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1954 Bowman Football Card Set

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George Blanda rookie card, a popular card in the set

The 1954 Bowman Football Card Set was a set of football cards released by Bowman Gum in 1954, consisting of 128 cards. They were packaged in two ways: 1-cent wax packs, which had one card inside, and 5-cent packs, which contained 7 cards. Both came with a piece of gum, causing some cards to have permanent stains on them.[1] The two most popular cards of the set were Otto Graham (#40) & the rookie card of George Blanda (#23).

Printing

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The cards were printed on four sheets, each consisting of 32 cards. Card numbers 65-96 were short-prints, meaning there weren't as many printed. Because of this, they are more valuable than most other cards in the set.[2] A common issue caused by the printing is the centering of the cards, making it very rare to find a card perfectly centered.

Appearance

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The cards measure 2-1/2 by 3-3/4, making them slightly taller than the measurements of current cards, which are 2-1/2 by 3-1/2. The front of the card has a picture of the player on it with a banner that shows the name of the player, the team, & the team's logo. The back of the card is horizontal; the left side has a depiction of a football with the player's name and position inside. The team is on the top right, and the card number is on the top left. Under the ball contains the college the player attended, as well as their residence, age, height, & weight. Below that is a trivia question about the sport. The right of the card contains a short biography of the player. Under the biography, there are the player's statistics from the past season. For linemen & special players, the statistics are instead an explanation of a referee's signal.[3][4] There are a few cards in the set that have a horizontal front, which is for players who were given awards for their performance or if they were elected to play in a special game such as the Pro Bowl.

Value

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Compared to other football card sets from the 1950s, the 1954 set is not as expensive. This is mainly due to the fact that over 250 unopened boxes of 1954 & 1955 football cards were found in Paris, Tennessee, in 1987.[5] Complete sets go anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000.[6]

Checklist

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  1. Ray Mathews
  2. John Huzvar
  3. Jack Scarbath
  4. Doug Atkins
  5. Bill Stits
  6. Joe Perry
  7. Kyle Rote
  8. Norm Van Brocklin
  9. Pete Pihos
  10. Babe Pharilli
  11. Zeke Bratkowski
  12. Ollie Matson
  13. Pat Brady
  14. Fred Enke
  15. Harry Ulinski
  16. Bobby Garrett
  17. Bill Bowman
  18. Leo Rucka
  19. John Cannady
  20. Tom Fears
  21. Norm Willey
  22. Floyd Reid
  23. George Blanda
  24. Don Dohoney
  25. John Schweder
  26. Bert Rechichar
  27. Harry Dowda
  28. John Sandusky
  29. Les Bingaman
  30. Joe Arenas
  31. Ray Wietecha
  32. Elroy Hirsch
  33. Harold Giancanelli
  34. Bill Howton
  35. Fred Morrison
  36. Bobby Cavazos
  37. Darrell Hogan
  38. Buddy Young
  39. Charlie Justice
  40. Otto Graham
  41. Doak Walker
  42. Y. A. Tittle
  43. Buford Long
  44. Vonley Quinlan
  45. Bobby Thomason
  46. Fred Cone
  47. Gerald Weatherly
  48. Don Stonesifer
  49. Lynn Chandnois
  50. George Taliaferro
  51. Dick Alban
  52. Lou Groza
  53. Bobby Layne
  54. Hugh McElhenny
  55. Frank Gifford
  56. Leon McLaughlin
  57. Chuck Bednarik
  58. Art Hunter
  59. Bill McColl
  60. Charley Trippi
  61. Jim Finks
  62. Bill Lange
  63. Laurie Niemi
  64. Ray Renfro
  65. Dick Chapman
  66. Bob Hantla
  67. Ralph Starkey
  68. Don Paul
  69. Kenneth Snyder
  70. Tobin Rote
  71. Art DeCarlo
  72. Tom Keane
  73. Hugh Taylor
  74. Warren Lahr
  75. Jim Neal
  76. Leo Nomellini
  77. Dick Yelvington
  78. Les Richter
  79. Bucko Kilroy
  80. John Martinkovic
  81. Dale Dodrill
  82. Ken Jackson
  83. Paul Lipscomb
  84. John Bauer
  85. Lou Creekmur
  86. Eddie Price
  87. Ken Farragut
  88. Dave Hanner
  89. Don Boll
  90. Chet Hanulak
  91. Thurman McGraw
  92. Don Heinrich
  93. Dan McKown
  94. Bob Fleck
  95. Jerry Hilgenberg
  96. Bill Walsh
  97. Tom Finnan
  98. Paul Barry
  99. Harry Jagade
  100. Jack Christiansen
  101. Gordon Saltau
  102. Emlen Tunnell
  103. Stan West
  104. Jerry Williams
  105. Veryl Switzer
  106. Billy Stone
  107. Jerry Watford
  108. Elbert Nickel
  109. Ed Sharkey
  110. Steve Meilinger
  111. Dante Lavelli
  112. Leon Hart
  113. Charlie Conerly
  114. Richard Lemmon
  115. Al Carmichael
  116. George Connor
  117. John Olszewski
  118. Ernie Stautner
  119. Ray Smith
  120. Neil Worden
  121. Jim Dooley
  122. Arnold Galiffa
  123. Kline Gilbert
  124. Bob Hoernschemeyer
  125. Wilford White
  126. Art Spinney
  127. Joe Koch
  128. John Lattner
[7]

References

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  1. ^ "1954 Bowman Football Cards". Football Card Gallery. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  2. ^ "1954 Bowman". PSACard.com. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  3. ^ "1954 Bowman Football Cards". The Cardboard Connection. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  4. ^ "1954 Bowman Football Had A Catchy Design". Sports Collectors Daily. 2015-11-16. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
  5. ^ Glew, Kevin. "1954 Bowman Football Set: Where's Johnny?". PSA Card. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  6. ^ "1950s Football Complete Sets". Dean's Cards. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  7. ^ "1954 Bowman Football - Trading Card Database". www.tcdb.com. Retrieved 2022-09-11.