After I shared a piece of unused Bowman artwork featuring Tom Ferrick in Newsletter #302, friend of the blog Keith Olbermann reached out with photos of five more examples. Four have positive identifications, while one remains a probable identification.
Keith also shared a much cleaner photo of another mystery piece that I first wrote about in April 2024: Phil Marchildon (a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame).
The artwork dates to 1950–51, but the team designation strongly suggests 1950. Marchildon was a pitcher for the Philadelphia A’s before being sent to Buffalo of the International League during the spring of 1950. He was released in June, briefly signed by the Red Sox, appeared in just one game, was released again, and his major league career came to an end.
That leaves an interesting mystery. Was this artwork originally intended for the 1950 Bowman set while Marchildon was still with the A’s, only to be updated later to reflect his move to Buffalo? Was Bowman exploring an International League issue that never materialized?
As with so many pieces of unused original artwork, we may never know.
Happy collecting!
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The eyes on some of these paintings are so realistic. Makes me have a deep appreciation for art.