The same company that produced the popular Play Ball sets from 1939 to 1941, Bowman Gum made some of the finest baseball card sets ever in the early 1950s— the artwork is unsurpassed. But Topps arrived on the scene in 1951 with a slew of innovations, including bigger cards and statistics on the back. Bowman responded with the 1953 set, which used real color photographs for the first time, but sales lagged, resulting in financial troubles, leading Bowman to sell out to Topps after the 1955 season. During their 8-year lifespan, Bowman cards perfectly capture the golden years of baseball that followed WWII. It was a time of great change in the sport as integration opened up the game for the first time to African-American players.