1952 Bowman with ABC TV Ad backs???

[whiteymet]

Hey All:

I just won this on ebay tonight:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/120969742320?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

Anyone know anything about them? Chandy had one on ebay back in 2006 of Nellie Fox. In his listing he says he was told by a major east coast dealer that there were 18 in the set including Mays and Ashburn. An album for them was also mentioned.

I'd trade both of these for the Ashburn if you have one.

Any info etc. on this set would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Exhibitman]

I examined one under a loupe at the National. It was a fake. Laser printed, glued down to the backing and aged to have some patina. Take a careful look at what you receive.

[laughlinfan]

I did see these and thought they were interesting - it seemed a bit odd that the scans make it appear as if the backs have many creases/wrinkles that the fronts do not - or maybe they are just hard to see on the card fronts?

[buymycards]

I was watching these throughout the listing period. I put in a low bid because I thought it would be worth a few bucks to look at these cards in person. In the last couple of minutes the bidding jumped up from about $75 to over $200.

The cards looked fishy to me. The fronts looked fine and no wrinkles or creases were visible. The backs had lots of wrinkles and looks like they may have been glued over the original backs. I would guess fakes, but it could be that ABC put the ABC backs on the cards back in the 50's to promote the show.

A google search shows lots of info on the book but nothing on the tv show.


Rick

[Leon]

From the looks of them I don't like them at all. They look very "manufactured" to me. I have never held one but I suspect Adam is correct and this one is similar.

[Karl Mattson]

FWIW, a seller of some of these cards on eBay in 2010 offered a group of 16 of them, and they were all New York players (he assumed it was because the radio show was aired only in New York, and he also assumed he had the complete set):

Yankees; Mickey Mantle, Phil Rizzuto, Casey Stengel, Ed Lopat, Frank Crosetti, Gil McDougald RC, Jackie Jensen, John Mize.
Dodgers: Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snyder, Don Newcombe, Carl Furillo, Preacher Roe, Gil Hodges, Andy Pafko

The seller said he came across them 20 years earlier (around 1990), and they were all glued to a "matte surface". He said he did some "partial restoration" on them after removing them - so there's a somewhat plausible explanation for the back wrinkles.

I googled the radio show, and it did exist, as it was advertised more than once in Life magazine in late 1952/early 1953. The magazine ad text for the show is virtually identical to the Bowman card backs text.

Again, FWIW. If the printing and fonts aren't appropriate to 1952-53, it's all moot. I wonder if there's any chance, however, that the "New York find" of 16 cards was legitimate, and the non-NY cards seen since then are the fakes?

[toppcat]

I'm sorry but there is no way those are real.

[Exhibitman]

Put them under a magnifier. Under a 30x at the Natty it was obvious the front was laser printed. Obviously, I don't have these in hand but they have the same backs.