1955 bowman complete through 64!

i am still making progress with my 1955 bowman set, and have now completed it through 8 sheets, or through 64 cards. i have more than 64 cards, of course, but i've decided to showcase the set, in order, by completed sheets.

here is sheet number 7, cards 49-56

jim greengrass there in the first slot is checking out the close-cropping i did on the scan! here are the backs:

once again, the players are paired as teammates, although elvin tappe's card back says he is a cincinnati redleg. he is clearly a cub in his photo, and i can't find any record of him joining the reds. he only appeared in the major leagues as a cub, including in both the 1954 and 1955 seasons. even more odd is that the card is not listed as an error or uer in any checklist or catalog that i searched.

shout out to former dodger billy cox there in the last slot. cox was traded (along with preacher roe) to the orioles after the 1954 season, and so missed out on dem bums winning the world series. at some point during the 1955 season, cox was dealt from the orioles to the indians but retired due to injuries rather than report to cleveland.

the next sheet, with cards 57-64, is more exciting:

it's pretty cool to have another card of whitey ford from the 1950's, and his teammate enos slaughter is one who i forget played into the late 1950's. i associate his career with other pre-war players for some reason.

at the bottom of the page bowman was more intentional in violating the teammate pairs, squeezing in a third yankee rather than a phillie teammate for curt simmons.

here are the backs:

there are some interesting things on those card backs - whitey ford namechecks joe dimaggio, bob friend recommends a college degree, and frank thomas says his biggest thrill was a grand slam that he hit in april of 1953 with his parents in the stands. and, while irv noren gives some straight forward advice, enos slaughter's advice seems more in line with the times ("dress warm") and comes with a reference to the "midget league" which apparently is still a thing in some parts of the country.

it is worth noting that simmons' card is the last of the light wood television sets. starting with the next sheet, the cards switch to a darker wood - perhaps a rich mahogany - that ron burgundy would be proud to have in his apartment.