1953 Bowman Football Cards

1953 Bowman football card wrapperThere are 96 cards in the 1953 Bowman football card set, distributed very unevenly among the 12 NFL teams of the time. (For example, the set contains only two Green Bay Packers.) There are no rookie cards of Hall of Famers or Heisman Trophy winners in the set. According to the price guides, some of the 1953 Bowmans are short prints, but I am skeptical of that. It appears to me that the set was printed on three 32-card sheets, and there were no short prints or double prints. For details on this, see my virtual uncut sheets of 1953 Bowman cards.

Also see my blog article, B is for Bowman, for an overview of the 1948-1955 Bowman football card sets.

Image Set #Card Title/Players Pro Team Position College Honors Notes Grades available at Nearmint Sports Cards
1953 Bowman Eddie LeBaron 1953 Bowman 1 Eddie LeBaron Washington Redskins quarterback Pacific College Hall of Fame 1980, Commanders Ring of Fame Rookie card
1953 Bowman John Dottley 1953 Bowman 2 John Dottley Chicago Bears fullback Mississippi
1953 Bowman Babe Parilli 1953 Bowman 3 Babe Parilli Green Bay Packers quarterback Kentucky College Hall of Fame 1982, Patriots Hall of Fame 1993 exmt
1953 Bowman Bucko Kilroy 1953 Bowman 4 Bucko Kilroy Philadelphia Eagles guard Temple
1953 Bowman Joe Tereshinski 1953 Bowman 5 Joe Tereshinski Washington Redskins end Georgia
1953 Bowman Doak Walker 1953 Bowman 6 Doak Walker Detroit Lions halfback SMU College Hall of Fame 1959, Heisman Trophy 1948, Pride of the Lions 2009, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1986 Walker scored 11 points (on a touchdown, a field goal, and 2 extra points) in Detroit's 17-16 win over the Cleveland Browns in the 1953 NFL Championship game.
1953 Bowman Fran Polsfoot 1953 Bowman 7 Fran Polsfoot Chicago Cardinals end Washington State
1953 Bowman Sisto Averno 1953 Bowman 8 Sisto Averno Baltimore Colts guard Muhlenberg Averno was the last player chosen in the 1951 NFL Draft. See the Gallery's Mr. Irrelevant page for cards of more players who were drafted last.
1953 Bowman Marion Motley 1953 Bowman 9 Marion Motley Cleveland Browns fullback South Carolina State, Nevada Browns Ring of Honor 2010, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1968
1953 Bowman Pat Brady 1953 Bowman 10 Pat Brady Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, punter Nevada, Bradley Rookie card
1953 Bowman Norm Van Brocklin 1953 Bowman 11 Norm Van Brocklin Los Angeles Rams quarterback, coach Oregon College Hall of Fame 1966, Eagles Honor Roll 1987, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1971
1953 Bowman Bill McColl 1953 Bowman 12 Bill McColl Chicago Bears end Stanford College Hall of Fame 1973 McColl placed fourth in voting for the 1951 Heisman Trophy. See the Gallery's page of football cards of Heisman candidates.
1953 Bowman Jerry Groom 1953 Bowman 13 Jerry Groom Chicago Cardinals center Notre Dame College Hall of Fame 1994
1953 Bowman Al Pollard 1953 Bowman 14 Al Pollard Philadelphia Eagles running back, defensive back Army, Loyola Marymount
1953 Bowman Dante Lavelli 1953 Bowman 15 Dante Lavelli Cleveland Browns end Ohio State Browns Ring of Honor 2010, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1975
1953 Bowman Eddie Price 1953 Bowman 16 Eddie Price New York Giants fullback Tulane College Hall of Fame 1982
1953 Bowman Charley Trippi 1953 Bowman 17 Charley Trippi Chicago Cardinals halfback Georgia Cardinals Ring of Honor 2006, College Hall of Fame 1959, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1968
1953 Bowman Elbert Nickel 1953 Bowman 18 Elbert Nickel Pittsburgh Steelers end Cincinnati Steelers Hall of Honor 2019
1953 Bowman George Taliaferro 1953 Bowman 19 George Taliaferro Baltimore Colts halfback Indiana College Hall of Fame 1981 PSA 8
1953 Bowman Charley Conerly 1953 Bowman 20 Charley Conerly New York Giants quarterback Mississippi College Hall of Fame 1966, Giants Ring of Honor 2010
1953 Bowman Bobby Layne 1953 Bowman 21 Bobby Layne Detroit Lions quarterback Texas College Hall of Fame 1968, Pride of the Lions 2009, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1967, Steelers Hall of Honor 2017
1953 Bowman Elroy Hirsch 1953 Bowman 22 Elroy Hirsch Los Angeles Rams end, halfback Wisconsin, Michigan College Hall of Fame 1974, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1968 In 1953, Hirsch starred in Crazylegs, a movie about himself.
1953 Bowman Jim Finks 1953 Bowman 23 Jim Finks Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Tulsa Pro Football Hall of Fame 1995, Saints Hall of Fame 1994, Vikings Ring of Honor 1998 ex
1953 Bowman Chuck Bednarik 1953 Bowman 24 Chuck Bednarik Philadelphia Eagles center, defensive tackle Pennsylvania College Hall of Fame 1969, Eagles Honor Roll 1987, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1967
1953 Bowman Kyle Rote 1953 Bowman 25 Kyle Rote New York Giants end SMU College Hall of Fame 1964, Giants Ring of Honor 2022 Rote had an 84-yard punt in the 1949 Cotton Bowl, still a Bowl Championship Series record. His SMU teammate, Doak Walker, had a 79-yard punt in the same game. Both punts were "quick kicks."

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Image of eBay item 1953 Bowman Football Card Chuck Bednarik #24 BV $25 VG O/C Range (DS) 24.99
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Image of eBay item 1953 Bowman Football Card #13 Jerry Groom Cardlinals Low Grade G/F/P See Pics 7.50
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Image of eBay item 1953 Bowman Football Card #16 Eddie Price-New York Giants VG 8.00
Image of eBay item 1953 Bowman Football Card #66 ROBERT SMITH Lions 2.99
Image of eBay item 1953 Bowman Football Card #33 DALE SAMUELS Chicago Cardinals PSA 6 EX-MT 39.99
Image of eBay item 1953 Bowman Football #76 Lynn Chandnois-Pittsburg Steelers VG 8.00
Image of eBay item 1953 BOWMAN #26 OTTO GRAHAM FOOTBALL CARD CLEVELAND BROWNS UNGRADED EXCELLENT 70.00
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Image of eBay item 1953 Bowman Football Bob McChesney #67 Rookie RC. VG-Poor 9.00
Image of eBay item Eddie LeBaron Washington Redskins 1953 Bowman Football Card #1 Excellent - Mint 99.99
Image of eBay item 1953 Bowman Football #52 Alfred Conway SGC NM-MT 8 (EAGLES) 221.01
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