1948 Bowman Baseball Cards
Product Details
1948 Bowman Baseball marks the first time the company made a set of cards for the sport.
The checklist might be small and the design plain, but it's a landmark release for numerous reasons including several key rookie cards.
1948 Bowman Baseball Set Details
1948 Bowman Baseball has just 48 cards, 12 of which are short prints. Top rookies in the set feature a trio of all-time greats: Stan Musial, Warren Spahn and Yogi Berra. Other rookies in 1948 include Red Schoendienst, Phil Rizzuto, Ralph Kiner and Bobby Thomson.
Measuring 2 1/16" by 2 1/2", the cards are smaller than today's standard size. Done in black and white, players are shown with largely boring waist-up shots that are tightly cropped and show little personality. There are a few exceptions but not many.
Backs are similar to what collectors found on Goudey cards before World War II. The top has the card number and the player's name in a headline. Vitals follow along with a short bio. The bottom of the card has an ad for Blony Bubble Gum.
1948 Bowman Baseball is an important set for the hobby. It introduced a major manufacturer that helped usher in modern trading cards. The cards aren't nearly as attractive as Bowman sets made a short time later but the set's significance is more as a launching point for the brand and the key players.
Although popular, cards don't generally sell as well as those from 1948-49 Leaf. Granted, that set has rookie cards of Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige, something Bowman doesn't. The color in Leaf is also considered to be more pleasing by a lot of collectors.
Top 1948 Bowman Baseball to Collect
- Stan Musial RC #36 - Buy on eBay.
- Yogi Berra RC #6 - Buy on eBay.
- Warren Spahn RC #18 - Buy on eBay.
- Red Schoendienst RC #38 - Buy on eBay.
- Phil Rizzuto RC SP #8 - Buy on eBay.
- Ralph Kiner RC #3 - Buy on eBay.
Set Checklist
1948 Bowman Baseball Checklist
Base Set Checklist
2 Ewell Blackwell - Cincinnati Reds RC
3 Ralph Kiner - Pittsburgh Pirates RC
4 Johnny Mize - New York Giants RC
5 Bob Feller - Cleveland Indians RC
6 Larry "Yogi" Berra - New York Yankees RC
7 Pete Reiser - Brooklyn Dodgers RC SP
8 Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto - New York Yankees RC SP
9 Walker Cooper - New York Giants RC
10 Buddy Rosar - Philadelphia Athletics RC
11 Johnny Lindell - New York Yankees RC
12 Johnny Sain - Boston Braves RC
13 Willard Marshall - New York Giants RC SP
14 Allie Reynolds - New York Yankees RC
15 Eddie Joost - Philadelphia Athletics
16 Jack Lohrke - New York Giants RC SP
17 Enos Slaughter - St. Louis Cardinals RC
18 Warren Spahn - Boston Braves RC
19 Tommy Henrich - New York Yankees
20 Buddy Kerr - New York Giants RC SP
21 Ferris Fain - Philadelphia Athletics RC
22 Floyd "Bill" Bevens - New York Yankees RC SP
23 Larry Jansen - New York Giants RC
24 Emil "Dutch" Leonard - Philadelphia Phillies SP
26 Frank Shea - New York Yankees RC SP
27 Sid Gordon - New York Giants RC
28 Emil Verban - Philadelphia Phillies RC SP
29 Joe Page - New York Yankees RC SP
30 Whitey Lockman - New York Giants RC SP
31 Bill McCahan - Philadelphia Athletics RC
32 Bill Rigney - New York Giants RC
33 Billy "The Bull" Johnson - New York Yankees RC
34 Sheldon Jones - New York Giants RC SP
35 George Stirnweiss - New York Yankees RC
36 Stan Musial - St. Louis Cardinals RC
37 Clint Hartung - New York Giants RC
38 Al "Red" Schoendienst - St. Louis Cardinals RC
39 Augie Galan - Cincinnati Reds RC
40 Marty Marion - St. Louis Cardinals RC
41 Rex Barney - Brooklyn Dodgers RC
42 Ray Poat - New York Giants RC
43 Bruce Edwards - Brooklyn Dodgers RC
44 Johnny Wyrostek - Cincinnati Reds RC
45 Hank Sauer - Cincinnati Reds RC
46 Herman Wehmeier - Cincinnati Reds RC
47 Bobby Thomson - New York Giants RC
48 George "Dave" Koslo - New York Giants RC
Base Variations Set Checklist
5 Bob Feller - 2 white boxes at the top (on the front)
5 Bob Feller - no white dashes or boxes on the front
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Edward Labate
How can you not love this set, 1st after 7 years (1941 Playball!)