......
The registry is a drug, or better yet like Ryan says "Im an addict"
Amazing stuff, guys. I love opening this thread up! Here are my recent additions from Olsonarch. I really like the quality, for the most part, compared to the grade.
Mark, you seriously scored with those cards! I had bids locked & loaded on ALL those cards but held back from pulling the trigger because of my pending deal on my Giff & McElHenny!
Seriously what in the world is keeping that Owen from a 6 or 7? Im not kidding either those cards are some of the nicest Ive seen in those grades, congrats on some very nice additions.
<< <i>Mark, you seriously scored with those cards! I had bids locked & loaded on ALL those cards but held back from pulling the trigger because of my pending deal on my Giff & McElHenny!
Seriously what in the world is keeping that Owen from a 6 or 7? Im not kidding either those cards are some of the nicest Ive seen in those grades, congrats on some very nice additions. >>
Hey Paul, thanks. The Owen has some slight staining on the reverse, but otherwise, it looks good. I sent you a PM on your PSA 5s of McElhenny and Gifford.
[edit] Early life Robustelli was born on December 7, 1925 in Stamford, Connecticut, to Lucien Robustelli, an Italian-American and his wife Catherine Robustelli. He attended Stamford High School, where he excelled in football and baseball. At age 18, he enlisted in the United States Navy and served on the USS William C. Cole in the Pacific Theater. After the war, he attended Arnold College, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After college, he was drafted in the NFL by the Los Angeles Rams in the nineteenth round of the 1951 NFL Draft. In June, 1951, he was offered a tryout with the New York Giants baseball club. The Giants offered Robustelli a $400 contract to play with Class AA Knoxville. [1]
[edit] Career A two-way end at Arnold College, Robustelli was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the nineteenth round of the 1951 NFL Draft and was considered a long shot to make the team. The Rams were impressed with his determination and toughness as a defensive end and he not only made the team, he was an All-Pro in 1953 and 1955. He played for the Rams until he was traded to the New York Giants in 1956.
Robustelli spent nine seasons with the Giants, playing for six conference champions and one NFL championship team. He was a starter on the Giants defense from 1956 until his retirement after the 1964 season.
In Robustelli's first season, the Giants won the NFL championship and after that they won the Eastern Division titles in 1958, '59, '61, '62, and '63, losing in the NFL championship game each time, in 1958 and 1959 to the Baltimore Colts, in 1961 and 1962 to the Green Bay Packers and in 1963 to the Chicago Bears.
With the Giants, Robustelli was an All-Pro from 1956 through 1960. He received the 1962 Bert Bell Award as best player in the NFL, one of the few defensive players to do so. He played in 174 NFL games, missing only one in his career. He recovered 22 fumbles in his career (the NFL record when he retired) and intercepted two passes, both going for touchdowns.
Although small for a defensive end at 6'0" and 230 pounds, Robustelli was exceptionally smart, quick, strong and known as a superb pass rusher.[2] Robustelli also holds the distinction of being the only football player to have played in the first two nationally televised NFL games
Banged out another nice card, another tough Rookie HOF'er.
Robert Yale Lary (born November 24, 1930 in Fort Worth, Texas) was an American football player.
After graduating from North Side High School in 1949,[1] he attended Texas A&M University, where he was a standout in football and baseball. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the third round in the 1952 NFL Draft. He would help the Lions to win three NFL championships.
He played right safety, a position which gradually became free safety, for the Lions from 1952 to 1964. He had 50 career interceptions,[1] an outstanding figure for that era. He was a Pro Bowl selection for nine years. He also returned kickoffs in 1952, 1953, and 1956. He missed the 1954-1955 seasons for military service.
He was also an outstanding punter, winning punting titles in 1959, 1961 and 1963. His career average was 44.3 yards per punt,[1] in 503 attempts. According to Paul Hornung in 2004 he was the best punter ever.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
WOW. I really like looking at this page and the updates from everyone. I have been contemplating starting a Bowman Football set after seeing everyone else's cards. Nice pickups with Bing guys
Paul, there's no unforgivable hypocrisy in that you're interested in scooping up some of the 1952 Bowman Large in high-grade again rather than mid-grade only. I think that changes of heart are common in sports memorabilia buying because there's so much passion and even emotion involved. I'm subject to changes in what I think looks good or is more desirable to collect myself. This is even more true since I only began collecting last year. No one changes asset allocation in their 401(k) plans as much as collecting focuses in sports memorabilia because of those emotional differences.
Your higher-grade pickups of '52 Bowman Large that double as Football HOF Rookie Cards probably has at least two sets of collectors appreciating those cards - Gifford 8, McElhenny 8, Robustelli 7.
The 1952 Bowman Frank Gifford RC is such a key to this set and the entire football card industry. The intense look that Giff is wearing on this card is iconic and memorable. Personally it's something that I appreciate as a competitive athlete myself. Further, when I set up a table at that sportscard show in Anchorage last month I noticed that a neighboring card dealer was selling unopened boxes of new football cards. I'm not sure which football cards they were, but the imagery on the outside of the new box of cards used the portraiture of...the 1952 Bowman Frank Gifford card. That would be cool if someone knows what I'm referring to and posted a scan of the box here!
