Along with the Bowman Gum Company and the Exhibit Supply Company, the Leaf Gum Company began issuing their football cards in 1948, with a set of 98 cards. This set was issued in two series of 49 cards with the second series being significantly scarcer, and this is reflected in their catalog value, being issued much later in the season, which resulted in a much smaller print run.

Unlike the first series, which featured established pro stars as Sid Luckman, Sammy Baugh, Clyde “Bulldog” Turner and George Connor, the second series consisted mainly of college players. The following year Leaf issued a rather quirky and curious set of this time only 49 cards, issued in one series. This 1949 set was skip numbered and all the cards featured the same players as in 1948, with Leaf going so far that the exact same player poses from 1948 also graced the 1949 card fronts! Only the player information on the back of the cards had been updated and the copyright date was changed to 1949.

A COLLECTOR'S PASSION WITH THE 1948 & 1949 LEAF GUM COMPANY ISSUES

1950's Bread Labels Rare and Much Sought After in the 21st Century

Even advanced football card collectors often have trouble tracking some of the offbeat items that exist in the hobby. Most of the time, the various stamps, discs, labels, coins, stickers and other novelties are relegated to the minor issue category, where they are promptly forgotten. But such is not the case with the B.E.B. football bread end labels that enjoyed a vogue in the early 1950s. A small but hardy band of collectors have kept these unique keepsakes alive for nearly five decades

PORTSMOUTH SPARTAN STADIUM RECEIVES OHIO HISTORIC DESIGNATION

Spartan Municipal Stadium was designated as an Ohio historical site on October 5, 2003 in front of a crowd estimated at 300. Opening as Universal Stadium, the stadium is rich in NFL history and now serves as a site for high school football. In 1929, the residents of Portsmouth, Ohio funded a bond issue in order to build the city a football stadium that equaled those used by semi-professional squads from neighboring communities along the Ohio River. The approval of the stadium issue resulted in a modern stadium that helped Portsmouth acquire a NFL franchise.