The 1950 Bowman baseball card set is jam-packed with Corridor-of-Famers and different noteworthy legends.
Of the 252 gamers within the guidelines, 27 made it to Cooperstown.
Sadly, none of them are rookie playing cards.
And that is partly why this set typically flies underneath the radar…
The ’49 Bowman set featured seven Corridor-of-Fame rookie playing cards and the ’51 Bowman set had 5.
Sandwiched proper in between them, 1950 Bowman had none.
Nonetheless, rookie playing cards of Don Newcombe, Del Crandall, John Antonelli, Al Rosen, Hank Bauer and different stars of the day are must-haves.
A few of these guys have been MVPs at one level.
These are simply a few of the key playing cards in what many contemplate one of the lovely classic units within the interest.
And on this information, we’ll check out the 15 most beneficial.
Let’s soar proper in!
1950 Bowman #22 Jackie Robinson
Estimated PSA 5 EX Worth: $4,500
Jackie Robinson and the 1950 Brooklyn Dodgers have been the victims of a once-in-a-generation pennant race.
Nonetheless and not using a World Collection title and coming off one more Fall Basic defeat in 1949, the Dodgers entered the 1950 season as prohibitive NL favorites.
Robinson was one of many huge explanation why.
In 1949, the 30-year-old second baseman received his first-and-only batting title (.342) and led the Majors in stolen bases (37) and WAR (9.3) on his method to a historic MVP award.
The stolen bases weren’t there in 1950 (12), but Robinson nonetheless completed second within the league batting race (.328) with 14 house runs, 80 walks, 99 runs, and 81 RBIs in 144 video games.
It appeared like a picture-perfect recipe for one more World Collection crack.
As a substitute, the bottom-feeding Philadelphia Phillies got here out of nowhere to tear the pennant from Brooklyn.
Philly capped off its first league championship in 35 years with a 4-1 win over Brooklyn on the season’s last day, eliminating Robinson and the Dodgers with a sudden, jarring kick.
1950 Bowman #98 Ted Williams
Estimated PSA 5 EX Worth: $900
The 1950 MLB All-Star Sport was the primary one to be televised to a nationwide viewers.
Tens of millions of followers tuned in to a midsummer spectacle that includes baseball’s finest.
In addition they gasped collectively when the sport’s finest hitter fell in a heap.
31-year-old Boston Pink Sox left fielder Ted Williams was in the midst of a standout season in a profession already filled with them.
He entered the All-Star Sport because the MLB chief in house runs (25) and RBIs (83).
After main the AL with 43 homers a 12 months earlier than, 50 wasn’t out of the query.
Teddy Ballgame by no means took a play off, although, and it price him. Going all out for a fly ball through the All-Star showcase, Williams crashed right into a wall and shattered his left elbow.
Medical doctors eliminated seven bone fragments the following day, and the longer term Corridor-of-Famer was held out till mid-September.
Williams would later say that he was by no means the identical hitter after crushing his elbow that day.
1950 Bowman #46 Yogi Berra
Estimated PSA 5 EX Worth: $575
Earlier than the 1950 season, Yogi Berra was already among the many most revered catchers in Main League Baseball.
The New York Yankees backstop had but to place it collectively for that huge breakout season.
Nonetheless, he was nonetheless invaluable to New York’s championship groups in 1947 and 1949.
Even in his mid-20s, his pitching workers and the opponents who confronted him handled him like a 12-year veteran.
In 1950, Berra backed up his fame behind the plate with the best-hitting efficiency of his Corridor-of-Fame profession.
The 25-year-old completed within the league’s high ten in most offensive classes, together with hits (4th, 192), whole bases (third, 318), house runs (sixth, 28), slugging share (seventh, .533), and batting common (eighth, .322).
Berra additionally completed third within the AL with a career-best 124 RBIs and an an identical third within the AL MVP race.
New York received the World Collection once more, the second of 5 straight.
1950 Bowman #6 Bob Feller
Estimated PSA 5 EX Worth: $450
Navy service excluded from 1942-1945, Cleveland Indians nice Bob Feller led the Majors in strikeouts for seven consecutive full seasons.
He topped 240 strikeouts 4 occasions and posted a career-best 348 strikeouts and 10.0 WAR in 1946.
The toll of Feller’s high-speed Corridor-of-Fame ascent was evident by 1950.
The 31-year-old righty misplaced a lot of the trademark velocity of his primary pitch to arm fatigue and shoulder points.
