1953 Bowman Baseball Color High-Grade Array, Nine HOFers, Seven PSA Slabs (102)

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This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/26/2023

This is a simply stunning array of 102 cards from the fabled 1953 Bowman Baseball Color issue, found here in a condition range of VG-Ex to Near-Mint to Mint, and featuring nine Hall of Famers and an even greater number of some of the great stars of the era. The issue is arguably the most elegant and coveted of the 1950s Bowman offerings, with the spectacular photography and no-frills design making it a classic from the moment it rolled off the presses. Seven cards have been slabbed by PSA, headlined by Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn (PSA 6) and a PSA 8 example of Eddie Stanky. Some of the other headliners include Hall of Famers Phil Rizzuto, Ralph Kiner, Red Schoendienst, Enos Slaughter, Nellie Fox, Robin Roberts, Larry Doby and Minnie Minoso, plus Carl Furillo, Joe Garagiola, Hank Bauer, Billy Martin, Ted Kluszewski, Al Rosen, Sal Maglie, Vic Raschi, Billy Pierce, Joe Nuxhall and Jackie Jensen. The array is markedly better than this classic issue is typically encountered in mature collections, representing almost 2/3 of a complete set and coming in at 19 percent Near-Mint to Near-Mint to Mint, 17 percent Ex-Mt, 20 percent Excellent to Excellent-Plus, 32 percent VG-Ex to VG-Ex-Plus, 10 percent Very Good and 2 percent Good. There is no duplication. The breakdown: Near-Mint to Near-Mint to Mint (19) – No. 4 – PSA 7, 9 Rizzuto, 13 – PSA 7, 18 Fox, 22, 23 – PSA 8, 36 Minoso, 38, 41, 43, 49 Stanky – PSA 8, 72, 74, 77, 78 Furillo, 83, 85, 93 Rizzuto/Martin and 144; Ex-Mt (17) – No. 1 Davey Williams, 7 - PSA 6, 10 Ashburn – PSA 6, 17, 21 Garagiola, 28, 58, 73 Pierce, 76, 80 Kiner, 90 Nuxhall, 94, 101 Schoendienst, 122, 125, 140 and 144; Excellent to Excellent-Plus (21) – No. 2, 5, 6 – PSA 6, 25, 31, 34, 39, 53, 54, 67, 70, 79, 82 Slaughter, 82, 84 Bauer, 91, 96 Maglie, 112, 150, 154 and 159; VG-Ex to VG-Ex-Plus (33) – No. 3, 8 Rosen, 11, 14, 15, 19, 20, 27 Raschi, 29, 37, 40 Doby, 45, 62 Kluszewski, 65 Roberts, 86, 98, 100, 102, 106, 109, 110, 113, 116, 120, 124, 130, 135, 137, 139, 142, 147, 149 and 158; Very Good (10) – No. 24 Jensen, 26, 30, 103, 118 Billy Martin, 126, 128, 138, 152 and 157; and Good (2) – No. 132 and 160 Abrams.