Ted Taylor and Bob Schmierer created three series of 1947 Bowman Baseball cards in 1976 and 1977 to promote the 2nd and 3rd Philly Baseball Card Shows! They placed this advertisement in the July 1976 issue of The Trader Speaks to promote the show and cards!
Here’s what The Standard Catalog has to say about the 1976-77 HRT / RES 1947 Bowman Baseball Cards:
Advertised as “The Set That Never Was,” this collectors’ issue from Ted Taylor and Bob Schmierer used a 2-1/8” x 2-1/2” black-and-white format and gray cardboard stock to replicate the feel of the first post-WWII baseball cards. The set was issued in three series with advertising on back promoting the second (1976) and third (1977) annual EPSCC ‘Philly’ shows. Series one (#1-49) was issued in 1976; series two (#50-81) and three (#82-113) were 1977 issues.
PSA has graded more of these than I expected, considering it’s a bit of an odd collectors’ issue. There are 32 total PSA-graded cards across the 113-card set; here’s an example of one I found on eBay, card #17, in the 1st series, Jackie Robinson.
I found two complete sets for sale on eBay (January 2025); one was asking $295, and the other $285.
The $295 set included a T206 Honus Wagner promotional card, a sort of 114th card.
The seller of the $295 set also added a bit more information. First, they mentioned that the set was patterned after the 1948 Bowman baseball cards; surprisingly, The Standard Catalog didn’t write that; maybe it’s too obvious. They also said that Ted Taylor was HRT and Robert Schmierer was RES, adding that they printed 2000 series one sets while limiting series two and three to just 1000 sets each.
Happy collecting!
