Marion Motley: 1950 Bowman Gum
Player: Marion Motley
Card: 1950 Bowman Football, Card #43
Team/Position: Cleveland Browns / Fullback
Cost: $30.00
The 1950 Bowman Gum Football set is one of the greatest sets of all time. Prior to the 1950 season, the AAFC merged with the NFL and some of the all-time greats finally got their first rookie cards. The Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers joined the NFL intact; meanwhile, the AAFC New York franchise was split evenly between the two NFL teams in New York.
The remainder of the AAFC players were dispersed evenly amongst the NFL franchises in a draft. So there you have it, that’s why the 1950 Bowman set is absolutely loaded.
In the AAFC’s four year existence, Marion Motley and the Cleveland Browns won every championship. When the AAFC shut down in 1949, Motley was the league’s all time leading rusher with 3,048 yards.
When Motley and the Browns joined the NFL, Marion Motley lead the league in rushing in his very first NFL season with 810 yards on 140 carries. Motley averaged 5.8 yards per carry that year, averaging under a dozen carries per game.
No cards were produced for the AAFC, so Motley’s first card came when he was already 30 years old. The front of the card makes Marion Motley look like an absolute beast, and at 6′1″ / 235lbs, he certainly was. When you first look at the card, Motley’s number 76 and large stature make him look more like an offensive lineman than a fullback.
During a game against the Steelers in 1950, Motley rushed for a staggering 188 yards on only 11 carries: In turn, setting a yards per carry average record of 17 yards per attempt.
When it comes to the best runningback of all-time, Marion Motley’s definitely in the conversation with Jim Brown, Walter Peyton and Barry Sanders.
Motley was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.
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