Mark, that's a nice Leo Nomellini SGC 5 that you have there. It looks like it would grade 6+ if it weren't for that 'push' on lower right corner. I like that SGC states "ROOKIE" on the card flip where apropos. This makes that Steve Owen card look funny when "ROOKIE" is stated. I associate the image "ROOKIE" with fresh-faced, dark haired, rocky chested virility. This brought me to notice that SGC has a respectable 11 1952 Bowman Large Football Registry Sets (PSA has 30). That's a good number for SGC's fledgling Registry. Maybe I'll add a few there.
My own Nomellini acquisition is atypical. I bought it a few months ago from PreWarCardCollector in a GAI 8.5 holder. I cut it out of it's holder, submitted it raw (taking the 'Evidence Of Trimming' risk), and was pleased that it graded PSA 8. I just returned the card to PSA as a PSA 8.5 hopeful.
No Registry Collector with a substantial completion percentage owns this set with a GPA of 8.00. Being young and able to take my time makes me consider challenging this mark. This is the first set that compelled me to want to buy cards of "commons". Sometimes I wonder what's going on here - I was in 21st place when I began this set over the summer. Since then I've added some good cards and resultantly I've fallen to 23rd place. I guess that's the competition for these arguably best-looking of all vintage football sets!
Here's PSA's own quotable on 1952 Bowman Large Football:
"Often compared to 1952 Topps Baseball by football card enthusiasts, this set possesses all of the elements that make up a classic sportscard issue: beauty, rarity, notoriety, and high demand."
Keith you saw a box of 2009 Topps Magic Football, here is a pic of the Box showing the Giff - ofcourse he is wearing #18 and not his #16, funny that they depicted his image as he was not pictered in the original 1951 Topps Magic. It would have been something if he was though! I bet it would fetch some serious coin!
This card was recently won on eBay. There have been a few cards that sold on eBay lately that I wanted but missed out on. Finally, I think I got my sleeper card with this one. I seem to have realized a good value on it - a 2nd Year card, a Hall Of Famer, a strong New York Giants team association, a card of a very popular set, depicting the most popular sport in the U.S., and finally a population of just 2 with just 2 graded higher.
Tunnell is known for a rack of African-American firsts - first New York Giant, first Pro Football Hall Of Famer, and first full-time NFL coach to be African-American.
That said, I feel that the card is overgraded. Card-in-hand, to me it should just be a PSA 8 because there are mild extraneous surface blemishes. The corners are remarkably square, which probably upholds the technicals. I guess that's why grading is known as "technical point grading" rather than "eye appeal grading". But still.
A bit more on Em that I cut-and-pasted from elsewhere (Credit: Biography.org)...
An easygoing figure, Tunnell was a natural team leader whom some credited with smoothing the overall integration of the Giants in the 1950s. "One of the reasons we never hadproblems was because of Em Tunnell," Giants operations director Andy Robustelli told Neil Amdur of the New York Times. "Emlen was good to all people. He was a hell of a decent person who meant a lot to young ballplayers." The legendary Green Bay coach Vince Lombardi, telling Dave Anderson of the Times that Tunnell "meant a lot to the Packers then. He was a pastor, a cheerleader, and a coach as well as a player." A familiar figure as he traveled the country during scouting season, Tunnell in later life protested the lack of opportunities available to black coaches in the NFL. Well before the head coaching color barrier was broken, Emlen Tunnell died of a heart attack in Pleasantville, New York on July 22, 1975.
Well, I've been hotly anticipating my Eagles' trip to the Meadowlands tomorrow to face the Giants. I've also been on this New York Giants historical vibe with Emlen Tunnell and all.
So...I'll PayPal $20 to the first person that can place Message Board scans of the four NY Giants HOFers that appear on 1952 Bowman Large cards whom were involved in the historic "Greatest Game Ever Played", the 1958 NFL Championship Game. Deadline is by the time the ball is kicked off at the Meadowlands tomorrow night. Those four cards are:
#16 Frank Gifford (Running Back) #39 Emlen Tunnell (Defensive Back) #85 Andy Robustelli (Defensive End) #142 Tom Landry (Def. Coordinator)
Cards can either be SGC or PSA-graded 1952 Bowman Larges that you currently have possession of. Any grade is OK.
Just a little way to have fun and intersect the game of yesteryear, artistic 1952 Bowman Larges, and the contempoary Eagles vs. Giants rivalry in 2009. It would be nice to see these four cards all together!
Ryan (Big Daddy Bowman), exceptional effort! If no one comes up with the exact four cards by tomorrow's kickoff of one of professional sports' greatest rivalries, then I will give you the prize anyway.
Until then, I still have $20 for anyone whom can post those four New York Giants cards.
Well I can hit 3 out of 4 as well on these cards but not 100% However Keith I believe you are missing one -Kyle Rote who I will post in stay of Mr.Landry Rote had 2 catches for 76 yards in that game!
Looking at the scans of Robustelli's in this thread it seems like they are all a tad off centered in the same way. Pretty weird they pretty much look the same...
