1951 Bowman Baseball

1951 Bowman Cue the obligatory Lorem Ipsum riff-raff type text. Web site. There are many uses for Lorem Ipsum, using it as filled text isn't recommended. Make sure to always use actual content when building your websites! Series Print Dates It just makes more sense. Now for the lipsum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer nec odio. Praesent libero. Sed cursus ante dapibus diam. Sed nisi. Nulla quis sem at nibh elementum imperdiet. 1951 (The Players) Duis sagittis ipsum. Praesent mauris. Fusce nec tellus sed augue semper porta. Mauris massa. Vestibulum lacinia arcu eget nulla. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos.Updates, during 1951 and 1952, to some player's sats or teams increased the possible number of variations to a total of 52 cards. For example, card #14, Ray Scarborough, has three different variations: he appears as a member of the Senators, the White Sox, and finally as a member of the Red Sox. The cards have blank backs which tend to magnify any creases or defects the card may have. An offer for a comb-bound album, with 8 pages for 16 cards for 15¢ and 3 Royal Desserts package fronts is found on the front of each card. The American Card Catalog number for these cards is F219-1.

• My article on the printing of 1951 Bowman baseball cards can befound by clicking here.
• Images of all 324 cards in the set, as well as player movement during 1951, can be found here
• 1951 Bowman Baseball Cards: PSA Card Facts
• 1951 Bowman Baseball Cards: PSA Population Report
• 1951 Bowman Baseball Cards: PSA Price Guide

1950-52 Royal Desserts

1950-52 Royal Desserts Stars of Baseball: What are the chances that a piece of cardboard, cut from a box of Royal gelatin or pudding has survived in good condition for 70+ years? Not very good! Most of the ones you see look like they were cut out by a kid who was scissors-challenged. This is a tough set to complete in any kind of decent shape. The cards were printed on the back of Royal dessert boxes and took up nearly the entire surface, thus the problem of cutting them out with wide borders. They were issued over three years starting in 1950.

A total of 24 players were pictured in either a black and white, or blue and white (see below) dutone photo. Short player bios and performance stats accompany the photos. Updates, during 1951 and 1952, to some player's sats or teams increased the possible number of variations to a total of 52 cards. For example, card #14, Ray Scarborough, has three different variations: he appears as a member of the Senators, the White Sox, and finally as a member of the Red Sox. The cards have blank backs which tend to magnify any creases or defects the card may have. An offer for a comb-bound album, with 8 pages for 16 cards for 15¢ and 3 Royal Desserts package fronts is found on the front of each card. The American Card Catalog number for these cards is F219-1.

The cards, if they are to receive a grade from a third-party company, should be at least 2 5/8" x 3 1/4". Smaller cards, usually get a grade of "Authentic". The SCD Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards lists their size as 2 1/2" x 3 1/2". In my opinion, these measurements are in error. The width is too wide and the height is too short to make a gradable card. The Old Cardboard website has just changed its measurement for these cards to agree with my conclusions. They were prompted to do so after I sent an e-mail to Don Fluckinger, the editor of the SCD catalog.

• An in-depth look at all 52 cards and the players that appeared on them: 1950-52 Royal Desserts Stars of Baseball
• 1950-52 Royal Desserts Stars of Baseball: PSA Population Report
• 1950-52 Royal Desserts Stars of Baseball: SGC Population Report

1951 Bowman Football

The 1951 Bowman football cards, both front and back, bear a striking resemblance to the baseball cards of that year. The major difference is the inclusion of a team logo on the card fronts. The logos are very distinctive and eye-catching. Bowman's third football set contained 144 cards, in the now-familiar 2 1/16" x 3 1/8" size. Notable rookies in the set include Norm Van Brocklin, Tom Landry, Arnie Weinmeister, Bill Walsh, Emlen Tunnell, and Ernie Stautner. Although I do not currently collect this set as a whole, there's something about the Rams logos that sets off the player's image. Bowman used the same Rams logo treatment for their 1952 football set, as well.

