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C.A.: 1952 Bowman Billy Loes

 (Hey, we got some snow! Last night wasn't the first of the season but it was the first of any significance. It's probably around 7-8 inches of fluffiness, which usually gets a shoulder-shrug around here. I guess it's officially winter on Jan. 7. But, let's return to summer stuff. It's time for Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 331st in a series):


I may not be much for making goals at New Year's time, but I like to recognize milestones at this time of year.

This 1952 Bowman Billy Loes card marks a pair of notables. It is both the last card I purchased in 2023 and the first card to arrive in my collection in 2024. I could certainly pick worse cards for each honor.

This is one of the high numbers in the set. I have no knowledge of how difficult it is to grab '52 Bowman high numbers, there are just two Dodgers in the high numbers (cards 217-and-above) and I've got both now. The giant price guide in my possession indicates that HNs are worth double regular '52 Bowmans.

But I haven't found it that difficult tracking '52 Bowman Dodgers. It's certainly not the same as hunting '52 Topps Dodgers. Out of the 16 Dodgers in 1952 Bowman, I now have 14 of them. If I want it to make it my immediate goal to finish the set, it'll be easy and then difficult (Or difficult-than-easy, but I never seem to choose the big fish first).

The last Dodgers I need are Billy Cox (not a problem) and Duke Snider (I see wading through a bunch of grading plastic in my future). Not the most tough task, though. I should get going on that!

But first the Loes card. I've often thought that Loes made some nice cards. I've raved about his 1954 Bowman card in the past. His '53 Bowman card is very nice, too. Even the '55 Bowman is pretty good, I think Loes' run of great cardboard is mostly Bowman, now that I think of it.

This particular card is a little spare, with Loes looking to the slanted clouds in the sky. The way the card is hiding his hat and jersey it's as if someone thinks Loes is going to be traded. But it might be related to the fact that he served in the military in 1951 and maybe there was no recent pic of Loes as a Dodger to replicate.

I am fascinated by every last Brooklyn Dodger from this time period and Loes is one of the most colorful, a well-known character with plenty of odd quotes in his history. I just love gathering cards of players whose stories are still told today and I think Brooklyn stories will be told for many more years to come. 

With this Loes, I now have all but one major card of him from his Brooklyn days and I hope to be adding the final one sometime soon -- speaking of that 1952 Topps set.

Comments

Old Cards said…
57 is as far back as I go in my collecting, so it's interesting to see your collection of early 50's cards. Where I live, 7-8 inches would be a major deal!
CardBoredom said…
Those cards from Bowman's artistic years look great. I am looking forward to you tracking down the Topps card of Loes. Many guides have listed it as a short print, but I can't seem to figure out why. Topps' first series printing layout leaves no room to short-print just one card and it is found in the same quantity of any other first series name. I hope you can shed some light on it.
I picked up a few 1953 Cubs from WhatNot last month and really liked them quite a bit. Beforr that when I was a kid at a Cubs Convention I bought a 1950 Bowman for $5 and thought it was amazing, thinking back then it was a 40 year old card!
Fuji said…
Stay warm and congratulations on finishing off the Bowman high numbers. I really have grown to love vintage Bowman baseball over the past decade or so.
AdamE said…
52 Bowman was one of the very first 50s team sets I completed. They seemed to be plentiful and more importantly, to a guy collecting on a budget, no Ted Williams.
Jon said…
We're supposed to start getting our first real snow of the season tonight and tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to it.