Yak Diesel, nice cards you've got there - thanks for sharing buddy. That's actually just two of the four cards (looking for a '52 Tunnell rather than '51). Once you shared I knew they'd be nice though. Unlike any other collector I know, you've got sterling credentials before any card gains entry into your collection and that's a credit to you.
P-Money, I excluded Kyle Rote since we're looking for the four Giants HOFers that played in the Greatest Game Ever Played. Congrats on your new Robustelli though! 1952 Bowman Rams cards are pretty.
I can't penalize a guy for not knowing how to post scans here when I couldn't figure it out for a while myself, so...contest over, JrMazzeo is the winner! You were the first to show you have all cards, and linked to the scans. Nice job - all in NM condition too. Congratulations and PM me your e-mail address so I can send payment.
***********************************
The Eagles-Giants rivalry was born when they first met in 1933. The Giants lead the rivalry now with approximately 80 wins & about 70 for the Eagles. Either the Eagles or Giants have won the NFC East eight of the last nine years.
Not the best looking card nor a guy whom any of us might have ever heard of but a super tough to find in PSA 5 + 52 Large graded for $12.38 is a good deal in my book
<< <i>Looking at the scans of Robustelli's in this thread it seems like they are all a tad off centered in the same way. Pretty weird they pretty much look the same... >>
Not to mention that it looks like he's Goin' Commando!
I believe overall small's are more rare, but you do see more 8's and higher from the small because there are less centering issues with the smalls in my opion Here's the overall counts Larges 12165 total bowman Larges graded 1959 8's 37 8.5 118 9's 2 10's
<< <i>I believe overall small's are more rare, but you do see more 8's and higher from the small because there are less centering issues with the smalls in my opion Here's the overall counts Larges 12165 total bowman Larges graded 1959 8's 37 8.5 118 9's 2 10's
There are 23 8's McElhenny and only one higher for the smalls and I think 13 8's and one higher for the larges.
The McElhenny is in my HOF set, but I do have a Bowman Large set. I prefer the Larges myself. >>
Yes I sorta knew that the Small variety has fewer pop #'s however there are no SP's in the set compared to the Large, so I believe the Large is harder to complete in high grade ( PSA 7 + ) .
BTW- What is your set name, I would like to check it out if its registered.
Just a heads up. Dave and Adams Card World has a small sale going on for the vintage football cards right now. They are offering 5% off (which isnt much but its some) and free shipping on orders over $50.00 if I am not mistaken. Sale goes on until 12/27. Merry Christmas.
First of all - Yak, you are due a major c-o-n-g-r-a-t-u-l-a-t-i-o-n-s on the review bump of your 1952 Bowman Small McElhenny from PSA 8 to PSA 8.5. Any bump feels good to a collector, but this one puts you into the rarified stratosphere of POP-1-none-higher status. That's pretty cool to have the best example that PSA has ever graded. I cannot say that about any card that I own. Way to go.
On the other end of the spectrum, I recently received the results of my latest review. A total of 17 cards were submitted. Sadly only one bumped, my worst conversion percentage on any review to date. The card that bumped belongs to my Football HOF RCs Registry so I can post that one there.
For this set (1952 Bowman Large), I had four cards reviewed and none received the award. Those four were: 1952 Bowman Large Leo Nomellini PSA 8 1952 Bowman Large Ollie Matson (RC) PSA 7.5 1952 Bowman Large Gino Marchetti (RC) PSA 7.5 1952 Bowman Large Gino Marchetti (RC) PSA 7
I employed an interesting strategy for my Marchetti reviews. I had long thought that my Marchetti 7 looked every bit as good as my Marchetti 7.5. Therefore, I paid grading fees for both and sent both Marchettis in next to each other so that PSA could see what I would see, hoping that both would be garnered "PSA 7.5" since they could compare the cards together like I did. That strategy didn't work.
Recent experience has shown that PSA grading standards have become tougher. I know others have said the same thing. Even though only 1 of 17 converted, in a way I'm thankful for this. Why? Tougher grading standards mean more exclusive populations for high grade cards. On some levels, I most like chasing the exclusivity and rarity of the high end items.
Yak, I hope you soon get to 15% completion on the Larges so you register it and then this can be a second set we do together. If you do so, what grade of card would you consider pursuing? Congrats again on your McElhenny bump and thanks for sharing the beauty - that's really terrific!
The 1952 Bowman Large #30 Slingin’ Sammy Baugh Sammy Baugh’s 1952 Bowman football card represents his sport card “Swan Song” as the last card issued during the Washington Redskins quarterback’s playing days (1937-1952). The card, produced at the Bowman Gum Corporation in Philadelphia, produced a portrait that displays fantastically. The background colors mimic that of rainier cherry skin as the background’s orange and yellow tones transition through a brilliant range of hues.
The absence of a facemask in 1950s professional football allowed observers to have a good look at helmeted players' faces. The card’s Native American logo depiction was more functionally important as a team identifier because it would be another twenty years before the Redskins placed the Native American logo on their helmet. Bowman makes use of a pennant-style namebox. The artistry, color, and design of the 1952 Bowman football cards have made them one of the most popular and desirable cards among any sport.