The 1951 Los Angeles Rams football team had a solid season, finishing with a record of 8 wins, 4 losses, and 0 ties in the regular season. Coached by Joe Stydahar, they had notable players like Norm Van Brocklin, Bob Waterfield, and Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch. The 1951 NFL Championship Game, held on December 23, 1951, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, pitted the Los Angeles Rams against the Cleveland Browns. The game marked the first time the NFL championship was played on the West Coast. The Cleveland Browns, led by legendary coach Paul Brown, entered the game with an 11-1 regular-season record, while the Los Angeles Rams, under coach Joe Stydahar, finished the regular season with an 8-4 record. The Rams jumped to an early lead in the first quarter, scoring two touchdowns on a pass from quarterback Norm Van Brocklin to receiver Tom Fears and a rushing touchdown by Dick Hoerner. However, the Browns quickly responded with two touchdowns of their own in the second quarter, tying the game at 14-14 going into halftime. In the third quarter, the Rams regained the lead with another touchdown pass from Van Brocklin to Fears. The Browns answered back with a touchdown, tying the game once again. The game remained tied until late in the fourth quarter when Van Brocklin led the Rams on a game-winning drive, culminating in a 73-yard touchdown pass to receiver Bob Boyd. The Rams held on to win the game 24-17, securing their first NFL championship. Norm Van Brocklin was named the game's MVP for his exceptional performance, completing 15 of 31 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns. His connection with Tom Fears, who caught six passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns, proved to be crucial in the Rams' victory.

• Click here to see more information on the Rams’ 1951 season, images of the 1951 Bowman Rams cards, and a summary of each player’s notable accomplishments, both on and off the field. As you will see LA’s proximity to Hollywood produced some interesting liaisons.
• 1951 Bowman Football Cards can be seen in the Vintage Football Card Gallery
• 1951 Bowman Football Cards: PSA Population Report
• 1951 Bowman Football Cards: PSA Price Guide

1952 Topps Wings

1952 Topps Wings cards consist of 200 aircraft subjects: color paintings of planes of late 1940s and early 1950s vintage. The paintings were produced from photographs supplied by the New York Herald Tribune. The set was assigned American Card Catalog number R707-4. A Name This Plane: "FRIEND or FOE" quiz appears on the card backs. Wings cards were issued in 1¢ or 5¢ wax packs. Both of these are pictured, below. The cards measure 2-5/8" x 3-3/4". I believe vendor boxes[1] contained 24 five-cent cello packs, each containing 5 cards, for a total of 120 cards.

A subset (numbers 1-80) of Wings cards was reissued with larger side borders by Doeskin Tissues[2] in the fall of 1955. They have "Doeskin" printed on the back in the copyright area. The Doeskin Wings set was assigned the ACC number F381. The Doeskin Wings cards measure 2-5/8" x 4-3/8". Complete packages of these tissues, including the card, are sometimes offered on eBay.

There don't seem to be any particular rarities or variations among the 200 Wings cards, however, cards numbered 153 to 200 seem to be harder to find than the rest. I have a theory that cards numbered 101-152, minus #118 and 149 made up the 3rd series, and cards #118, 149 and, 153-on, comprised the last series produced. Finding the first or last cards of the set in well-centered, near mint, or better condition is next to impossible. Other cards are very difficult to find in high grades. They are: 2, 10, 11, 99, 100, 118, 125, 149, 150, 174, 175, and 181.

The aircraft image width of these cards is inconsistent throughout the set, leading to 3rd and 4th series cards being very difficult to find in well-centered condition. An unscientific study finds that the image on cards numbered 1-80 is 3-7/16" wide; images of cards numbered 81-100 are 3-3/8" wide, and cards numbered 101-200 have an image width of 3-1/2". For example, the aircraft image on a typical card #97 could be 1/8" narrower than the image on a card #189. This is not a scientific study - there are exceptions.

• My theory on Wings 3rd and 4th Series Printing can be found by clicking here.
• This theory was published in issues #227 and #268 of The Wrapper.
• Images of all 200 cards, along with most of their original photos can be found here.
• 1952 Topps Wings cards: Aircraft Identification.
• 1952 Topps Wings Cards: PSA Population Report
• 1952 Topps Wings Cards: PSA Price Guide
• Complete checklists and graphics for R707-4 cards can be found on the Skytamer Web site.