1951 Bowman Football Cards
Product Details
Featuring rookie cards for Tom Landry and Norm Van Brocklin, 1951 Bowman Football mixed things up a bit for collectors.
Bucking a hobby trend, 1951 Bowman Football didn't look exactly like the baseball set it had issued earlier in the year. Though the cards themselves were made larger to match the size of the baseball cards, the actual design was arguably improved compared to the baseball product.
1951 Bowman Football Set Details
Card fronts showed a painted player picture, which in many cases was the exact same picture used in the 1950 set. In a lower corner, the player's name was printed inside a white box that had a black line at the top and bottom. Above the name was a team logo and a white border surrounds the card.
On the other hand, the 1951 Bowman Football backs were similar to the baseball layout. Most cards feature a lengthy biographical write-up, with the player's vital stats above and the card number and copyright line below it. Other than the player's name and a large FOOTBALL written in red text across the bottom, the backs use black ink.
There are 144 cards in the 1951 Bowman Football checklist, which was broken into four printing sheets of 36 cards each. Every series was based around small team groupings. The Cleveland Browns were the first cards in each series, followed by the Los Angeles Rams. It's probably not a coincidence given that these were the two teams who met in the NFL championship game the previous season.
Tom Landry, Emlen Tunnell, Norm Van Brocklin and Ernie Stautner are among the significant rookies found in the set. One player who is occasionally confused is William Walsh, shown on Card #23 as a member of the Steelers. He's a different person than the future Hall of Fame coach better known as Bill Walsh. There are no scarce high-numbered series or variations in the set.
Top 1951 Bowman Football Cards:
Set Checklist
1951 Bowman Football Checklist
Base Set Checklist
2 Otto Graham - Cleveland Browns
3 Mac Speedie - Cleveland Browns
4 Norm Van Brocklin - Los Angeles Rams RC
5 Woodley Lewis - Los Angeles Rams RC
6 Tom Fears - Los Angeles Rams
7 George Musacco - New York Yanks
8 George Taliaferro - New York Yanks
9 Barney Poole - New York Yanks
10 Steve Van Buren - Philadelphia Eagles
11 Al "Whitey" Wistert - Philadelphia Eagles
12 Chuck Bednarik - Philadelphia Eagles
13 Bulldog Turner - Chicago Bears
14 Bob Williams - Chicago Bears RC
15 Johnny Lujack - Chicago Bears
16 Rebel Steiner - Green Bay Packers
17 Jug Girard - Green Bay Packers
18 Ed Neal - Green Bay Packers
19 Travis Tidwell - New York Giants
20 Tom Landry - New York Giants RC
21 Arnie Weinmeister - New York Giants RC
22 Joe Geri - Pittsburgh Steelers
23 Bill Walsh - Pittsburgh Steelers RC
24 Fran Rogel - Pittsburgh Steelers
25 Doak Walker - Detroit Lions
26 Leon Hart - Detroit Lions
27 Thurman McGraw - Detroit Lions
28 Buster Ramsey - Chicago Cardinals
29 Frank Tripucka - Chicago Cardinals
30 Don Paul - Chicago Cardinals
31 Alex Loyd - San Francisco 49ers
32 Y.A. Tittle - San Francisco 49ers
33 Verl Lillywhite - San Francisco 49ers
34 Sammy Baugh - Washington Redskins
35 Chuck Drazenovich - Washington Redskins RC
36 Bob Goode - Washington Redskins
37 Horace Gillom - Cleveland Browns RC
38 Lou Rymkus - Cleveland Browns
39 Ken Carpenter - Cleveland Browns
40 Bob Waterfield - Los Angeles Rams
41 Vitamin Smith - Los Angeles Rams RC
42 Glenn Davis - Los Angeles Rams
43 Dan Edwards - New York Yanks
44 John Rauch - New York Yanks
45 Zollie Toth - New York Yanks
46 Pete Pihos - Philadelphia Eagles
47 Russ Craft - Philadelphia Eagles
