This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/15/2023
Other than a brief period when Leaf tried its hand at baseball cards in the late 1940s, the Bowman company had no direct competition in the baseball card market until Topps came along in 1952. Though coming off of a campaign that introduced the rookie cards of Mantle, Mays, and Ford, the "super-sized" cards produced by Topps posed a serious, and ultimately fatal, threat to Bowman. The presented card is the key to the 1952 Bowman series that served as the best weapon to hold market share for Bowman, the second-year issue of the iconic Mickey Mantle. The central image shows outstanding registration, a more intimate and personal artist's rendering that is well-pigmented and eye-appealing, competently centered on the canvas with corners and edges that happily boast their NM/MT status. The reverse is equally exceptional with a robust gray slate canvas housing a boldly printed bio of the Yankee legend. The key piece for any elite '52 Bowman set or Mickey Mantle collection.