Feller’s returns finally diminished, however he was nonetheless put collectively sufficient to drag it off in 1950.
The previous Triple Crown winner made his eighth All-Star group, ending 16-11 for the fourth-place Indians with a 3.43 ERA.
He accomplished 16 of his 34 begins and completed with a 4.1 WAR and 126 ERA+, each in step with his profession totals.
Alternatively, Feller completed fifth within the league with 119 strikeouts and simply eighth in Ok/9 (4.336).
1950 Bowman #39 Larry Doby
Estimated PSA 5 EX Worth: $400
Larry Doby made his All-Star debut in 1949, however his true breakout as a high American League star got here one 12 months later.
The primary participant to combine the American League hit his stride in his age-26 marketing campaign, rounding out into an entire offensive risk for the 92-win Cleveland Indians.
Doby hit an MLB career-high .326 on the 12 months, ending fourth within the league batting race.
He led all AL batters in on-base share (.442), OPS (.986), and OPS+ (156).
Doby’s energy numbers remained constant (24 homers in 1949, 25 in 1950).
The true evolution of his recreation was his renewed dedication to taking pitches and utilizing the entire area to his benefit.
He solely posted three extra extra-base hits than the 12 months earlier than.
Alternatively, he tallied eleven extra hits and 7 walks in 41 fewer plate appearances.
The Corridor-of-Fame middle fielder notched his second straight All-Star look and posted the second-best WAR (6.7) and MVP end (eighth) of his 17-year profession.
1950 Bowman #11 Phil Rizzuto
Estimated PSA 5 EX Worth: $290
After we consider the New York Yankees dynasty of the Forties and Fifties, we clearly give attention to marquee gamers like Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle.
In 1950, nonetheless, “The Indispensable Man” Phil Rizzuto stood head and shoulders above the box-office names within the Bronx.
One of many best defensive shortstops of all time, Rizzuto broke the AL mark for consecutive errorless video games at brief (289) and the longest errorless video games streak for a participant on the “six” (58).
He backed up his defensive mastery in 1950 with one of the best offensive exhibiting of his 13-year-old Corridor-of-Fame profession.
The 32-year-old led the American League in WAR (6.8) and posted profession highs in most classes, together with batting common (.324), runs (125), walks (92), and OPS (.857).
The Yankees received one other trophy, and Rizzuto was the resounding selection for league MVP.
“How does it really feel?” Rizzuto requested rhetorically. “Properly, have you ever ever walked on a cloud? A shiny, sunny cloud?”
1950 Bowman #21 Pee Wee Reese
Estimated PSA 5 EX Worth: $285
The Brooklyn Dodgers virtually promoted Pee Wee Reese to participant/supervisor earlier than the 1950 season.
It made sense, contemplating the 31-year-old shortstop’s clubhouse fame.
“When Pee Wee informed us the place to play or gave us a few of the satan, in some way it was straightforward to take,” Jackie Robinson stated. “He simply has a method about him of claiming the appropriate factor.”
Reese was by no means a really elite hitter.
Nonetheless, he was an unparalleled teammate with the nerves and tact to provoke a group.
Nobody would have been shocked to see Reese substitute supervisor Burt Shotton after Brooklyn’s deflating five-game 1949 Collection loss to the rival Yankees.
That was the scuttlebutt early within the offseason, in any case.
Nonetheless, Dodgers administration determined Reese was already invaluable in his present hybrid position and left effectively sufficient alone.
Reese did not have an ideal offensive 12 months in 1950, posting the one sub-average OPS+ (95) of his nine-year All-Star stretch from 1946-1954.
Regardless, he was once more the unifying power for a Dodgers group that narrowly missed out on one other NL pennant.
1950 Bowman #77 Duke Snider
Estimated PSA 5 EX Worth: $285
In 1950, Brooklyn Dodgers legend Duke Snider was simply 23 years previous and fancied himself as a five-tool risk.
He had velocity to burn in middle area, and his hitting expertise have been evolving forward of schedule.
Snider had each motive to attempt to improve his value to the membership by placing it on the market as a base-stealing risk.
The issue was Snider did not have the chops to be a top-tier thief.
Throughout his 1950 All-Star come-up, the longer term Corridor-of-Famer set a brand new profession finest with 16 stolen bases.
Nonetheless, these got here at an inefficient clip as Snider was gunned down for an MLB-worst 15 occasions caught stealing.
Inside a number of years, the “Silver Fox” put the trainers at the back of the closet.
