Bowman Gum
After meeting a salesman on a boat from Cleveland to Detroit, Jacob Warren
Bowman decided to enter the chewing gum business. The industrious Bowman offered premiums
with his gum that included butcher knives and later "Indian blankets" for
every 24 boxes. In 1927, Bowman became part owner of The True Blue Gum Co.
plant in Lansing, Michigan, selling Tri-Mint and Ju-Ce-Kiss for one-cent each.
Bowman left True Blue and purchased 180 mechanical pinball machines in
Philadelphia. Bowman planned to convert the machines to dispense gum prizes
with Charles Dellenbarger, a former machinist for Wrigley, but the idea was
not economically feasible. Dellenbarger lent a loft shop of older gum
machinery and Bowman borrowed $300 from a finance company. Bowman formed the
By-Gum Company in 1928 and marketed bubble gum under the name Blowney in 1929
and 1930.
By-Gum was succeeded by Gum, Incorporated in 1932 and the bubble gum was
renamed Blony. Bowman began to insert cards into Blony gum packages with a
24-card Wild West Series. An additional 25 cards were added to the
second print run including a premium prize card. Later in 1932, Bowman
oversaw equipment installation and training for gum manufacturing in Japan.
In 1938 and 1939, Gum, Inc. released a 288-card Horrors of War series
illustrating violence of contemporary conflicts around the world. The cards
were conceived by Bowman and designed by George Moll Advertising, Inc. of
Philadelphia. An estimated 100 million cards were printed and a complete set
was originally priced at $1. Officials from Japan protested the depictions of
Japanese actions in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The U.S. State
Department approved of the card series for highlighting the 1937 sinking of
the USS Panay by Japanese bombers. Bowman was banned from the empire and
denounced as an enemy of Japan.
Gum, Inc. released the popular Play Ball baseball card sets each year
from 1939 to 1941. The high series printing of the 1940 Play Ball set
contains six different advertisements for
Superman Gum. The 72-card Superman Gum series was illustrated by Fred Ray.
In 1941, Gum, Inc. issued various national defense themed sets and a 132-card War Gum series.
During World War II, latex supplies were diverted to the defense effort, sugar was being rationed to households, and paper scrap drives were held to salvage
pulp. American Chicle, Beech-Nut, Leaf, Walla Walla, and Wrigley were contracted
by the government to supply gum for military rations. Gum, Inc. was forced to
temporarily suspend production until 1944. During the war, gum from American and
Canadian soldiers became widely popular throughout the
Netherlands.
In March 1944, Gum, Inc. rebranded as Bowman Gum,
Inc. The field sampling staff was mostly comprised of unpaid female volunteers that reported taste test findings to the sales department. Testing indicated that
more people preferred Warrens Mint Cocktail gum over competitor brands. An
extensive advertising campaign for Cin-A-Mint, Fruit Cocktail, and Mint Cocktail included
endorsements from Esther Williams, Jinx Falkenburg, Lady Iris Mountblatten,
and Lana Turner.
Bowman resumed sports card production with sets for MLB, NBA, and NFL players in
1948. An aggressive completion for image rights for professional athletes arose between rival manufacturers Fleer, Leaf, and Topps. Leaf released baseball and football sets in 1948 and
Bowman pursued legal action for contract interference. A settlement was reached and Leaf agreed to cease production. Colorful baseball and football sets appeared from Bowman in 1950 designed by George Moll
Advertising. On April 13, 1951, rookie Mickey Mantle signed a $100 contract
to appear on Bowman cards.
Bubble gum card sales dropped roughly 15% from 1951 to 1952. In May 1951, J. Warren Bowman sold his interests to Haelan Laboratories
Inc. The
rival Topps Chewing Gum Company aggressively pursued licensing deals with
athletes in order to control the gum and card market. While a legal battle ensued between Haelan and Topps, Haelan was acquired by Connelly Containers in 1955. On January 20,
1956, Bowman Gum and the player contracts were purchased by Topps for $200,000. The Bowman brand
was immediately discontinued. The Blony name continued to be used by Topps with Bazooka
products.
In 1977, Topps employees and creators of Mars Attacks, Woody Gelman and Len Brown, released The Great Old Bubble Gum Cards and Some Cigarette Cards. The punch-out book contains perforated reprints of cards from American Beauties, Horrors of War, Lone Ranger Gum, Mickey Mouse Bubble Gum, and
Superman Gum. Woody Gelman was also co-creator of Bazooka Joe and associate editor of Jefferson Burdick's 1960 edition of The American Card Catalog: The Standard Guide on All Collected Cards and Their Values.
Three prototype cards were glued to pages of the 1956 Baseball Card Preference Study, a 24-page report from S. E. Zubrow Company. The three card designs were shown to 324 boys in Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia. Two copies of the report were rediscovered in 1983 among the personal files of Woody Gelman. The prototype designs were used in the 2003 Bowman Heritage Baseball '56 Edition from Topps.
