The Bowman Gum Company has a long history of producing baseball cards that dates back to the early 20th century. Based in Louisville, Kentucky, the company began as a manufacturer of chewing gum and started including baseball cards as incentives in their products in 1948. Since then, Bowman has issued some of the most iconic and valuable baseball cards in the hobby’s history.
Bowman got its start in the baseball card market a few years after Topps had already established itself as the dominant brand. Seeing the popularity of cards included in bubble gum packs, Bowman launched its first series in 1948. These early Bowman issues featured players from that year and utilized a color portrait design on a gray background. Some notable rookies included in the 1948 Bowman set were future Hall of Famers Roy Campanella and Willie Mays.
In the following years through the 1950s, Bowman continued producing annual sets that showed color photos of current major leaguers. Their designs evolved with each new issue but generally stuck to the same color portrait style on a solid color cardboard stock. Sets from this period included rookie cards of future all-time greats like Hank Aaron, Sandy Koufax, and Roberto Clemente. However, Bowman was still very much playing catch up to Topps in terms of distribution and popularity during these early formative years.
That changed in 1954 when Bowman issued one of the most iconic sets in the history of the hobby – the famous “Golden Age” set. Featuring golden borders around each player photo, this innovative design became extremely popular with collectors. The 1954 Bowman set contained the definitive rookie cards of future Hall of Famers like Ernie Banks, Don Drysdale, and Al Kaline. Due to the immense popularity and high-grade condition of many cards nearly 70 years later, gems from the 1954 Bowman set can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars in today’s market.
Through the mid-1950s, Bowman continued to push innovative designs and rapidly gained ground on Topps in terms of market share. The baseball card bubble would burst in the late 1950s due to an anti-trust lawsuit Topps brought against Bowman and Fleer. This resulted in a consent decree where Topps gained exclusive rights to use photos of major league baseball players on cards beginning in 1961. Bowman and Fleer were forced to feature only action player photos without names or numbers for several years.
Despite this legal setback, Bowman found creative ways to remain in the baseball card market through the 1960s. They produced popular sets featuring fictitious teams and players during their years locked out of using MLB imagery exclusively by Topps. Then in 1969, Bowman gained the right to use player names and stats again and came roaring back with one of the most coveted issues of the decade – the famous “Big B” design set. Featuring oversized photos and a revolutionary layout, the 1969 Bowman set contained the final rookie cards of superstars Reggie Jackson and Thurman Munson.
The 1970s saw Bowman produce several memorable sets each year but they were still playing second fiddle in many ways to the mighty Topps brand that dominated distribution. One of Bowman’s most iconic 1970s issues was the 1975 set, known for its fun “airbrushed” style player photos and the inclusion of George Brett’s rookie card. Later in the decade, Bowman also gained the right to produce the first ever Traded sets in 1977, chronicling player transactions with cards showing players in their new uniforms.
In 1981, the Bowman company was sold to the Cadbury Schweppes beverage corporation, though card production continued under the same name. Through the 1980s and 1990s, Bowman issued annual baseball sets that mostly served as an alternative to Topps for collectors. Some notable stars who had their rookie cards in Bowman sets during this period included Tom Glavine, Gregg Maddux, and Ken Griffey Jr. Distribution remained behind Topps, but Bowman remained a popular brand recognized for its classic designs and inclusion of young prospects.
The baseball card company was sold again in the 1990s to Fleer, and card production continued under the Fleer/Bowman brand through 2000. In those later years, Bowman began shifting more of its focus to prospect oriented sets that featured minor leaguers and top draft picks in addition to major leaguers. Sets like Bowman Chrome and Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects targeted a younger collecting demographic interested in following rising stars before they reached the big leagues.
In 2009, The Topps Company acquired the Fleer brand and Bowman nameplate, returning Bowman baseball card production fully under the Topps banner after decades. Since then, Bowman has primarily concentrated on high-end prospect driven releases like Bowman Sterling and Bowman 1st Edition Chrome. These sets are known for featuring the rookie cards of today’s biggest stars like Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, and Ronald Acuña Jr. in their first pro card issues before reaching the majors.
Over its long history, Bowman has issued some of the most iconic and valuable baseball cards ever made. From the early 1950s Golden Age design to the legendary 1969 Big Bs, Bowman helped shape the evolution of the hobby. Even when not able to use MLB imagery directly, Bowman found creative ways to remain relevant. In modern times, Bowman has solidified its niche producing exclusive early cards chronicling the journeys of tomorrow’s stars. The brand remains an important part of the baseball card collecting landscape nearly 75 years after those first 1948 issues.
