1948 Bowman Football Complete Set, Four Key PSA Slabs (108)

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This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/3/2025

This is an extraordinary example of arguably the most important football issue of the postwar era, the 1948 Bowman set of 108 black-and-white cards of 2 1/16-by-2 ½-inch dimensions, with virtually each and every card carrying a Rookie designation. The offered complete set presents in a remarkably attractive fashion, with almost ¾ of the set in Very Good to Ex-Mt condition, which is markedly better than these classic cards are typically encountered in mature collections. Despite the vagaries of cutting from an inaugural issue, the cards are uncommonly crisp and boast photos of great clarity, all complemented by card backs that are equally clean and vivid; hard as it is to believe, there are zero gum stains to be found anywhere on the card backs throughout the set, a remarkable assertion for an issue typically plagued by them. Four key Rookies have been third-party graded, providing a nice glimpse into the wider condition range: No. 3 Lujack – PSA 3, No. 22 Baugh – PSA 4, No. 36 Turner – PSA 3 and No. 107 Luckman – PSA 4. Overall, the set comes out to 24 percent Ex-Mt, 21 percent Excellent, 32 percent Very Good to VG-Ex, 17 percent Good and just a handful of cards below to Fair. About a dozen or so cards have the kind of centering that might typically prompt thoughts of an upgrade, though not all of those would be severe enough to dictate a formal Off-Center designation; a couple of cards are Miscut. Here’s the breakdown of keys: No. 1 Tereshinski – VG-Ex, 7 Van Buren – Ex-Mt, 8 Washington – Ex-Mt o/c, 12 Conerly – Very Good, 17 Trippi – Good, 26 Waterfield – Fair, 29 Harder – VG, 60 Nickel – Ex, 61 Wojciechowicz – VG-Ex, 63 Pihos – Good, 71 Horvath – Ex-Mt, 73 Coulter – Good, 80 Dudley – Fair, 95 McAfee – VG-Ex, 89 Gilmour – Good, 104 Smith – VG (mk) and 108 Ray – Fair.