1954 Bowman Sets Baseball Cards
The drive to stay competitive and achieve dominance over the Topps Chewing Gum Company had a strong impact on bowman`s 1954 baseball card set. For starters Bowman issued one of the rarest most desirable collectible baseball cards of the era, the Ted Williams card. Baseball great Ted Williams had been serving in Korea for three years and upon his return in 1954 he signed an exclusive contract with the Topps' Gum Company. This forced Bowman to stop issuing the #66 card that featured Williams and replace it with a new version featuring player Jimmy Piersall. The limited production of the 1954 Bowman Ted Williams card has made it makes it all the more appealing and valuable in the eyes of avid collectors.
Topps may have gotten an exclusive deal with Ted Williams, but Bowman had enough star power in their 1954 baseball card set to generate real interest among collectors. The baseball stars that showed up in the Bowman set that didn't appear in the Topps' set include Mickey Mantle, Robin Roberts, Roy Campanella, Bob Feller and Pee Wee Reese. Another card that makes the 1954 Bowman baseball card set so collectible is the #89 Willie Mays card.
An interesting historical aspect of the 1954 Bowman set is the depiction of Baltimore Orioles players. The St. Louis Browns had just moved to Baltimore in 1953 and the artist`s at Bowman didn't know what their new uniforms were going to look. To complete the baseball card set in time the artists simply made them up for the sake of getting the baseball. Other Bowman cards of note from 1954 include #33 and #163 which mention trades. Because they mention trades these baseball cards are generally more valuable than the ones that don't.
The competition with Topps and pressure to get cards printed quickly was so intense that out of a set of 224, 40 of the Bowman cards printed had statistical errors. These errors were later corrected. Between the statistical errors and the discontinued Ted Williams card, there are several variations to the 1954 Bowman baseball card set.
Bowman`s artists also got a bit more creative when it came to the design of the 1954 baseball cards. They added a small color box at the lower corner of the card which contained a facsimile autograph of the player. Other than the addition of the colored box, the 1954 Bowman cards maintained the clean look of their 1953 cards with colored pictures framed by a simple white border.
The back of the cards featured a clever diagram of a baseball and bat at the top of the card. The bat displayed the name of the player while the baseball framed the card number. The back also displayed statistics, biographical data and even a trivia question at the bottom. The answer to the trivia question was right below the stats.
The 1954 Bowman baseball card set is generally not one of the most popular sets with collectors, but it does have several things going for it. The design of the cards are visually appealing, they are easy enough to acquire that collectors won't get frustrated in their efforts to build a set and their generally affordable prices make it easy for anyone to buy a complete set.
And if you're one of these collector`s, then you need to check out
autographed baseballs. Rare, highly prized and valuable bats from living and parted legends.
1. Phil Rizzuto
2. Jack Jensen
3. Marion Fricano
4. Bob Hooper
5. William Hunter
6. Nelson Fox
7. Walter Dropo
8. James Busby
9. Dave Williams
10. Carl Erskine
11. Sid Gordon
12a. Roy McMillan
12b. Roy McMillan
13. Paul Minner
14. Gerald Staley
15. Richie Ashburn
16. Jim Wilson
17. Tom Gorman
18. Walter "Hoot" Evers
19. Bobby Shantz
20. Artie Houtteman
21. Victor Wertz
22a. Sam Mele
22b. Sam Mele
23. Harvey Kuenn
24. Bob Porterfield
25a. Wes Westrum
25b. Wes Westrum
26a. Billy Cox
26b. Billy Cox
27. Dick Cole
28a. Jim Greengrass
28b. Jim Greengrass
29. Johnny Klippstein
30. Del Rice
31. "Smoky" Burgess
32. Del Crandall
33a. Victor Raschi
33b. Victor Raschi
34. Sammy White
35a. Eddie Joost
