I thought Bowman was doing an admirable job of competing with Topps, and it rather mystifies me some times that they sold out to the latter. They scored some great players in 54 and 55, and while their sets grew in size, Topps sets shrank every year after 52...the 55 set is downright anemic.
And Bowman kept trying to respond with greater artistry. I think their 55 set was really an outstanding effort, and my dad fondly remembers these cards being the first ones he bought (though sadly they were not saved for whatever reason, unlike his later Topps which he kept).
Meanwhile, I think Topps was a little complacent...re-using the same images year after year...and the 56 set too closely mirrors the 55 for my liking. If I were a kid buying them at the time, I'd have been kinda miffed.
And then they buy out Bowman, and what does Topps do but shrink its card size! From 57 on, I think the each year is diminishing in returns, and none top the artistry of the 52-56 years, when they were in direct competition with Bowman. Goes to show what a competitor will do in terms of impacting the quality of your product.
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