Not only do they not make cards like this anymore, they don’t make players like this anymore either. “Slingin’ Sam” – a name he earned not while playing football but while playing third base for the TCU baseball team – played quarterback, punter, and defensive back in the NFL. In fact, in 1943 he led the league in passing, punting, and interceptions. In one game against the Lions, Baugh threw for four touchdown passes and notched four interceptions in perhaps his greatest single-game performance ever. On another occasion, Baugh suffered a concussion while tackling Bears QB Sid Luckman. Can you imagine Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick putting QB Tom Brady on defense to blitz Donovan McNabb?
Baugh is worth celebrating because he was an integral part of forward pass development. He made the forward pass a formidable weapon rather than a tool of last resort. In the 1940s NFL, that was not so easy. The ball was rounder at the ends and fatter in the middle then, making it harder to throw. Resultantly, Baugh was not able to throw for a Brady-esque number of touchdowns.
Otherwise, where has this early football innovator made news or pop culture reference lately and how is he is remembered? First of all, with Jay-Z in a rap video. You must think I'm joking. Yes, Baugh had the King Of Hip-Hop harkening back to hallowed antiquity. Earlier this decade, Mista S-Dot-Carter paid homage to Sammy Baugh by sporting Baugh’s maroon #33 Mitchell & Ness throwback jersey in his “Girls, Girls, Girls” video. A fan of both Jay-Z and early football myself, this act is what showed me that Jay-Z finally won the longtime beef with Nas convincingly.
Coincidentally, Baugh passed away exactly one year ago today from the time I write this column, and his passing was reported through all major sports media outlets. Baugh was the last surviving member of the Pro Football Hall Of Fame’s inaugural Class of 1963 and truly among the last of a bygone gridiron era. When naming the greatest football player of all-time, Slingin’ Sammy Baugh’s name is usually in the conversation. When naming the most beautiful football cards of all-time, Baugh’s 1952 Bowman rendition is in the conversation too.
Did anyone see the Showtime special on the old AFL? There is terrific footage, etc., however, my highlight was an old black and white interview with Sammy Baugh, then coach of the NY Titans, who totally dissed playing in the Polo Grounds, basically calling it an urban dump, and saying that is a prime example of why he is just a good 'ol country boy at heart. It was priceless. A very good one hour special not to be missed by any vintage football afficiandos.
ps - Great 8.5 of King McElhenny. A well desreved bump.
Thanks for the kind words guys. I must admit, my review success rate really drop also. I had one bump out of about 20 + cards. Heres scans of the other 52's that I tried. Think this card is a solid 8 and had only a slight chance of an upgrade, so I wasn't surprised.
The I thought the Lary is a little nicer and I've tried twice on this card. I guess its staying an 8.
Keith I love your Matson, I can't believe that card won't upgrade. What did they point out as its flaw ? I've seen scans of your Marchetti thats another beauty.
Yeah, I think those print marks are on the card. But that isn't what PSA feferred to as the reason for not upgrade. They didn't point to a corner ,but on the white sticky it said corners so I assuming it was referring to multiple corners. The Christienson was TB and Corners. Regardless I don't disagree with them on those two cards. I do have a couple of cards that I had on the order that I just don't understand why they didn't upgrade. But that is a whole different story.
<< <i> I do have a couple of cards that I had on the order that I just don't understand why they didn't upgrade. But that is a whole different story. >>
Yes and a story we can all relate to!
I quit building my 52 set in 2008 because of the frustration I felt after getting completely dumbfounded & pised off playing the bump game, it will drive you insane if you let it. I might not even bother to waste money on trying to get any of my cards bumped ever again, when I renew my PSA membership MAYBE I will send some in with the free subs but definately dont plan on spending much money on this crap-shoot again.
I just crossed the SGC Thorpe 8 '55 AA I p/u'd at Goodwins to a PSA 8. It has the centering and corners of an 8.5, and I overpaid $$$ hoping it might achieve 8.5 status. I will give it two more shots with reviews I think. Our review rate of success on the AA's is certainly lessening. We were at an astonishingly high rate at one time, and it seemed inevitable we would taper off. Welcome to reality I guess.
<< <i>I just crossed the SGC Thorpe 8 '55 AA I p/u'd at Goodwins to a PSA 8. It has the centering and corners of an 8.5, and I overpaid $$$ hoping it might achieve 8.5 status. I will give it two more shots with reviews I think. Our review rate of success on the AA's is certainly lessening. We were at an astonishingly high rate at one time, and it seemed inevitable we would taper off. Welcome to reality I guess. >>
Congrats on the crossover- that is not always easy!
Perkdog, well no wonder that I've always liked your 1952 Bowman Brady avatar so much. Until you pointed it out, I didn't realize that Brady's stance, mechanics, and poise mimic that one Slingin' Sammy Baugh. Brilliant!
Yak, to answer your question: in the recent review, PSA had an arrow pointing to my 1952 Bowman Large Ollie Matson (RC) PSA 7.5's top left corner as what is holding the card back from a PSA 8. Terrific 1952 Large Yale Lary and Jack Christiansen RCs there! With gems like those and others, I would imagine that if you ever Register your 1952 Bowman Larges, you would debut with a GPA of close to 8.00. Only a guess. You've got lots of remarkable cards, which I have long known.
