1948 Leaf Football Cards

1948 Leaf football card wrapper There are 98 cards in the 1948 Leaf football card set. The set includes both NFL and college players. Cards 1-49, mostly NFL players, were printed on one sheet, and cards 50-98, mostly college players, were printed on another. Cards 50-98 apparently were printed in much smaller numbers. You can see how the sheets were configured on the Gallery's 1948 Leaf virtual uncut sheet page. Also see my blog article, L is for Leaf, for a more detailed description of the set.

Thanks to Scott Alpaugh for providing images of the many variations in this set.

Rookie cards of Pro Football Hall of Famers in the 1948 Leaf set: Sammy Baugh, Chuck Bednarik, George Connor, Bill Dudley, Bobby Layne, Bobby Layne, Sid Luckman, George McAfee, George McAfee, Leo Nomellini, Leo Nomellini, Pete Pihos, Pete Pihos, Charley Trippi, Bulldog Turner, Steve Van Buren, Steve Van Buren, Doak Walker, Bob Waterfield, Bob Waterfield. Rookie cards of Heisman Trophy winners in the 1948 Leaf set: Doak Walker, John Lujack, John Lujack, Leon Hart.

Image Set #Card Title/Players Pro Team Position College Honors Notes Grades available at Nearmint Sports Cards
1948 Leaf Sid Luckman 1948 Leaf 1 Sid Luckman Chicago Bears quarterback Columbia College Hall of Fame 1960, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1965 Rookie card
1948 Leaf Steve Suhey 1948 Leaf 2 Steve Suhey Pittsburgh Steelers guard Penn State College Hall of Fame 1985 Rookie card

Suhey played two seasons for the Steelers. His son, Matt Suhey, played fullback for ten seasons with the Chicago Bears.
1948 Leaf Bulldog Turner 1948 Leaf 3 Bulldog Turner Chicago Bears center, linebacker Hardin-Simmons College Hall of Fame 1960, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1966 Rookie card
1948 Leaf Doak Walker 1948 Leaf 4 Doak Walker halfback SMU College Hall of Fame 1959, Heisman Trophy 1948, Pride of the Lions 2009, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1986 Rookie card

Walker was the second player to win the Heisman Trophy as a junior. The first was Army's Doc Blanchard. Notre Dame's Leon Hart won the Heisman in Walker's senior year, 1949.
1948 Leaf Levi Jackson 1948 Leaf 5 Levi Jackson halfback Yale Rookie card
1948 Leaf Bobby Layne 1948 Leaf 6R Bobby Layne Chicago Bears quarterback Texas College Hall of Fame 1968, Pride of the Lions 2009, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1967, Steelers Hall of Honor 2017 Rookie card, error card

Name misspelled "Bobbie," red pants variation.
1948 Leaf Bobby Layne 1948 Leaf 6Y Bobby Layne Chicago Bears quarterback Texas College Hall of Fame 1968, Pride of the Lions 2009, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1967, Steelers Hall of Honor 2017 Rookie card, error card

Name misspelled "Bobbie," yellow pants variation.
PSA 3 mc
1948 Leaf Bill Fischer 1948 Leaf 7R Bill Fischer tackle, guard Notre Dame College Hall of Fame 1983, Outland Trophy 1948 Rookie card

Variation with red background between knees.
vg-ex
1948 Leaf Bill Fischer 1948 Leaf 7W Bill Fischer tackle, guard Notre Dame College Hall of Fame 1983, Outland Trophy 1948 Rookie card

Variation with white background between knees.
1948 Leaf Vince Banonis 1948 Leaf 8B Vince Banonis Chicago Cardinals defensive tackle Detroit Mercy College Hall of Fame 1986 Rookie card

black name
ex
1948 Leaf Vince Banonis 1948 Leaf 8W Vince Banonis Chicago Cardinals defensive tackle Detroit Mercy College Hall of Fame 1986 Rookie card

white name
1948 Leaf Tommy Thompson 1948 Leaf 9B Tommy Thompson Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, coach Tulsa Rookie card

Variation with blue jersey numbers
1948 Leaf Tommy Thompson 1948 Leaf 9Y Tommy Thompson Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, coach Tulsa Rookie card

Variation with yellow jersey numbers
1948 Leaf Perry Moss 1948 Leaf 10 Perry Moss Green Bay Packers quarterback Tulsa, Illinois Rookie card poor
1948 Leaf Terry Brennan 1948 Leaf 11 Terry Brennan halfback Notre Dame Rookie card
1948 Leaf Bill Swiacki 1948 Leaf 12B Bill Swiacki New York Giants end Holy Cross, Columbia College Hall of Fame 1976 Rookie card

black name
1948 Leaf Bill Swiacki 1948 Leaf 12W Bill Swiacki New York Giants end Holy Cross, Columbia College Hall of Fame 1976 Rookie card

white name
1948 Leaf John Lujack 1948 Leaf 13C John Lujack Chicago Bears quarterback Notre Dame College Hall of Fame 1960, Heisman Trophy 1947 Rookie card

This variation has Lujack's first name spelled correctly.
1948 Leaf John Lujack 1948 Leaf 13E John Lujack Chicago Bears quarterback Notre Dame College Hall of Fame 1960, Heisman Trophy 1947 Rookie card, error card

Lujack's first name is misspelled "Jonny" on this variation.
1948 Leaf Mal Kutner 1948 Leaf 14B Mal Kutner Chicago Cardinals end Texas College Hall of Fame 1974 Rookie card

black name
vg mc
1948 Leaf Mal Kutner 1948 Leaf 14W Mal Kutner Chicago Cardinals end Texas College Hall of Fame 1974 Rookie card

white name
1948 Leaf Charlie Justice 1948 Leaf 15 Charlie Justice running back North Carolina College Hall of Fame 1961, Commanders Ring of Fame Rookie card
1948 Leaf Pete Pihos 1948 Leaf 16B Pete Pihos Philadelphia Eagles end Indiana College Hall of Fame 1966, Eagles Honor Roll 1987, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1970 Rookie card

blue numbers
1948 Leaf Pete Pihos 1948 Leaf 16Y Pete Pihos Philadelphia Eagles end Indiana College Hall of Fame 1966, Eagles Honor Roll 1987, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1970 Rookie card

yellow numbers
1948 Leaf Kenny Washington 1948 Leaf 17B Kenny Washington Los Angeles Rams fullback, halfback UCLA College Hall of Fame 1956 Rookie card

black name
PSA 3, PSA 3 mk, PSA 2, PSA 1.5

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