Bowman Gum facts for kids

The Bowman Gum Company was a company based in Philadelphia, USA. It was famous for making bubble gum and trading cards. Jacob Warren Bowman started the company in 1927.

Bowman became very popular for its baseball cards in the 1940s. They also made cards for American football and basketball. Another company called Topps bought Bowman in 1956, and the Bowman brand stopped being used for a while.

However, Topps brought back the "Bowman" brand in 1989.

History of Bowman Gum

Jacob Warren Bowman, who used to sell chewing gum, started his own company called Gum, Inc. in Philadelphia in 1927. Their first product was Blony bubble gum. This gum quickly became the best-selling penny bubble gum in the United States by 1929.

Bowman officially registered the Blony name in 1931. By 1937, Blony gum made up 60 percent of all bubble gum sales in the U.S. This was mainly because it was the biggest piece of gum you could buy for just one penny. Blony was advertised as "Three Big BITES for a penny." This made Gum, Inc. the largest company focused only on selling penny gum. At that time, the company used five floors and a basement of a building in Philadelphia.

A Bowman chewing gum wrapper from 1950, which came with baseball cards inside

Blony gum often came with colorful trading cards. These cards covered many different topics. For example, in 1938, they released a series called "Horrors of War." This set had 288 cards showing different conflicts happening around the world. Each card had the message "To know the HORRORS OF WAR is to want PEACE." Kids often called this series "War Gum."

In 1930, Franklin V. Canning joined Bowman as a partner. Canning supplied the pink bubble gum material to Gum, Inc. He also invested money in the company. In 1932, another company developed a better and cheaper gum material. Bowman wanted Canning to lower his prices, which led to disagreements between them. Because of these issues, Bowman was removed from his own company in 1936.

1953 Bowman Color baseball card of Ralph Kiner

In July 1937, Jacob Bowman returned to his company after a long legal fight. The Pennsylvania State Supreme Court agreed that he should be president again. In the first half of 1937, Gum, Inc. made about $49,000 in profit from sales of around $800,000.

Bowman expanded its business by starting to make trading cards in the 1930s. Their first cards were not about sports. But soon, they entered the sports market with baseball cards in 1939. The company made a series of baseball cards called "Play Ball" from 1939 to 1941. Production stopped during World War II because paper was needed for the war effort. Bowman did not start making trading cards again until 1948. By then, the company was known as Bowman.

After World War II, Bowman released its 1948 baseball card set, which became very popular. In the same year, Bowman also released its first American football card set and its first basketball card set.

Bowman was competing with another company called Leaf Candy Company. Leaf left the market in 1950. That year, Bowman sold $1 million worth of baseball cards alone. For a few years, Bowman was the top producer of baseball cards. However, a rival company called Topps soon became more popular. Bowman continued to make baseball cards until 1955.

Bowman and Topps both tried to sign players to exclusive deals for their cards. In 1956, Topps bought Bowman for $200,000.

In 1989, Topps brought back the Bowman brand name. They used it for some of their sports card sets. Today, Bowman is known as a top brand for rookie cards. These are cards of players in their first year.

Modern Bowman Cards

Bowman (brand)

Owner	Topps
Introduced	1989; 36 years ago (1989)
Previous owners	Bowman Gum Company

Since being brought back by Topps, Bowman has created many popular types of sports cards. These cards often feature young players and future stars.

Bowman Chrome Cards

One popular set is Bowman Chrome. Topps first made a "Chrome" set for its own brand. Then, they created a Bowman Chrome set in 1997. These cards became very popular, especially for rookie cards. In 2001, Bowman Chrome started including autographed cards. This made them even more exciting for collectors.

Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects

Bowman also makes a set called Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects. This set focuses on players who have just been chosen in the MLB Draft. It also includes players from the MLB All-Star Futures Game and new rookies. These sets often have special cards with pieces of jerseys or autographs. Many famous players had their first cards in Bowman Draft Picks sets.

Bowman's Best Cards

Bowman's Best started in 1994. It was the first Bowman product to have special "refractor" cards. These cards have a shiny, rainbow-like finish. Later, Bowman's Best sets also included autographed cards. Some cards even had two autographs on one card.

Bowman Sterling Cards

Bowman Sterling was introduced in 2004. This set quickly became a favorite among collectors. It includes rookie cards, cards with pieces of game-used jerseys, and autographed cards. Some rare cards are limited to very few copies.

Bowman Heritage Cards

Bowman Heritage is a unique set. It features today's players but uses the designs of old Bowman cards from the past. These sets often include autographed cards and cards with pieces of jerseys or bats.