Finally - I think the Matson scan above is gone so I included it again below. Sorry, I've been having scanner issues and organization issues with the new Photobucket that caused that image to go away, diminishing erstwhile posts.
Comments
Mark- how far along are you on your set? I see you posting many beautiful SGC holdered '52's....
<< <i>Another Gorgeous Marchetti Keith! Congrats, I had that one on my watch list but never pulled the trigger. I assume that should get a .5 bump up so I suggest you place that in your review box
Mark- how far along are you on your set? I see you posting many beautiful SGC holdered '52's.... >>
Paul, I'm about 20% complete with the set. I have five more coming from Olsonarch soon. I think there have been some pretty nice deals recently on them.
<< <i>
<< <i>Another Gorgeous Marchetti Keith! Congrats, I had that one on my watch list but never pulled the trigger. I assume that should get a .5 bump up so I suggest you place that in your review box
Mark- how far along are you on your set? I see you posting many beautiful SGC holdered '52's.... >>
Paul, I'm about 20% complete with the set. I have five more coming from Olsonarch soon. I think there have been some pretty nice deals recently on them. >>
Agreed, I bought the Van Brocklin from him. He had some very nice looking cards up for sale, all very nice for the grade too.
After about a month of leg work and a series of annoying phone calls I was able to secure these two beautys
Where did you find those beauties? VERY NICE!
I got this in the mail today..just remember size doesn't matter!
View Vintage Football Cards For Sale
Ryan, yes those exquisite Rams colors and logo pop on a Bowman Small card too.
Perkdog, I'll be calling you P-Money for a while now. You win the prize and you straight knocked it out the box with those two winners. High grade, visually appealing, and bringing the thumpin' ancillary HOF RC appeal; right up my alley. You've unearthed some virtual gems here. So I see this also lifts you to a swell Grade Point Average of NM+ for the set.
'52 Large Gifford and McElhenny 8s just aren't floating around all the time. I think that on many levels, some can consider the 1952 Bowman Large Frank Gifford card the most important New York Football Giants card ever printed.
BTW P-Money - it took a series of annoying phone calls? Sheesh, to lasso those handsome antiquities, I'd tolerate an hour on the horn with Gilbert Gottfried.
Yes I am extremley excited about these cards and fortunate to have even found them- it was actually just dumb luck to be honest.
And Keith what I meant by a "series of annoying phone calls" was Me annoying the person who had these in their possesion!
Edit: I almost feel hypocritical about showing these after I clearly stated several months ago that I was done with the registry & the high grade card game but I guess the 'ole saying here holds true......
The registry is a drug, or better yet like Ryan says "Im an addict"
Well I guess I had a relapse
Mark
Seriously what in the world is keeping that Owen from a 6 or 7? Im not kidding either those cards are some of the nicest Ive seen in those grades, congrats on some very nice additions.
<< <i>Mark, you seriously scored with those cards! I had bids locked & loaded on ALL those cards but held back from pulling the trigger because of my pending deal on my Giff & McElHenny!
Seriously what in the world is keeping that Owen from a 6 or 7? Im not kidding either those cards are some of the nicest Ive seen in those grades, congrats on some very nice additions. >>
Hey Paul, thanks. The Owen has some slight staining on the reverse, but otherwise, it looks good. I sent you a PM on your PSA 5s of McElhenny and Gifford.
[edit] Early life
Robustelli was born on December 7, 1925 in Stamford, Connecticut, to Lucien Robustelli, an Italian-American and his wife Catherine Robustelli. He attended Stamford High School, where he excelled in football and baseball. At age 18, he enlisted in the United States Navy and served on the USS William C. Cole in the Pacific Theater. After the war, he attended Arnold College, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After college, he was drafted in the NFL by the Los Angeles Rams in the nineteenth round of the 1951 NFL Draft. In June, 1951, he was offered a tryout with the New York Giants baseball club. The Giants offered Robustelli a $400 contract to play with Class AA Knoxville. [1]
[edit] Career
A two-way end at Arnold College, Robustelli was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the nineteenth round of the 1951 NFL Draft and was considered a long shot to make the team. The Rams were impressed with his determination and toughness as a defensive end and he not only made the team, he was an All-Pro in 1953 and 1955. He played for the Rams until he was traded to the New York Giants in 1956.
Robustelli spent nine seasons with the Giants, playing for six conference champions and one NFL championship team. He was a starter on the Giants defense from 1956 until his retirement after the 1964 season.
In Robustelli's first season, the Giants won the NFL championship and after that they won the Eastern Division titles in 1958, '59, '61, '62, and '63, losing in the NFL championship game each time, in 1958 and 1959 to the Baltimore Colts, in 1961 and 1962 to the Green Bay Packers and in 1963 to the Chicago Bears.
With the Giants, Robustelli was an All-Pro from 1956 through 1960. He received the 1962 Bert Bell Award as best player in the NFL, one of the few defensive players to do so. He played in 174 NFL games, missing only one in his career. He recovered 22 fumbles in his career (the NFL record when he retired) and intercepted two passes, both going for touchdowns.
