Who was around for Bowman Vs Topps?

[theseeker]

And yes...I can well image those TV console Bowmans didn't go over too big with kids, especially when compared with the '55 Topps. Yet, in the present moment, I find them to have a real nostolgic appeal. Pocess a sort of hokey charm. I lump 'em in with the '68 burlap Topps, which I also seem to like more than most collectors. I also find Rottweilers adorable.

[Samsdaddy]

Originally Posted by theseeker

And yes...I can well image those TV console Bowmans didn't go over too big with kids, especially when compared with the '55 Topps. Yet, in the present moment, I find them to have a real nostolgic appeal. Pocess a sort of hokey charm. I lump 'em in with the '68 burlap Topps, which I also seem to like more than most collectors. I also find Rottweilers adorable.

I remember an early issue of Baseball Cards magazine had a feature on the 1955 Bowman set by Bob Lemke who often appears in these forums. He was/is a big fan.

I don't mind that set but I CANNOT get into that 1968 burlap set to save my life. I have only a couple cards from that set of my favorite players and that is it.

[bosoxfan]

I CANNOT get into that 1968 burlap set to save my life. I have only a couple cards from that set of my favorite players and that is it.[/QUOTE]


I bought my first pack of baseball cards in 1968 and was hooked. At lunch and recess many of us would "shoot" cards towards the school wall from about 8 to 10 feet away. Nearest card to the wall wins and winner would keep all the cards. If you got a "leaner", that was the best, but everyone yet to shoot had 3 shots to knock it down. If they did, they would win. Winner would go last, furthest would shoot first and so on.

I don't know if flipping cards and shooting cards were the same thing. I think when you flip cards you hold the card above your head up against a wall and let it drop. If that is true, I never flipped cards.

Anyway, I LOVED those days. I loved shooting cards. They were some of my best childhood memories. The 68's were what I knew. I remember there were times I'd win cards from 67 and hating them. I hated the 1967 Topps because they weren't the 68's. At the time, to me they were the ugly cards. Some cards would get so beat up. They were needed because those were the ones that didn't bounce of the wall too far. Save the sharper corner cards for knocking down the leaners. Winning a 68 that you didn't have was the best no matter what shape it was in.

Of course times change and the 1967 Topps set is now my favorite set of the sixties, but I will always love the 68's

Rich

[theseeker]

I grew up in suburban Chicago and never saw anyone flipping or tossing cards. I believe that was an east coast thing. Card collecting for us was something to do in between activities, during summer break. We'd all go and get our shoe boxes and sit under a shady tree and have trading sessions.
We did do the dopey card sacrifice, that consisted of one common card, a clothes pin, and a bike, in order to get that cool motorcycle sound effect.

[mckinneyj]

> If you got a "leaner", that was the best

I think that "fliiping" and "shooting" are synonymous - at least they were for us.

For us a "topper" could best a leaner and knocking down a leaner didn't necessarily get you anything. A "topper" was any card that came to rest on top of another. A "topper" always beat the card that it landed on - but when more than 2 were flipping, "toppers" only mattered if they topped the card closest the wall. We often flipped against a wall that had a seam at the bottom where the "floor" met the wall. Cards could slide a bit under the wall - the futher in the better. If a leaner got "topped" by another leaner the "topper" won. If a "leaner" got knocked over then whichever card was closest to the wall won. If the "leaner" fell on top of the card that knocked it down then that former "leaner" was the winner. A "leaner" beat a card that was partially under the wall. And always, only 1 toss per turn. Going last was best and the order was determined by reverse order of who was closest on the prior toss - the winner went last and the one who was furthest from the wall went first... and if some situation came up for which we had no rule whoever was quickest on the draw made one up.