One of football card collecting’s most desirable rarities, the 1952 Bowman Large Jim Lansford serves as both the player’s rookie card, a short print, and the last card in the set. The 1952 set was rife with short-printed cards, a result of printing larger cards on standard-sized press sheets. Coupled with the tale of large quantities of the Lansford card being destroyed during production, the resulting scarcity and legend have made this the hobby’s most valuable postwar football card.
Just six examples have been graded NM-MT 8 by PSA, with only two higher. This specimen boasts crisp color and wide borders, centered just a hair off from top to bottom but otherwise pristine. With three of the known 8s residing in the top three all-time registry sets, the likelihood of another example in this grade appearing at public auction in the near future is slim. A cursory internet search will reveal very few examples of this card sold in any grade, PSA 7s reaching into the thousands and no “straight” PSA 8 example having sold in years. A wonderful example of the hobby’s most valuable postwar football card.