48 Walter Barnes - Philadelphia Eagles
49 Fred Morrison - Chicago Bears
50 Ray Bray - Chicago Bears
51 Ed Sprinkle - Chicago Bears RC
52 Floyd Reid - Green Bay Packers RC
53 Billy Grimes - Green Bay Packers
54 Ted Fritsch Sr. - Green Bay Packers
55 Al DeRogatis - New York Giants
56 Charley Conerly - New York Giants
57 Jon Baker - New York Giants
58 Tom McWilliams - Pittsburgh Steelers
59 Jerry Shipkey - Pittsburgh Steelers
60 Lynn Chandnois - Pittsburgh Steelers RC
61 Don Doll - Detroit Lions
62 Lou Creekmur - Detroit Lions
63 Bob Hoernschemeyer - Detroit Lions
64 Tom Wham - Chicago Cardinals
65 Bill Fischer - Chicago Cardinals
66 Robert Nussbaumer - Chicago Cardinals
67 Gordon Soltau - San Francisco 49ers RC
68 Visco Grgich - San Francisco 49ers
69 John Strzykalski - San Francisco 49ers RC
70 Pete Stout - Washington Redskins
71 Paul Lipscomb - Washington Redskins
72 Harry Gilmer - Washington Redskins
74 Dub Jones - Cleveland Browns
75 Lou Groza - Cleveland Browns
76 Elroy Hirsch - Los Angeles Rams
77 Tom Kalmanir - Los Angeles Rams
78 Jack Zilly - Los Angeles Rams
79 Bruce Alford - New York Yanks
80 Art Weiner - New York Yanks
81 Brad Ecklund - New York Yanks
82 Bosh Pritchard - Philadelphia Eagles
83 John Green - Philadelphia Eagles
84 Ebert Van Buren - Philadelphia Eagles
85 Jules Rykovich - Chicago Bears
86 Fred L. Davis - Chicago Bears
87 John Hoffman - Chicago Bears RC
88 Tobin Rote - Green Bay Packers
89 Paul Burris - Green Bay Packers
90 Tony Canadeo - Green Bay Packers
91 Emlen Tunnell - New York Giants RC
92 Otto Schnellbacher - New York Giants RC
93 Ray Poole - New York Giants
94 Darrell Hogan - Pittsburgh Steelers
95 Frank Sinkovitz - Pittsburgh Steelers
96 Ernie Stautner - Pittsburgh Steelers RC
97 Elmer Angsman - Chicago Cardinals
98 Jack Jennings - Chicago Cardinals
99 Jerry Groom - Chicago Cardinals
100 John Prchlik - Detroit Lions
101 Bob Smith - Detroit Lions
102 Bobby Layne - Detroit Lions
103 Frankie Albert - San Francisco 49ers
104 Gail Bruce - San Francisco 49ers
105 Joe Perry - San Francisco 49ers
106 Leon Heath - Washington Redskins
107 Ed Quirk - Washington Redskins
108 Hugh Taylor - Washington Redskins
109 Marion Motley - Cleveland Browns
110 Tony Adamle - Cleveland Browns
111 Alex Agase - Cleveland Browns
112 Tank Younger - Los Angeles Rams
113 Bob Boyd - Los Angeles Rams
114 Jerome Williams - Los Angeles Rams
115 Joe Golding - New York Yanks
116 Sherman Howard - New York Yanks
117 John Wozniak - New York Yanks
118 Frank Reagan - Philadelphia Eagles
119 Vic Sears - Philadelphia Eagles
120 Clyde Scott - Philadelphia Eagles
121 George Gulyanics - Chicago Bears
122 Bill Wightkin - Chicago Bears
123 Chuck Hunsinger - Chicago Bears
124 Jack Cloud - Green Bay Packers
125 Abner Wimberly - Green Bay Packers
126 Dick Wildung - Green Bay Packers
127 Eddie Price - New York Giants
128 Joe Scott - New York Giants
129 Jerry Nuzum - Pittsburgh Steelers
130 Jim Finks - Pittsburgh Steelers
131 Bob Gage - Pittsburgh Steelers
132 William Swiacki - Detroit Lions
133 Joe Watson - Detroit Lions
134 Ollie Cline - Detroit Lions
135 Jack Lininger - Detroit Lions
136 Francis Polsfoot - Chicago Cardinals RC
137 Charley Trippi - Chicago Cardinals
138 Ventan Yablonski - Chicago Cardinals
139 Emil Sitko - Chicago Cardinals
140 Leo Nomellini - San Francisco 49ers
141 Norm Standlee - San Francisco 49ers
142 Eddie Saenz - Washington Redskins
143 Al Demao - Washington Redskins
144 Bill Dudley - Washington Redskins
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Hottest 1951 Bowman Football Cards
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