Although small for a defensive end at 6'0" and 230 pounds, Robustelli was exceptionally smart, quick, strong and known as a superb pass rusher.[2] Robustelli also holds the distinction of being the only football player to have played in the first two nationally televised NFL games
Bing cashback was also good to Big Daddy!
View Vintage Football Cards For Sale
Robert Yale Lary (born November 24, 1930 in Fort Worth, Texas) was an American football player.
After graduating from North Side High School in 1949,[1] he attended Texas A&M University, where he was a standout in football and baseball. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the third round in the 1952 NFL Draft. He would help the Lions to win three NFL championships.
He played right safety, a position which gradually became free safety, for the Lions from 1952 to 1964. He had 50 career interceptions,[1] an outstanding figure for that era. He was a Pro Bowl selection for nine years. He also returned kickoffs in 1952, 1953, and 1956. He missed the 1954-1955 seasons for military service.
He was also an outstanding punter, winning punting titles in 1959, 1961 and 1963. His career average was 44.3 yards per punt,[1] in 503 attempts. According to Paul Hornung in 2004 he was the best punter ever.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
Your higher-grade pickups of '52 Bowman Large that double as Football HOF Rookie Cards probably has at least two sets of collectors appreciating those cards - Gifford 8, McElhenny 8, Robustelli 7.
The 1952 Bowman Frank Gifford RC is such a key to this set and the entire football card industry. The intense look that Giff is wearing on this card is iconic and memorable. Personally it's something that I appreciate as a competitive athlete myself. Further, when I set up a table at that sportscard show in Anchorage last month I noticed that a neighboring card dealer was selling unopened boxes of new football cards. I'm not sure which football cards they were, but the imagery on the outside of the new box of cards used the portraiture of...the 1952 Bowman Frank Gifford card. That would be cool if someone knows what I'm referring to and posted a scan of the box here!
Mark, that's a nice Leo Nomellini SGC 5 that you have there. It looks like it would grade 6+ if it weren't for that 'push' on lower right corner. I like that SGC states "ROOKIE" on the card flip where apropos. This makes that Steve Owen card look funny when "ROOKIE" is stated. I associate the image "ROOKIE" with fresh-faced, dark haired, rocky chested virility. This brought me to notice that SGC has a respectable 11 1952 Bowman Large Football Registry Sets (PSA has 30). That's a good number for SGC's fledgling Registry. Maybe I'll add a few there.
My own Nomellini acquisition is atypical. I bought it a few months ago from PreWarCardCollector in a GAI 8.5 holder. I cut it out of it's holder, submitted it raw (taking the 'Evidence Of Trimming' risk), and was pleased that it graded PSA 8. I just returned the card to PSA as a PSA 8.5 hopeful.
No Registry Collector with a substantial completion percentage owns this set with a GPA of 8.00. Being young and able to take my time makes me consider challenging this mark. This is the first set that compelled me to want to buy cards of "commons". Sometimes I wonder what's going on here - I was in 21st place when I began this set over the summer. Since then I've added some good cards and resultantly I've fallen to 23rd place. I guess that's the competition for these arguably best-looking of all vintage football sets!
Here's PSA's own quotable on 1952 Bowman Large Football:
"Often compared to 1952 Topps Baseball by football card enthusiasts, this set possesses all of the elements that make up a classic sportscard issue: beauty, rarity, notoriety, and high demand."
This card was recently won on eBay. There have been a few cards that sold on eBay lately that I wanted but missed out on. Finally, I think I got my sleeper card with this one. I seem to have realized a good value on it - a 2nd Year card, a Hall Of Famer, a strong New York Giants team association, a card of a very popular set, depicting the most popular sport in the U.S., and finally a population of just 2 with just 2 graded higher.
Tunnell is known for a rack of African-American firsts - first New York Giant, first Pro Football Hall Of Famer, and first full-time NFL coach to be African-American.
That said, I feel that the card is overgraded. Card-in-hand, to me it should just be a PSA 8 because there are mild extraneous surface blemishes. The corners are remarkably square, which probably upholds the technicals. I guess that's why grading is known as "technical point grading" rather than "eye appeal grading". But still.
A bit more on Em that I cut-and-pasted from elsewhere (Credit: Biography.org)...
An easygoing figure, Tunnell was a natural team leader whom some credited with smoothing the overall integration of the Giants in the 1950s. "One of the reasons we never hadproblems was because of Em Tunnell," Giants operations director Andy Robustelli told Neil Amdur of the New York Times. "Emlen was good to all people. He was a hell of a decent person who meant a lot to young ballplayers." The legendary Green Bay coach Vince Lombardi, telling Dave Anderson of the Times that Tunnell "meant a lot to the Packers then. He was a pastor, a cheerleader, and a coach as well as a player." A familiar figure as he traveled the country during scouting season, Tunnell in later life protested the lack of opportunities available to black coaches in the NFL. Well before the head coaching color barrier was broken, Emlen Tunnell died of a heart attack in Pleasantville, New York on July 22, 1975.
