'54-'55 customs complete Spahn's Bowman run

It's fitting that Warren Spahn was included in so many baseball card sets during the "bubblegum wars" years of 1948-1955. He was one of the most dominant pitchers in the major league for nearly two decades and may have been the best left=handed pitcher of all time.

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Spahnie was a true egalitarian when it came to bubblegum cards. He appeared in Bowman's initial baseball card set in 1948 and in the Leaf set of 1949. Spahn was in the Bowman issues of 1949-53, as well.

When Topps came along in 1951, Spahn was in the Brooklyn company's Red Backs set. He would then be found in every regular Topps set, and many of their auxiliary issues, every season through the end of his major league days in 1965.

The only gaps in this opus appear in Spahn's absence from the final Bowman baseball card issues of 1954 and 1955.

Spahn was one of my favorite Milwaukee Braves when I was a kid; we were both lefties. To this day, I'd still like to replace the 1953 Bowman card I had in my youth. I'd like to find a nice, bright VG card, perhaps with an autograph to match my Eddie Mathews '53B.

I'm surprised it has taken me so long to create some Warren Spahn custom cards. I've been squirreling away vintage pictures for many years.

Here's what I came up with in the format of 1954 and 1955 Bowman cards.

In the coming days I'll be working on at least two, and perhaps as many as four, more Spahn customs. I'll showcase them here when they're ready.