The Bowman brand remained dormant until Topps released the 1989 Comeback Edition of Bowman Baseball Bubble Gum Cards. Topps stopped including bubble gum with cards after 1991. Packs of 2001 Topps Heritage include gum sealed in cellophane to avoid damaging the cards. The 2015 and 2016 Heritage collections feature scratch and sniff variant inserts that mimic old gum stains. Modern Bowman card sets are known for issuing the first cards of young prospects.
| Gum, Inc. / Bowman Gum | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932-1933 | Gum, Inc. | R172 | Wild West | 49 |
| 1933 | Gum, Inc. | PX3 | Double Header Buttons | 43 |
| 1935 | Gum, Inc. | R48-1 | Film Funnies | 24 |
| 1935 | Gum, Inc. | R48-2 | Film Funnies | 24 |
| 1935-1937 | Gum, Inc. | R60-1 | G-Men & Heroes of the Law | 168 |
| 1935 | Gum, Inc. | R89 | Mickey Mouse Bubble Gum | 96 |
| 1935 | Gum, Inc. | R90 | Mickey Mouse with the Movie Stars | 24 |
| 1936 | Gum, Inc. | R109 | Pirate's Picture | 72 |
| 1938 | Gum, Inc. | R189 | Tintype Cartoons | 24 |
| 1938-1939 | Gum, Inc. | R69 | Horrors of War | 288 |
| 1939 | Gum, Inc. | R334 | Play Ball | 161 |
| 1939-1940 | Gum, Inc. | R165 | War News Pictures | 144 |
| 1939 | Gum, Inc. | R173 | World In Arms | 48 |
| 1940 | Gum, Inc. | R83 | Lone Ranger Gum | 48 |
| 1940 | Gum, Inc. | R335 | Play Ball | 240 |
| 1940-1941 | Gum, Inc. | R145 | Superman Gum | 72 |
| 1941 | Gum, Inc. | R336 | Play Ball | 72 |
| 1941 | Gum, Inc. | V277 | Home Defence | 48 |
| 1941 | Gum, Inc. | R157 | Uncle Sam | 96 |
| 1941 | Gum, Inc. | R158 | Uncle Sam's Home Defense | 48 |
| 1941-1942 | Gum, Inc. | R164 | War Gum | 132 |
| 1944 | Gum, Inc. | R59 | American Beauties | 24 |
| 1948 | Bowman | R405 | Basketball | 72 |
| 1948 | Bowman | R406-1 | Baseball | 48 |
| 1948 | Bowman | R701-9 | Movie Stars | 36 |
| 1948 | Bowman | R407-1 | Touchdown | 108 |
| 1949 | Bowman | R701-6 | America Salutes the FBI - Heroes of the Law | 36 |
| 1949 | Bowman | R406-2 | Baseball | 240 |
| 1949 | Bowman | R701-4 | Movie Flip Book Pre-Vue | 24 |
| 1949 | Bowman | R406-3 | Pacific Coast League (PCL) | 36 |
| 1949-1950 | Bowman | R701-18 | Wild Man | 72 |
| 1949-1950 | Bowman | R701-19 | Wild West | 180 |
| 1950 | Bowman | R406-4 | Baseball | 252 |
| 1950 | Bowman | R407-2 | Football | 144 |
| 1951 | Bowman | R406-5 | Baseball | 324 |
| 1951 | Bowman | R701-12 | Fight the Red Menace | 48 |
| 1951 | Bowman | R407-3 | Football | 144 |
| 1951 | Bowman | R701-13 | Jets, Rockets, Spacemen | 108 |
| 1952 | Bowman | R406-6 | Baseball | 252 |
| 1952 | Bowman | R407-4-1 | Football Small | 144 |
| 1952 | Bowman | R407-4-2 | Football Large | 144 |
| 1952 | Bowman | R701-14 | Television and Radio Stars of the NBC | 36 |
| 1952 | Bowman | R701-7 | Uncle Miltie | 36 |
| 1952 | Bowman | R701-17 | U.S. Presidents | 36 |
| 1953 | Bowman | R701-1 | Antique Autos | 48 |
| 1953 | Bowman | R406-7 | Color Baseball | 160 |
| 1953 | Bowman | R406-8 | Black & White Baseball | 64 |
| 1953 | Bowman | R701-3 | Firefighters | 64 |
| 1953 | Bowman | R407-5 | Football | 96 |
| 1953 | Bowman | R701-5 | Frontier Days | 128 |
| 1953 | Bowman | R701-15 | Television and Radio Stars of the NBC | 96 |
| 1954 | Bowman | R406-9 | Baseball | 224 |
| 1954 | Bowman | R407-6 | Football | 128 |
| 1954 | Bowman | R701-10 | Power for Peace | 96 |
| 1954 | Bowman | R701-16 | U.S. Navy Victories | 48 |
| 1955 | Bowman | R406-10 | Baseball | 320 |
| 1955 | Bowman | R407-7 | Football | 160 |
| 1955 | Bowman | R701-8 | Magic Pictures | 240 |
| 1956 | Bowman | 1956 Baseball Card Preference Study | 3 | |
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Bolt, Jr., B.A. "Domestic market wide open, penny gum invades 5c. field." Printers Ink, 14 Jul. 1944, pp. 22, 80-83.
"Bowman's Bubbles." Time, vol. 30, no. 11, 13 Sep. 1937, p. 60.
Burdick, J. R. The American Card Catalog: The Standard Guide on All Collected Cards and Their Values. Nostalgia Press, 1960
Cullinane, Leo. "He Drives Parents Crazy."
The Saturday Evening Post, 1 Nov. 1947, pp. 20-21, 45-48.
Gelman, Woody, and Len Brown.
The Great Old Bubble Gum Cards and Some Cigarette Cards. New
York, Prime Press, 1977.
"Gum, Inc. Changes Name." Advertising Age, vol. 15, no. 13, 27 Mar. 1944, p. 56.
Jamieson, Dave.
Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession. New York, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2010.
Hylton, J. Gordon. "Baseball Cards and the Birth of the Right of Publicity: The Curious Case of Haelen Laboratories v. Topps Chewing Gum." Marquette Sports Law Review, vol. 12, no. 1, Rev. 273, 2001.
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Gum, Incorporated v. Gumakers of America, Inc. 12 May 1942.
