Description

2004 Bowman Heritage is a baseball card set produced by Topps. It takes its base design from the 1955 Bowman set. It was the first Bowman Heritage Baseball Card set to incorporate printing plates as inserts into packs. The 2004 Bowman Heritage may have been the most popular with collectors of any of the Bowman Heritage sets.

Roop Binder

In addition to the other sets listed below an exchange card for an M.J. Roop Archivers binder was also inserted at a rate of 1:240 hobby packs (approx 1 per case). The exchange deadline was 12/31/06.

Distribution

The cards were relased in Hobby and Retail packs. Both came 24 packs to a box with 8 cards per pack. The main difference between the two is that Hobby packs had a much high hit rate for autographed and game used inserts. The set was originally released on Dec 22, 2004.

Reviews

Insertion Ratios

Cards	Total Cards	Numbered To	Hobby Odds	Retail Odds
Base	351	-	?	?
short set	300	-	?	?
Short Prints	51	-	1:3	1:3
Black & White	351	-	one-per-pack	one-per-pack
Mahogany	351	25	1:39	N/A
Printing Plates	351	four-for-each	1:240	N/A
M.J. Roop Binder	1	-	1:240	N/A
Signs of Authority	20	-	1:49	1:107
Signs of Authority Red Ink	20	55	1:499	1:1017
Signs of Glory	5	-	1:246	1:530
Signs of Glory Red Ink	5	55	1:2019	1:3961
Signs of Greatness	10	-	1:57	1:122
Signs of Greatness Red Ink	10	55	1:999	1:2038
Team Topps Blue Chips	2	-	?	?
Threads of Greatness	80	-	1:12	1:24
Threads of Greatness Gold	80	55	?	?
Commissioner Cut	1	one-of-one	1:320,720	N/A

Checklist

Base Set

A 351 card master set with 300 base cards and 51 short prints. These cards are based on the 1955 Bowman set (the last of the released for the public Bowman designs) with the TV border. The cards are all set up as landscaped photographs rather than portrait in reference to the original set. Cards 40 and 48 feature Victor Martinez and Pedro Martinez, each card had a short printed variation with the wrong Martinez's stats on the back. The original 1955 set made the same mistake (albeit unintentionally) with card #48 Milt Bolling. Additionally the Giles brothers are featured on one card #139 as homage to the original set that featured the Shantz brothers on the same numerical card. There are two cards numbered 138, one for Marlins shortstop Alex Gonzalez and the other for Padres shortstop Alex Gonzalez. Umpires are also included in the set as a reference to the original 1955 set.

