If you've looked at our October 5th auction, you've probably noticed the 50s era baseball cards up for bid. And if you've ever bought trading cards, the name Topps is probably well known to you. But there's another name in this auction you might not recognize: Bowman. What are Bowman Baseball Cards and why don't you remember having them? Let us explain!
The Rebirth of Trading Cards
Fun fact: trading cards as we know them today started off as the prize inside packs of tobacco! As cigarettes came into fashion in the early 20th century, trading cards migrated from tobacco to candy packages, particularly those of chewing gum. That's right: the crumbly, nearly inedible gum that used to come with trading cards was originally the main selling point! The 1930s saw these gum companies begin to transition away from sweets and towards publishing cards. This state of affairs lasted until World War II, where materials shortages put the entire industry on hold.
The first post-war Baseball trading card set was released in 1948. This is where the modern baseball card market as we know it begins. The cards proved popular with young baseball fans. Television barely existed in those days, meaning radio was the primary way for fans to experience games they couldn't directly attend. Trading cards allowed young fans to see their favorite players, putting faces to the names they already idolized. The post-war pioneer of baseball cards was Bowman! They followed that success up with the first sets of football and basketball cards.
Topps Takes Over
Bowman would remain at the top of heap in the trading card market into the 1950s. The Topps Bubblegum Company got into the world of trading cards in 1950, a relative latecomer as other candy companies had been at it for over 20 years by then. The following year saw them get into baseball, with their 1951 set being a playable game. Bowman probably felt pretty secure at this stage, but Topps would overtake them just one year later. Their innovation in that set was the printing of player records and statistics on the back of the card. Now able to track their sports heroes, kids flocked to the new set.
Bowman would remain in the game for a few years, but Topps' meteoric rise was unstoppable. The two giants would battle it out for exclusive deals with players, but ultimately Topps had more resources. The last year that Bowman would produce baseball cards was 1955, after which it was purchased by Topps. The Bowman brand, arguably the first to create baseball cards as we know them today, was no more.
Bowman Trading Cards Today
The next major boom in the trading card industry came in the late 80s. That's when vintage cards began fetching newsworthy prices at auction, attracting the attention of the wider public and reinvigorating interest in collecting. To meet this new demand, Topps brought back the Bowman brand. Since 1989, Topps has crafted the Bowman brand into the leading producer of rookie cards in the trading card industry. Amusingly, Bowman has officially been around longer as a Topps line (35 years) than it was an independent company (29 years).
Let this be a lesson that name recognition should not be confused with value! Everybody knows Archie Comics, but valuable key issues from them are few and far between. Conversely, very few people alive remember original Bowman baseball cards but plenty of collectors want them. This is why its always best to get your collection in front of experts like Back to the Past: We know how to spot rare gems. If you've got a collection you'd like to sell, drop us a line today so we can help! And if you want the latest news on collections coming to auction, follow us on social media @b2pcollect.