1948 Leaf Football Cards
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 |
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1948 Leaf | 1 | Sid Luckman | Chicago Bears | quarterback | Columbia | College Hall of Fame 1960, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1965 | Rookie card | |
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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. |
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1948 Leaf | 3 | Bulldog Turner | Chicago Bears | center, linebacker | Hardin-Simmons | College Hall of Fame 1960, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1966 | Rookie card | |
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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. |
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1948 Leaf | 5 | Levi Jackson | halfback | Yale | Rookie card | |||
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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. |
poor mk |
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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 |
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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 | |
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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. |
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1948 Leaf | 8B | Vince Banonis | Chicago Cardinals | defensive tackle | Detroit Mercy | College Hall of Fame 1986 | Rookie card black name |
ex |
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1948 Leaf | 8W | Vince Banonis | Chicago Cardinals | defensive tackle | Detroit Mercy | College Hall of Fame 1986 | Rookie card white name |
poor |
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1948 Leaf | 9B | Tommy Thompson | Philadelphia Eagles | quarterback, coach | Tulsa | Rookie card Variation with blue jersey numbers |
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1948 Leaf | 9Y | Tommy Thompson | Philadelphia Eagles | quarterback, coach | Tulsa | Rookie card Variation with yellow jersey numbers |
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1948 Leaf | 10 | Perry Moss | Green Bay Packers | quarterback | Tulsa, Illinois | Rookie card | poor | |
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1948 Leaf | 11 | Terry Brennan | halfback | Notre Dame | Rookie card | |||
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1948 Leaf | 12B | Bill Swiacki | New York Giants | end | Holy Cross, Columbia | College Hall of Fame 1976 | Rookie card black name |
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1948 Leaf | 12W | Bill Swiacki | New York Giants | end | Holy Cross, Columbia | College Hall of Fame 1976 | Rookie card white name |
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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. |
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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. |
poor |
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1948 Leaf | 14B | Mal Kutner | Chicago Cardinals | end | Texas | College Hall of Fame 1974 | Rookie card black name |
vg mc |
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1948 Leaf | 14W | Mal Kutner | Chicago Cardinals | end | Texas | College Hall of Fame 1974 | Rookie card white name |
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1948 Leaf | 15 | Charlie Justice | running back | North Carolina | College Hall of Fame 1961, Commanders Ring of Fame | Rookie card | ||
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |