Topps To Issue ’52 Bowman Retro Promo Set During The 2013 National

UPDATE

• Topps has confirmed that the way to obtain one of these ’52 Bowman style promos is by opening (5) packs of a Topps or Bowman product at their booth.
• In addition to the ’52 Bowman style promos, Topps will bring back their Bowman Platinum wrapper redemption program.  The Bowman Platinum redemption will be for a 25-card boxed set limited to 499 copies.  Topps only plans to give out 100 sets each day, and they will randomly include autographs.  The cards in this set will be a special parallel version of the regular base set that can only be obtained at the National.  All you have to do is be one of the first 100 people to open a box of 2013 Bowman Platinum at their booth.  Good luck 🙂

We’re only about two months away from the 34th National Sports Collectors Convention which will be held in Chicago from 7/31 to 8/4.  There is no question that one of the major draws are the promos given away by many of the manufacturers.  Collectors lineup early and rush through the doors so they can get their spot in line.

Its still a little early for companies to unveil their promotional programs for The National.  They typically begin announcing them in June, but I’ve got the details on one of the Topps promotions that will be held at their booth.  According to his Facebook page, sports artist James Henry Smith has been commissioned by Topps to paint eight original portraits (four baseball and four football) that they will use to make cards specifically for The National.  Each one of these portraits will be designed to look like the classic 1952 Bowman set, but will be of modern day players.  The original paintings will measure 8″ x 12-1/8″, will be signed by the player, then scanned and re-sized to 2.5″ x 3.5″ in order to get them down to a normal baseball card size.  Every card in the set will be limited to 500 copies.  Topps will also be giving away the original artwork at the show too.

Here are the players that will be included in this set:

• Bryce Harper
• Mike Trout
• Ernie Banks
• Frank Thomas
• Geno Smith
• Tavon Austin
• EJ Manuel
• Eddie Lacy

Now they haven’t announced how these ’52 Bowman style promos will be distributed.  Given that Topps is printing 500 copies for each player, they’ll probably give out 100 per day for every player.  Since The National is open for five days this would make the most sense.  In order to get one, you’ll most likely have to open a few packs of a 2013 Topps product at their booth.  This is exactly what Topps did with their Gypsy Queen minis last year.

Topps is known for creating promos that can be integrated into their products, especially ones made for set collectors.  The 1952 Bowman design appears in 2013 Bowman this year in the form of signed minis. I’m guessing that is the connection they decided to go with.

When complete, the set will probably look something like this Paul “Tank” Younger 1952 Bowman card.  I’m really looking forward to seeing that painted design.