Vote: Favorite Bowman set 1948-1955

[pokerplyr80]

It looks like I'm actually with the majority on this one, which is a first. I've always loved the 53 set and think the 53 Reese has the coolest image of any vintage card I have seen.

[egri]

Originally Posted by pokerplyr80

It looks like I'm actually with the majority on this one, which is a first. I've always loved the 53 set and think the 53 Reese has the coolest image of any vintage card I have seen.

Maybe the choices should have been "1953" or "not 1953".

[albrshbr]

I love the 54's, the Mantle is among my favorite cards of his, the 55's were the 1st vintage I ever saw and I've always loved the horizontal design and (somewhat) unique TV design. The 48 is great (as is the 51 for the same reason) because of all the rookies.

But my vote is still for the 1953's. Beautiful set all the way through, but I agree it's missing names on the front.

Slightly OT - Is there a more significant group of sets for our hobby than what Bowman put out in 1948? (Baseball, Football & Basketball)

[ALR-bishop]

Your observation about rookies in 48 and 51 is interesting. The competition with Topps began in 51 on a scattered 5 set shotgun approach by Topps . From 52 on Bowman had the advantage of contracts with many established stars, but Berger did a better job from 52 onward in signing up new rookie talent for Topps

[JTysver]

53 Bowman, may be the nicest set of all time.
I gotta say though, the 52 Bowmans are nice also.

[the 'stache]

From memory, I like them all. But agreed, the '53 set might be the best post-war set I've ever seen. It's just gorgeous.

[Gr8Beldini]

55 Bowman is, in my opinion, the most underappreciated set of all time and has the most underappreciated Mantle card ever.

[arexcrooke]

Originally Posted by albrshbr

I love the 54's, the Mantle is among my favorite cards of his, the 55's were the 1st vintage I ever saw and I've always loved the horizontal design and (somewhat) unique TV design. The 48 is great (as is the 51 for the same reason) because of all the rookies.

But my vote is still for the 1953's. Beautiful set all the way through, but I agree it's missing names on the front.

Slightly OT - Is there a more significant group of sets for our hobby than what Bowman put out in 1948? (Baseball, Football & Basketball)

I love the 54s and will one day put a set of them together. Great looking cards, great HoF list of players, and of course the Ted Williams is a famous card in the hobby.
I am beginning to toy with the idea of putting the 53 set together. If not the entire set then the HoFers.
It is such an aesthetically pleasing set. Just great photography. The Mantle is of course a biggie but it really doesnt break the bank in the VG/EX range.

[Little Professor]

1951 set obviously has a lot of iconic cards, and probably is the best-looking one overall, but I'll have to go with '49, heart says you can't beat that pre-war look.
Sure, they should've done better with some of them, but it still has Musial, Robinson, Paige, the Brooklyn greats, and of course, a couple of my favorite Sox cards.