Fortunately, he was all the time a generational expertise with the stick.
Snider positioned within the NL’s high 5 in eight completely different offensive classes in 1950, together with main the league in hits (199) and whole bases (343).
He additionally hit .321 and posted the primary of 5 profession 30/100 campaigns (31 homers, 107 RBIs).
1950 Bowman #23 Don Newcombe Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 5 EX Worth: $275
Don Newcombe was as cursed as he was dominant in his first two years as a Brooklyn Dodger.
Simply the third African-American pitcher to look in a Main League Baseball recreation, Newcombe was a ready-made ace in 1949, incomes Rookie-of-the-Yr honors whereas main the Dodgers to an NL pennant.
Frustratingly, Newcombe took the brunt of Brooklyn’s 4-1 Collection loss to the hated Yankees.
Newcombe was walked off in Sport 1 after battling by way of a scoreless pitching duel for eight-plus innings.
He additionally took the loss in a pivotal Sport 4.
1950 was extra of the identical, or no less than one thing dreadfully related.
Newcombe was once more the glue for a Dodgers’ pennant chase, incomes his second consecutive All-Star choice with a 19-11 document and three.50 ERA. He accomplished 20 of his 40 begins with 4 shutouts.
It burned to ashes in a must-win regular-season finale.
Newcombe pitched masterfully however misplaced the pennant and an opportunity at Collection redemption after surrendering a three-run, extra-innings walk-off blast to Phillies left fielder Dick Sisler.
1950 Bowman #75 Roy Campanella
Estimated PSA 5 EX Worth: $265
Supervisor Burt Shotton was fired for the Brooklyn Dodgers’ pennant miss in 1950.
Nonetheless, an unfortunate-timed harm could have truly downed the Dodgers.
A former three-time Negro Leagues All-Star, Roy Campanella settled into his position because the Nationwide League’s most excellent catcher.
Campy made his second consecutive MLB All-Star Sport, catching all 14 innings on nationwide tv.
Campanella’s fame skyrocketed, and his manufacturing adopted swimsuit.
The 28-year-old backstop hit over 30 house runs for the primary of 4 occasions throughout his profession (31) regardless of lacking almost 1 / 4 of the 12 months.
His superior defensive stats as a catcher soar off the web page, and his 683 putouts led the NL for the second straight 12 months.
With Campy behind the plate, the Dodgers appeared like a lock to carry off the upstart Phillies for the pennant.
Nonetheless, he went down with a compound fracture in his proper thumb, lacking 11 consecutive video games through the September stretch.
Brooklyn misplaced seven of these contests and was edged out of the Collection with a season-ending loss to Philadelphia.
1950 Bowman #19 Warren Spahn
Estimated PSA 5 EX Worth: $225
Despite the fact that he was named NL MVP a lot later in his profession, Warren Spahn was by no means extra feared by Senior Circuit hitters than his 4 years of strikeout dominance from 1949 to 1952.
Whereas his Boston Braves hovered between mediocrity and disappointment, Spahn used an electrical arsenal to eat up each innings and batters.
The Cooperstown legend pitched 1,196 innings throughout that four-year span, averaging almost 300 frames yearly.
He pitched to an ERA simply over three throughout that interval and struck out an MLB-best 689 batters.
Spahn’s finest 12 months as a strikeout artist got here in 1950.
The 29-year-old lefty set down a career-high 191 batters whereas main the Majors in begins (39) for the second consecutive 12 months.
Nonetheless, there was nonetheless some unhealthy information.
Whereas Spahn tied for second within the Majors in wins (21), he additionally completed eighth with 17 losses, partly resulting from poor run assist and partly resulting from his 111 walks and eight wild pitches.
1950 Bowman #32 Robin Roberts
Estimated PSA 5 EX Worth: $185
The 1950 Philadelphia Phillies leaned on their two aces to an excessive diploma.
Good factor they did.
35 years since their final NL pennant and barely faraway from a streak of 16 consecutive shedding seasons, the Phillies shocked everybody by outlasting the favored Dodgers for the league title.
The best way they did it was easy.
Philadelphia featured the Majors’ stingiest pitching workers, with simply 4.0 runs allowed per recreation.
It actually boiled right down to the all-time 1-2 punch of nearer Jim Konstanty and workers ace Robin Roberts.
Konstanty turned the primary reliever in MLB historical past to win league MVP, topping all pitchers in appearances (74), video games completed (62), and saves (22).
