You can’t fully understand this card without reading… This link about the 1948 Bowman set as a whole.
The Card: The 1948 Bowman set is, of course, the first major basketball set ever! This #9 Andy Phillip card is in the first series, so it’s a bit more accessible and not as rare as the second series cards. But this is a true rookie card, marking Andy Phillip’s first year in the BAA. (A reminder that the 1948 Bowman cards are Basketball Association of America cards). He’s also a member of the Hall of Fame, so this adds a touch of value to the card as well. Did anyone save the ten wrappers for the basketball uniform being offered on the back of the card?!
This may be the SECOND UNCORRECTED ERROR on a basketball card (apart from minor typos)! The first UER was the 1933 Goudey Sport Kings Joe “Lopchik” card that misspelled Joe Lapchik’s name. On this Andy Phillip card, look at the hometown on the back, Granite City, “Ind.” The state is wrong. Andy Phillip was born in Granite City, but in ILLINOIS! In fact, you can see his life revolved around Illinois. After being born there, he was a big name at the University of Illinois, and then joined the Chicago Stags of the BAA. Another neat fact mentioned on the reverse is that he played professional baseball as well (playing for the Decatur Commodores early in his career, another Illinois connection)!
Andy Phillip was still playing and is present in the 1957 Topps set nine years later, so if you think this one card completes your Andy Phillip collection, think again!
In Short: We found another error, and this one’s hard to detect! I’ll turn the card over if you want to pause and give it a try. Andy Phillip’s hometown, “Granite City” should be Illinois, not Indiana! Here’s some more trivia for you. 1948 Bowman cards are often referred to as rookies because they are the first basketball card of the player, but he actually was playing professionally before 1948. This Andy Phillip is a true rookie in the sense that it really did mark his first year playing in the BAA (Basketball Association of America). Subscribe and collect with us at Cataloged Clutter! We try to examine every detail of our cards!
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