Card: 1952 Bowman Football, Card #129

Team/Position: Detroit Lions / Defensive Halfback

Cost: $4.00

The early Bowman Football cards are probably the best looking football cards ever produced.  After the black and white cards of the late 40′s, Bowman really stepped it up and produced football cards with incredibly bright, contrasting, colours and terrific team logos.

Another benefit of the ’52 Bowman set was the insertion of both large and small cards.  The ’52 set is the stuff dreams are made of, and PSA has documented the costly hobby of nailin’ down these sets, here (small) and here (large).

When it comes to purchasing these cards, I’ll definitely need to scale back my guidelines and stress that condition isn’t all that important.  The Jack Christiansen that I acquired almost spoils the mythology behind this set.  The colors aren’t as sharp, the corners are shot, and it’s filled with creases; BUT, it was under five dollars — Score!

I’ve included a thumbnail of a PSA 9 Christiansen, if you’re curious as to what this card should look like.  Try your best not to fall in love with high-grade vintage cards or you’ll end up going broke quick-fast.

Christiansen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970 after playing for the Lions from 1951 to 1958.

During his career with the Lions, Christiansen was elected to 6 First Team All Pro Teams, and 5 Pro Bowls.

Christiansen lead the Lions to two consecutive NFL Championships in ’52 and ’53.

As the Lions defensive leader, Christiansen finished his career with 46 interceptions.

Christiansen also gained fame for his outstanding return abilities and finished up his career with 8 touchdowns on 85 punt returns.

Personally, of the three Bowman’s (50, 51, and 52,) I think that I’m leaning towards ’52 set.  The 1950 set has the greatest “Rookie” class of all-time, but the ’52 set has a lot to offer.  Financially, the ’51 set is probably the most affordable, if that’s what you’re looking for.