Mainly, Konstanty crammed within the gaps when Roberts wasn’t on the hill.
A 23-year-old All-Star wunderkind, Roberts led MLB in video games began (39) and shutouts (5).
He received 20 video games for the primary time and pitched to the Majors’ fourth-best ERA (3.02) in 304.1 innings.
The long run Corridor-of-Famer was considered one of simply two pitchers to cross 300 innings.
1950 Bowman #112 Gil Hodges
Estimated PSA 5 EX Worth: $145
Gil Hodges staked an early declare as among the finest energy hitters of the Fifties with a breakthrough age-26 marketing campaign.
The Brooklyn Dodgers first baseman was named to his first All-Star Sport in 1949 and was a middle-of-the-order menace for the eventual league champs.
In 1950, the ability surge that started the 12 months earlier than turned a full-on electrical storm.
Hodges went from 23 homers to 32, passing the 30-homer mark for the primary of 5 consecutive seasons.
It positioned him third in a stacked Senior Circuit filled with lengthy bombers.
Hodges joined teammates Roy Campanella and Duke Snider as the one MLB trio with no less than 30 house runs apiece.
It was an awesome show of brute power.
It additionally drew consideration away from the truth that Hodges was one of the best defensive first baseman within the Majors.
The Corridor-of-Famer led all gamers on the place with a .994 fielding share and closed out an NL-high 159 double performs.
1950 Bowman #84 Richie Ashburn
Estimated PSA 5 EX Worth: $135
Richie Ashburn pulled the wool over the Nationwide League’s eyes in 1950.
It was one other grad-school-level transfer by the upstart bunch in Philadelphia often known as the “Whiz Youngsters.”
It had been over thirty years because the Phillies have been a real contender.
Nonetheless, this 1950 group had two of one of the best pitchers within the recreation (Jim Konstanty and Robin Roberts) and a lineup filled with scrappers and clever two-way gamers.
Ashburn could have been essentially the most brainy of the bunch.
A lightning-fast 23-year-old middle fielder with little pop, Ashburn took a step again in his 1949 sophomore season as groups employed a “creeping shift” to push back bunts and infield hits.
Quite than altering his method, Ashburn modified his bat, choosing considered one of teammate Del Ennis’s heavier items of lumber.
Groups started to again off the shift, and Ashburn took off, hitting .370 in April and .303 altogether with an MLB-best 14 triples.
It was a major instance of how the Phillies outthought everybody on their method to a jaw-dropping pennant clinch.
1950 Bowman #33 Ralph Kiner
Estimated PSA 5 EX Worth: $125
The 1950 season introduced with it a monstrous particular person efficiency by Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Ralph Kiner.
It additionally kicked off a three-year splitting headache of mounting losses and fixed commerce rumors.
The article was clear when GM Department Rickey took over the chair earlier than the 1950 marketing campaign.
Lower prices in all places, even on the expense of the on-field product.
And boy was the on-field product expendable.
It is not just like the Pirates have been a contending group.
They oscillated between unhealthy and simply above mediocre for a lot of the Thirties and Forties.
Nonetheless, the 1950 Pittsburgh squad was dreadful.
The group completed 57-96-1, with its worst successful share (.396) since 1917.
And that is even with Kiner ending fifth for MVP with an MLB-best 47-homer barrage.
It was the fourth of 5 consecutive 40-home run seasons for the left fielder/first baseman.
It was additionally a major alternative for Rickey to brazenly store Kiner, a saga that might final three years and thru a number of strained contract talks.
1950 Bowman Baseball Playing cards In Evaluate
The colourful paintings on 1950 Bowman speaks for itself and is without doubt one of the fundamental attracts.
The 1948 Bowman set featured black-and-white pictures, whereas the ’49 Bowman set introduced in some colorized photographs a 12 months later.
Nonetheless, Bowman actually upped their recreation with the gorgeous paintings of their 1950 launch.
Many contemplate it considered one of their best-looking classic units, and for good motive.
When it comes to star energy, Corridor-of-Fame legends like Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, and Yogi Berra will all the time be among the many largest headliners within the guidelines.
As I discussed within the opener, the 252-card guidelines incorporates a whopping 27 Corridor-of-Famers.
It is only a bummer that no rookies on this set might be a part of these guys in Cooperstown.
In any other case, the 1950 Bowman set would doubtless get much more consideration.
Nonetheless, regardless of that one downside, this set stays one of the beloved of the period and was a wonderful method to lead the interest into the Fifties.
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