1953 Bowman Football Cards
There 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1953 Bowman | 1 | Eddie LeBaron | Washington Redskins | quarterback | Pacific | College Hall of Fame 1980, Commanders Ring of Fame | Rookie card | |
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1953 Bowman | 2 | John Dottley | Chicago Bears | fullback | Mississippi | |||
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1953 Bowman | 3 | Babe Parilli | Green Bay Packers | quarterback | Kentucky | College Hall of Fame 1982, Patriots Hall of Fame 1993 | exmt | |
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1953 Bowman | 4 | Bucko Kilroy | Philadelphia Eagles | guard | Temple | |||
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1953 Bowman | 5 | Joe Tereshinski | Washington Redskins | end | Georgia | |||
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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. | |
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1953 Bowman | 7 | Fran Polsfoot | Chicago Cardinals | end | Washington State | |||
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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. | ||
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1953 Bowman | 9 | Marion Motley | Cleveland Browns | fullback | South Carolina State, Nevada | Browns Ring of Honor 2010, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1968 | ||
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1953 Bowman | 10 | Pat Brady | Pittsburgh Steelers | quarterback, punter | Nevada, Bradley | Rookie card | ||
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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 | ||
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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. | |
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1953 Bowman | 13 | Jerry Groom | Chicago Cardinals | center | Notre Dame | College Hall of Fame 1994 | ||
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1953 Bowman | 14 | Al Pollard | Philadelphia Eagles | running back, defensive back | Army, Loyola Marymount | |||
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1953 Bowman | 15 | Dante Lavelli | Cleveland Browns | end | Ohio State | Browns Ring of Honor 2010, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1975 | ||
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1953 Bowman | 16 | Eddie Price | New York Giants | fullback | Tulane | College Hall of Fame 1982 | ||
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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 | ||
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1953 Bowman | 18 | Elbert Nickel | Pittsburgh Steelers | end | Cincinnati | Steelers Hall of Honor 2019 | ||
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1953 Bowman | 19 | George Taliaferro | Baltimore Colts | halfback | Indiana | College Hall of Fame 1981 | PSA 8 | |
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1953 Bowman | 20 | Charley Conerly | New York Giants | quarterback | Mississippi | College Hall of Fame 1966, Giants Ring of Honor 2010 | ||
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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 | ||
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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. | |
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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 | |
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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 | ||
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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." |