1 Tom Glavine
2 Mike Piazza SP
3 Sidney Ponson
4 Jerry Hairston, Jr.
5 Jermaine Dye
6 Bobby Crosby
7 Carlos Zambrano
8 Moises Alou
9 Alex Rodriguez SP
10 Derek Jeter
11 Rafael Furcal
12 J.D. Drew
13 Joe Mauer SP
14 Brad Radke
15 Johnny Damon
16 Derek Lowe
17 Pat Burrell
18 Mike Lieberthal
19 Cliff Lee
20 Ronnie Belliard
21 Eric Gagne SP
22 Brad Penny
23 Al Kaline RET
24 Mike Maroth
25 Magglio Ordonez SP
26 Mark Buehrle
27 Jack Wilson
28 Oliver Perez
29 Red Schoendienst RET
30 Yadier Molina RC
31 Ryan Freel
32 Adam Dunn
33 Paul Konerko
34 Esteban Loaiza
35 Ivan Rodriguez
36 Carlos Guillen
37 Adrian Beltre
38 C.C. Sabathia
39 Hideo Nomo
40 Victor Martinez COR
40 Victor Martinez SP ERR (Pedro Martinez' Stats)
41 Bobby Abreu
42 Randy Wolf
43 Johnny Estrada
44 Russ Ortiz
45 Kenny Rogers
46 Hank Blalock SP
47 David Ortiz
48 Pedro Martinez COR
48 Pedro Martinez SP ERR (Victor Martinez' Stats)
49 Austin Kearns
50 Ken Griffey, Jr. SP
51 Mark Prior
52 Kerry Wood
53 Eric Chavez
54 Tim Hudson
55 Rafael Palmeiro SP
56 Javy Lopez
57 Jason Bay
58 Craig Wilson
59 Whitey Ford RET
60 Jason Giambi
61 Scott Rolen SP
62 Matt Morris
63 Javier Vazquez
64 Jim Thome
65 Don Zimmer RET
66 Shawn Green
67 Don Larsen RET
68 Gary Sheffield
69 Jorge Posada
70 Bernie Williams
71 Chipper Jones
72 Andruw Jones
73 John Thomson
74 Jim Edmonds
75 Albert Pujols
76 Chris Carpenter
77 Aubrey Huff SP
78 Carl Crawford
79 Victor Zambrano
80 Alfonso Soriano SP
81 Lance Berkman
82 Mike Sweeney
83 Ken Harvey
84 Angel Berroa
85 A.J. Burnett
86 Mike Lowell
87 Miguel Cabrera SP
88 Preston Wilson
89 Todd Helton SP
90 Larry Walker
91 Vladimir Guerrero
92 Garret Anderson
93 Bartolo Colon
94 Scott Hairston
95 Richie Sexson SP
96 Sean Casey
97 John Podres RET
98 Andy Pettitte
99 Roy Oswalt
100 Roger Clemens SP
101 Scott Podsednik
102 Ben Sheets
103 Lyle Overbay
104 Nick Johnson SP
105 Zach Day
106 Jose Reyes
107 Khalil Greene
108 Sean Burroughs
109 David Wells SP
110 Jason Schmidt
111 Neifi Perez
112 Edgar Renteria
113 Rich Aurilia
114 Edgar Martinez
115 Joel Pineiro
116 Mark Teixeira
117 Michael Young
118 Ricardo Rodriguez
119 Carlos Delgado
120 Roy Halladay
121 Jose Guillen
122 Troy Glaus
123 Shea Hillenbrand
124 Luis Gonzalez
125 Horacio Ramirez
126 Melvin Mora
127 Miguel Tejada SP
128 Manny Ramirez
129 Tim Wakefield
130 Curt Schilling SP
131 Aramis Ramirez
132 Sammy Sosa SP
133 Matt Clement
134 Juan Uribe
135 Dontrelle Willis
136 Paul Lo Duca
137 Juan Pierre
138 Kevin Brown
139 Brian Giles / Marcus Giles
140 Brian Giles
141 Nomar Garciaparra SP
142 Cesar Izturis
143 Don Newcombe RET
144 Craig Biggio
145 Carlos Beltran
146 Torii Hunter
147 Livan Hernandez
148 Cliff Floyd
149 Barry Zito
150 Mark Mulder
151 Rocco Baldelli
152 Bret Boone
153 Jamie Moyer
154 Ichiro Suzuki
155 Brett Myers
156 Carl Pavano
157 Josh Beckett
158 Randy Johnson
159 Trot Nixon
160 Dmitri Young
161 Jacque Jones
162 Lew Ford
163 Jose Vidro
164 Mark Kotsay
165 A.J. Pierzynski
166 Dewon Brazelton
167 Jeromy Burnitz
168 Johan Santana
169 Greg Maddux
170 Carl Erskine RET
171 Robin Roberts RET
