1951 Bowman Baseball Stars and All-Stars, All PSA Graded (22)

Bidding

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/14/2019

Presented here are nearly two dozen important cards from the legendary 1951 Bowman Baseball issue, all neatly encased in PSA holders and boasting a heritage that includes many of the biggest stars of the era. This was the largest set that Bowman produced in its fabled eight-year run in the baseball card business, and the 2 1/16-by-3 1/8-inch cards represented a new size and a new format with the colorful paintings made from black-and-white photography. A Near-Mint to Mint PSA 8 Dan Bankhead stands as the highest-graded of the group, but a striking PSA 4 Roy Campanella card headlines, along with a PSA 5 of fellow Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn and PSA 6s of Bob Lemon and Bucky Harris, plus PSA 5s of Dodgers teammates Don Newcombe, Gil Hodges, Ralph Branca, Carl Furillo and Preacher Roe. Mix in legendary Yankees Gene Woodling, Tommy Henrich, Johnny Sain and Red Rolfe and the likes of Marty Marion, Vern Law, Johnny Vander Meer and Smoky Burgess and you have an imposing lot from the early years of the postwar era. The group has a captivating, consistent presentation, along with good centering and an absence of any of the dreaded package straining (20 of 22) on the card backs that so often bedevils this issue; in addition, more than 1/3 of the array is from the extraordinarily difficult high-number series. The breakdown: No. 6 Newcombe – PSA 5, No. 7 Hodges – PSA 5, No. 31 Campanella – PSA 4, No. 34 Marion – PSA 5, No. 53 Lemon – PSA 6, No. 56 Branca – PSA 5, No. 81 Furillo – PSA 5, No. 110 Brown – PSA 6, No. 118 Roe – PSA 5, No. 186 Ashburn – PSA 5, No. 203 Law – PSA 6, No. 219 Woodling – PSA 4.5, No. 223 Vander Meer – PSA 6, No. 225 Bankhead – PSA 8, No. 258 Easter – PSA 4, No. 275 Harris – PSA 6, No. 291 Henrich – PSA 5.5, No. 314 Sain – PSA 5, No. 317 Burgess – PSA 6, No. 319 Rolfe – PSA 5, No. 322 Sewell – PSA 6 and No. 324 Pramesa – PSA 3.