1948 Bowman Football Cards

Product Details

1948 Bowman Football ushered in the modern football era and kicked off a long run of football card collecting.

While no company has been around long enough to stake a claim as having issued cards for all those years, there hasn't been a season since 1948 where a set of professional football cards hasn't been released.

1948 Bowman Football Set Details

The 1948 Bowman Football card set consists of 108 total cards measuring 2-1/16 by 2-1/2 inches. The product boasts key rookie cards of multiple Hall of Fame players, including Steve Van Buren (#7), Sammy Baugh (#22), Bulldog Turner (#36), Pete Pihos (#63) and Sid Luckman (#107).

Bowman was also able to include several rookie cards of players that didn't appear in the competing 1948 Leaf Football.

1948 Bowman Football Design

The design of 1948 Bowman Football is very similar to that of 1948 Bowman Baseball. The card fronts have a simple black-and-white player photo surrounded by a white border. Some players are wearing their leather helmets, others are bare-headed. No other design elements are included, like logos, names or teams.

The card backs resemble the format of 1949 Bowman Baseball by using two different ink colors. The card number is listed along the top in red, followed by the player's name and sometimes his nickname in black. The player's position and team follow, along with three lines of vital statistics. A short biography highlights the player's career. At the bottom of the card is one of several wrapper redemption offers. The offer itself is printed in red ink, with an image of the item in black. A copyright line and expiration date run along the bottom edge of the card as well.

1948 Bowman Football Printing and Distribution

1948 Bowman Football was printed on three 36-card printing sheets. The cards were printed by every third number, where series one had cards #1, 4, 7, 10, and so on. Series two featured cards #2, 5, 8, 11, and series three has all the cards divisible by three (#3, 6, 9, 12). The cards from the third series are the rarest, with the second series being slightly harder to complete than the first. Unlike 1948 Leaf Football, Bowman did not issue cards of collegiate players.

1948 Bowman Football Condition Issues

1948 Bowman Football cards are known for having centering issues, which makes top-condition cards tough to locate. In addition, the white borders of the cards leave them prone to yellowing from age and susceptible to staining.

The popularity of the set has grown in recent years as a result of having been overlooked for so long. Vintage collectors appreciate the simplicity of the design, lack of costly variations and the strong rookie class. Much more affordable than other early sets, the 1948 Bowman Football card offering is one that deserves a second look.