35b. Eddie Joost
36. George Strickland
37. Dick Kokos
38a. Orestes Minoso
38b. Orestes Minoso
39. Ned Garver
40. Gil Coan
41a. Alvin Dark
41b. Alvin Dark
42. Billy Loes
43a. Bob Friend
43b. Bob Friend
44. Harry Perkowski
45. Ralph Kiner
46. Eldon Repulski
47a. Granville Hamner
47b. Granville Hamner
48. Jack Dittmer
49. Harry Byrd
50. George Kell
51. Alex Kellner
52. Myron Ginsberg
53a. Don Lenhardt
53b. Don Lenhardt
54. Alfonso Carrasquel
55. Jim Delsing
56. Maurice McDermott
57. Hoyt Wilhelm
58. "Pee Wee" Reese
59. Robert Schultz
60. Fred Baczewski
61a. Eddie Miksis
61b. Eddie Miksis
62. Enos Slaughter
63. Earl Torgeson
64. Ed Mathews
65. Mickey Mantle
66a. Ted Williams
66b. Jim Piersall
67a. Carl Scheib
67b. Carl Scheib
67c. Carl Scheib
68. Bob Avila
69. Clinton Coutney
70. Willard Marshall
71. Ted Gray
72. Ed Yost
73. Don Mueller
74. Jim Gilliam
75. Max Surkont
76. Joe Nuxhall
77. Bob Rush
78. Sal Yvars
79. Curt Simmons
80a. John Logan
80b. John Logan
81a. Jerry Coleman
81b. Jerry Coleman
82a. Bill Goodman
82b. Bill Goodman
83. Ray Murray
84. Larry Doby
85a. Jim Dyck
85b. Jim Dyck
86. Harry Dorish
87. Don Lund
88. Tommy Umphlett
89. Willie Mays
90. Roy Campanella
91. Cal Abrams
92. Ken Raffensberger
93a. Bill Serena
93b. Bill Serena
94a. Solly Hemus
94b. Solly Hemus
95. Robin Roberts
96. Joe Adcock
97. Gil McDougald
98. Ellis Kinder
99a. Pete Suder
99b. Pete Suder
100. Mike Garcia
101. Don Larsen
102. Bill Pierce
103a. Stephen Souchock
103b. Stephen Souchock
104. Frank Shea
105a. Sal Maglie
105b. Sal Maglie
106. "Clem" Labine
107. Paul LaPalme
108. Bobby Adams
109. Roy Smalley
110. Al Schoendienst
111. Murry Dickson
112. Andy Pafko
113. Allie Reynolds
114. Willard Nixon
115. Don Bollweg
116. Luke Easter
117. Dick Kryhoski
118. Robert Boyd
119. Fred Hatfield
120. Mel Hoderlein
121. Ray Katt
122. Carl Curillo
123. Toby Atwell
124a. Gus Bell
124b. Gus Bell
125. Warren Hacker
126. Cliff Chambers
127. Del Ennis
128. Ebba St. Claire
129. Hank Bauer
130. Milt Bolling
131. Joe Astroth
132. Bob Feller
133. Duane Pillette
134. Luis Aloma
135. Johnny Pesky
136. Clyde Vollmer
137. Elmer Corwin
138a. Gil Hodges
138b. Gil Hodges
139a. Preston Ward
139b. Preston Ward
140a. Saul Rogovin
140b. Saul Rogovin
140c. Saul Rogovin
141. Joe Garagiola
142. Al Brazile
143. Puddin Head Jones
144. Ernie Johnson
145a. Billy Martin
145b. Billy Martin
146. Dick Gernert
147. Joe DeMaestri
148. Dale Mitchell
149. Bob Young
150. Cass Michaels
151. Patrick Mullin
152. Mickey Vernon
153a. Whitey Lockman
153b. Whitey Lockman
154. Don Newcombe
155. Frank Thomas
156a. Everett Bridges
156b. Everett Bridges
157. Omar Lown
158. Stu Miller
159. John Lindell
160. Danny O'Connell
161. Yogi Berra
162. Ted Lepcio
163a. Dave Philley
163b. Dave Philley
163c. Dave Philley
164. Early Wynn
165. Johnny Groth
166. Sandalio Consuegra
167. Bill Hoeft
168. Ed Fitzgerald
169. Larry Jansen
170. Duke Snider
171. Carlos Bernier
172. Andy Seminick
173. Dee Fondy
174a. Pete Castiglione
174b. Pete Castiglione
175. Melvin Clark
176. Vernon Bickford
177. Whitey Ford
178. Del Wilber
179a. Morris Martin
179b. Morris Martin
180. Joe Tipton
181. Lester Moss
182. Sherman Lollar
183. Matt Batts
184. Mickey Grasso
185a. Daryl Spencer
185b. Daryl Spencer
186. Russell Meyer
187. Vern Law
188. Frank Smith
189. Ranson Jackson
190. Joe Presko
191. Karl Drews
192. Lew Burdette
193. Eddie Robinson
194. Sid Hudson
195. Bob Cain
196. Bob Lemon
197. Lou Kretlow
198. Virgil Tucks
199. Steve Gromek
200. Connie Marrero
201. Bob Thompson
202. George Shuba
203. Vic Janowicz
204. Jack Collum
205. Hal Jeffcoat
206. Steve Bilko
207. Stan Lopata
208. Johnny Antonelli
209. Gene Woodling
210. Jimmy Piersall
211. Alfred Robertson
212a. Owen Friend
212b. Owen Friend
213. Dick Littlefield
214. Ferris Fain
215. Johnny Bucha
216a. Jerry Snyder
216b. Jerry Snyder
217a. Henry Thompson
217b. Henry Thompson
218. Preacher Roe
219. Hal Rice
220. Hobie Landrith
221. Frank Baumholtz
222. Memo Luna
223. Steve Ridzik
224. William Bruton
