Card of the Month - July 2008

1952 Bowman - #43 - Bob Feller

I chose this card as the card of the month for July for several reasons. 1952 Bowman has always been special to me, as the first (and only) two really old cards I had as a kid were a 1950 Bowman Maurice McDermott and a 1952 Bowman Fred Hatfield that my Dad bought for me when we were out at a local antique store.

Also, aside from 1953 Topps, I think this is one of the best sets produced in the decade. I love the simple design of the card, with the thin white border, full color painting and facsimile signature. In fact, I liked the set so much that I foolishly purchased 2 wax boxes of 2007 Bowman Heritage last year (which mimics the '52 set) in an attempt to complete the set before realizing that I was still many cards short and that I would have to spend probably more than what I did on this Bob Feller to complete it on my own by ripping packs. Also, it's already been discussed on other blogs but the collation on the Bowman Heritage Prospect cards was absolutely terrible. Every one I pulled was odd numbered, and as a result I have a huge pile of odd-numbered doubles and am missing half of the cards I need for the set. But enough about that, this post is supposed to be about the '52 Bowman Feller.

The main reason this card was chosen is that on this day in 1951 Bob pitched a no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers, becoming just the third pitcher in history to pitch 3 no-hitters. The Indians won the game 2-1, as the Tigers did manage to plate a run as a result of an error, a stolen base, a bad pick-off throw and then ultimately a sacrifice fly. I think Nolan Ryan's 7 career no-hitters is one of those records that will simply never be broken, but 3 by Feller is impressive enough. This is one of a handful of '52 Bowman cards that I own, you'll probably see a couple more posted here at some point...