1930s, 40s, and 50s Football Cards

National Chicle issued the first real football card set in 1935, but professional football had a modest following at the time and it was not until 1948 that Bowman began issuing a football card set every year.  This continued annually, until the Bowman Company was acquired by Topps in 1956, which gave Topps the football card market to itself (with a few minor exceptions) for the next quarter century.