So...I'll PayPal $20 to the first person that can place Message Board scans of the four NY Giants HOFers that appear on 1952 Bowman Large cards whom were involved in the historic "Greatest Game Ever Played", the 1958 NFL Championship Game. Deadline is by the time the ball is kicked off at the Meadowlands tomorrow night. Those four cards are:
#16 Frank Gifford (Running Back)
#39 Emlen Tunnell (Defensive Back)
#85 Andy Robustelli (Defensive End)
#142 Tom Landry (Def. Coordinator)
Cards can either be SGC or PSA-graded 1952 Bowman Larges that you currently have possession of. Any grade is OK.
Just a little way to have fun and intersect the game of yesteryear, artistic 1952 Bowman Larges, and the contempoary Eagles vs. Giants rivalry in 2009. It would be nice to see these four cards all together!
-Keith
Have fun at the game!
Mark
I have to cheat on this one....(does your scan of your 52 Tunnell count???
Can I get a little extra credit for this one????
Its from 1952 and its LARGE
Keith...enjoy the game...stay warm. GO Cowboys! Sorry I can't root for the Giants or the Eagles
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Have fun at the game, brother!
Jasen
Until then, I still have $20 for anyone whom can post those four New York Giants cards.
P.S. Nice grades on your cards too...sheesh.
Andy Robustelli
Emlen Tunnell
Frank Gifford
I love the SGC Tunnell real nice looking card, are you ready to trade Big Daddy.
P-Money, I excluded Kyle Rote since we're looking for the four Giants HOFers that played in the Greatest Game Ever Played. Congrats on your new Robustelli though! 1952 Bowman Rams cards are pretty.
I can't penalize a guy for not knowing how to post scans here when I couldn't figure it out for a while myself, so...contest over, JrMazzeo is the winner! You were the first to show you have all cards, and linked to the scans. Nice job - all in NM condition too. Congratulations and PM me your e-mail address so I can send payment.
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The Eagles-Giants rivalry was born when they first met in 1933. The Giants lead the rivalry now with approximately 80 wins & about 70 for the Eagles. Either the Eagles or Giants have won the NFC East eight of the last nine years.
<< <i>Looking at the scans of Robustelli's in this thread it seems like they are all a tad off centered in the same way. Pretty weird they pretty much look the same... >>
Not to mention that it looks like he's Goin' Commando!
Steve
Bumped to PSA 8.5
Highest graded Bowman small 1 of 1
Im not sure what the pop reports are and am curious how my 52 Large PSA 8 compares to the Small 8...
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Here's the overall counts
Larges
12165 total bowman Larges graded
1959 8's
37 8.5
118 9's
2 10's
6799 total bowman smalls grade
1427 8's
20 8.5
75 9's
0 10's
.
There are 23 8's McElhenny and only one higher for the smalls and I think 13 8's and one higher for the larges.
The McElhenny is in my HOF set, but I do have a Bowman Large set. I prefer the Larges myself.
<< <i>I believe overall small's are more rare, but you do see more 8's and higher from the small because there are less centering issues with the smalls in my opion
Here's the overall counts
Larges
12165 total bowman Larges graded
1959 8's
37 8.5
118 9's
2 10's
6799 total bowman smalls grade
1427 8's
20 8.5
75 9's
0 10's
.
There are 23 8's McElhenny and only one higher for the smalls and I think 13 8's and one higher for the larges.
The McElhenny is in my HOF set, but I do have a Bowman Large set. I prefer the Larges myself. >>
Yes I sorta knew that the Small variety has fewer pop #'s however there are no SP's in the set compared to the Large, so I believe the Large is harder to complete in high grade ( PSA 7 + ) .
BTW- What is your set name, I would like to check it out if its registered.
The Tom Fears '52 card is without a doubt his most boring card, if youve seen his other Bowmans you would know what I mean.
On the other end of the spectrum, I recently received the results of my latest review. A total of 17 cards were submitted. Sadly only one bumped, my worst conversion percentage on any review to date. The card that bumped belongs to my Football HOF RCs Registry so I can post that one there.
For this set (1952 Bowman Large), I had four cards reviewed and none received the award. Those four were:
1952 Bowman Large Leo Nomellini PSA 8
1952 Bowman Large Ollie Matson (RC) PSA 7.5
1952 Bowman Large Gino Marchetti (RC) PSA 7.5
1952 Bowman Large Gino Marchetti (RC) PSA 7
I employed an interesting strategy for my Marchetti reviews. I had long thought that my Marchetti 7 looked every bit as good as my Marchetti 7.5. Therefore, I paid grading fees for both and sent both Marchettis in next to each other so that PSA could see what I would see, hoping that both would be garnered "PSA 7.5" since they could compare the cards together like I did. That strategy didn't work.
Recent experience has shown that PSA grading standards have become tougher. I know others have said the same thing. Even though only 1 of 17 converted, in a way I'm thankful for this. Why? Tougher grading standards mean more exclusive populations for high grade cards. On some levels, I most like chasing the exclusivity and rarity of the high end items.
Yak, I hope you soon get to 15% completion on the Larges so you register it and then this can be a second set we do together. If you do so, what grade of card would you consider pursuing? Congrats again on your McElhenny bump and thanks for sharing the beauty - that's really terrific!
