Jacob Warren Bowman, an American chewing gum salesman, started his own company, Gum, Inc. in
Philadelphia in 1927. Gum, Inc. started producing Blony bubble gum which immediately became the top selling penny bubble gum in the United States in 1929. In 1937, Blony had 60 percent of the sales of bubble gum sold in the U.S., largely due to the fact that, weighing 210 grains, it was the largest piece of bubble gum sold for a penny. With the advertisement "Three Big BITES for a penny", Blony made Gum, Inc. "the biggest firm in the U. S. catering exclusively to the penny gum trade" according to a 1937
Time magazine article. By then, Gum, Inc. occupied five floors and the basement of a building on Woodland Avenue in Philadelphia. The motto "To know the HORRORS OF WAR is to want PEACE" appeared on each card, but children nicknamed the series "War Gum". Franklin V. Canning became a partner with Bowman in 1930. Canning, a New York druggist who supplied the pink bubble gum base material to Gum, Inc., also provided working capital in return for 250 shares, half of the company stock. A subsidiary of the
Wrigley Company developed a better gum base in 1932, which sold for less than Canning's base. President Bowman demanded that Canning reduce the price of the gum base, which resulted in altercations between the two, and ended in Bowman being ousted from the company in 1936. In July 1937, Bowman returned to the company after a long, bitter legal battle which ended in the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court upholding his reinstatement as president of the company. Gum, Inc. had earnings of $49,000 on sales estimated at $800,000 in the first six months of 1937. In September 1937, Bowman's estranged second wife, Ruth, filed a suit against Bowman for part ownership of Gum, Inc., claiming a verbal agreement to a half-interest in his holdings. of
Ralph Kiner Bowman expanded its business when the company started to produce
trading cards in the 1930s. The first releases by Bowman were
non-sports topics, but the company soon entered to the sports market with its
baseball cards of 1939. The company produced a series of cards known as the "Play Ball" sets each year from 1939 to 1941. Production halted after the United States as wartime paper rations were enacted and the company did not return to making trading cards until 1948, then under the Bowman name. After the
World War II Bowman emerged with its 1948 baseball card set, which became highly popular. and its first
basketball cards set. By then, Bowman was competing against
Leaf Candy Company, which left the marketplace in 1950; that year Bowman sales of baseball cards alone was $1 million. In 1989, the Bowman brand name was resurrected by
Topps to use on some of its subsidiary
sports card sets. In recent years, the Bowman company has become known as the top brand for
rookie cards. == Modern sports trading cards ==