The 1952 Bowman Large #30 Slingin’ Sammy Baugh
Sammy Baugh’s 1952 Bowman football card represents his sport card “Swan Song” as the last card issued during the Washington Redskins quarterback’s playing days (1937-1952). The card, produced at the Bowman Gum Corporation in Philadelphia, produced a portrait that displays fantastically. The background colors mimic that of rainier cherry skin as the background’s orange and yellow tones transition through a brilliant range of hues.
The absence of a facemask in 1950s professional football allowed observers to have a good look at helmeted players' faces. The card’s Native American logo depiction was more functionally important as a team identifier because it would be another twenty years before the Redskins placed the Native American logo on their helmet. Bowman makes use of a pennant-style namebox. The artistry, color, and design of the 1952 Bowman football cards have made them one of the most popular and desirable cards among any sport.
Not only do they not make cards like this anymore, they don’t make players like this anymore either. “Slingin’ Sam” – a name he earned not while playing football but while playing third base for the TCU baseball team – played quarterback, punter, and defensive back in the NFL. In fact, in 1943 he led the league in passing, punting, and interceptions. In one game against the Lions, Baugh threw for four touchdown passes and notched four interceptions in perhaps his greatest single-game performance ever. On another occasion, Baugh suffered a concussion while tackling Bears QB Sid Luckman. Can you imagine Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick putting QB Tom Brady on defense to blitz Donovan McNabb?
Baugh is worth celebrating because he was an integral part of forward pass development. He made the forward pass a formidable weapon rather than a tool of last resort. In the 1940s NFL, that was not so easy. The ball was rounder at the ends and fatter in the middle then, making it harder to throw. Resultantly, Baugh was not able to throw for a Brady-esque number of touchdowns.
Otherwise, where has this early football innovator made news or pop culture reference lately and how is he is remembered? First of all, with Jay-Z in a rap video. You must think I'm joking. Yes, Baugh had the King Of Hip-Hop harkening back to hallowed antiquity. Earlier this decade, Mista S-Dot-Carter paid homage to Sammy Baugh by sporting Baugh’s maroon #33 Mitchell & Ness throwback jersey in his “Girls, Girls, Girls” video. A fan of both Jay-Z and early football myself, this act is what showed me that Jay-Z finally won the longtime beef with Nas convincingly.
Coincidentally, Baugh passed away exactly one year ago today from the time I write this column, and his passing was reported through all major sports media outlets. Baugh was the last surviving member of the Pro Football Hall Of Fame’s inaugural Class of 1963 and truly among the last of a bygone gridiron era. When naming the greatest football player of all-time, Slingin’ Sammy Baugh’s name is usually in the conversation. When naming the most beautiful football cards of all-time, Baugh’s 1952 Bowman rendition is in the conversation too.
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The Baugh is definately in my top 5 best cards from the set, below is my Favorite NFL Player depicted similarly to the Baugh...
ps - Great 8.5 of King McElhenny. A well desreved bump.
I must admit, my review success rate really drop also. I had one bump out of about 20 + cards.
Heres scans of the other 52's that I tried.
Think this card is a solid 8 and had only a slight chance of an upgrade, so I wasn't surprised.
The I thought the Lary is a little nicer and I've tried twice on this card. I guess its staying an 8.
Keith I love your Matson, I can't believe that card won't upgrade. What did they point out as its flaw ?
I've seen scans of your Marchetti thats another beauty.
Regardless I don't disagree with them on those two cards. I do have a couple of cards that I had on the order that I just don't understand why they didn't upgrade. But that is a whole different story.
<< <i> I do have a couple of cards that I had on the order that I just don't understand why they didn't upgrade. But that is a whole different story. >>
Yes and a story we can all relate to!
I quit building my 52 set in 2008 because of the frustration I felt after getting completely dumbfounded & pised off playing the bump game, it will drive you insane if you let it. I might not even bother to waste money on trying to get any of my cards bumped ever again, when I renew my PSA membership MAYBE I will send some in with the free subs but definately dont plan on spending much money on this crap-shoot again.
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<< <i>I just crossed the SGC Thorpe 8 '55 AA I p/u'd at Goodwins to a PSA 8. It has the centering and corners of an 8.5, and I overpaid $$$ hoping it might achieve 8.5 status. I will give it two more shots with reviews I think. Our review rate of success on the AA's is certainly lessening. We were at an astonishingly high rate at one time, and it seemed inevitable we would taper off. Welcome to reality I guess. >>
Congrats on the crossover- that is not always easy!
<< <i>I just sent in about a dozen 52 large to SGC for cross over...I will let you know the results in a few weeks. >>
I just sent nine to SGC for crossover, too! I will also post when I get them back.
Yak, to answer your question: in the recent review, PSA had an arrow pointing to my 1952 Bowman Large Ollie Matson (RC) PSA 7.5's top left corner as what is holding the card back from a PSA 8. Terrific 1952 Large Yale Lary and Jack Christiansen RCs there! With gems like those and others, I would imagine that if you ever Register your 1952 Bowman Larges, you would debut with a GPA of close to 8.00. Only a guess. You've got lots of remarkable cards, which I have long known.
Finally - I think the Matson scan above is gone so I included it again below. Sorry, I've been having scanner issues and organization issues with the new Photobucket that caused that image to go away, diminishing erstwhile posts.