172 Freddy Garcia
173 Carlos Lee
174 Jeff Bagwell
175 Jeff Kent
176 Kazuhisa Ishii
177 Orlando Cabrera
178 Shannon Stewart
179 Mike Cameron
180 Mike Mussina
181 Frank Thomas
182 Jaret Wright
183a Alex Gonzalez SP FLA
183b Alex S. Gonzalez SDG
184 Matt Lawton
185 Derrek Lee
186 Omar Vizquel
187 Jeremy Bonderman
188 Jake Westbrook
189 Zack Greinke SP
190 Chad Tracy
191 Rondell White
192 Alex Gonzalez
193 Geoff Jenkins
194 Ralph Kiner RET
195 Al Leiter
196 Kevin Millwood
197 Jason Kendall
198 Kris Benson
199 Ryan Klesko
200 Mark Loretta
201 Richard Hidalgo
202 Reed Johnson
203 Luis Castillo
204 Jon Zeringue SP RC*
205 Matt Bush RC
206 Kurt Suzuki SP RC
207 Mark Rogers RC
208 Jason Vargas SP RC
209 Homer Bailey RC
210 Ray Liotta SP RC
211 Eric Campbell RC
212 Thomas Diamond RC
213 Gaby Hernandez SP RC*
214 Neil Walker RC
215 Bill Bray RC
216 Wade Davis SP RC
217 David Purcey RC
218 Scott Elbert RC
219 Josh Fields RC
220 Josh Johnson SP RC
221 Chris Lambert RC
222 Trevor Plouffe RC
223 Bruce Froemming UMP
224 Matt Macri SP RC
225 Greg Golson RC
226 Philip Hughes RC
227 Kyle Waldrop RC
228 Matt Tuiasosopo SP RC
229 Richie Robnett RC*
230 Taylor Tankersley RC
231 Blake DeWitt RC
232 Charlie Reliford UMP
233 Eric Hurley RC
234 Jordan Parraz SP RC
235 J.P. Howell RC
236 Dana DeMuth UMP
237 Zach Jackson RC
238 Justin Orenduff RC*
239 Brad Thompson RC
240 J.C. Holt SP RC
241 Matt Fox RC
242 Danny Putnam RC
243 Daryl Jones SP RC
244 Jon Poterson RC
245 Gio Gonzalez RC
246 Lucas Harrell SP RC
247 Jerry Crawford UMP
248 Jay Rainville RC*
249 Donnie Smith SP RC
250 Huston Street RC
251 Jeff Marquez RC
252 Reid Brignac RC
253 Yusmeiro Petit RC
254 K.C. Herren RC*
255 Dale Scott UMP
256 Erick San Pedro RC*
257 Ed Montague UMP
258 Billy Buckner RC
259 Mitch Einertson SP RC*
260 Aarom Baldiris RC*
261 Conor Jackson RC
262 Rick Reed UMP
263 Ervin Santana RC
264 Gerry Davis UMP
265 Merkin Valdez RC
266 Joey Gathright RC
267 Alberto Callaspo RC
268 Carlos Quentin SP RC
269 Gary Darling UMP
270 Jeff Salazar SP RC
271 Akinori Otsuka SP RC
272 Joe Brinkman UMP
273 Omar Quintanilla RC
274 Brian Runge UMP
275 Tom Mastny RC
276 John Hirschbeck UMP
277 Warner Madrigal RC
278 Joe West UMP
279 Paul Maholm RC
280 Larry Young UMP
281 Mike Reilly UMP
282 Kaz Matsui SP RC
283 Randy Marsh UMP
284 Frank Francisco RC
285 Zach Duke RC
286 Tim McClelland UMP
287 Jesse Crain RC
288 Hector Gimenez RC
289 Marland Williams RC*
290 Brian Gorman UMP
291 Jose Capellan SP RC
292 Tim Welke UMP
293 Javier Guzman RC*
294 Paul McAnulty RC
295 Hector Made RC*
296 Jon Connolly RC*
297 Don F. Sutton RC*
298 Fausto Carmona RC
299 Ramon Ramirez RC
300 Brad Snyder RC
301 Chin-Lung Hu RC
302 Rudy Guillen RC*
303 Matt Moses RC*
304 Brad Halsey SP RC
305 Erick Aybar RC
306 Brad Sullivan RC*
307 Nick Gorneault RC
308 Craig Ansman RC*
309 Ricky Nolasco RC
310 Luke Hughes RC
311 Danny Gonzalez RC*
312 Josh Labandeira RC
313 Donald Levinski RC*
314 Vince Perkins RC*
315 Tommy Murphy RC
316 Chad Bentz RC
317 Chris Shelton RC
318 Nyjer Morgan SP RC
319 Kody Kirkland RC*
320 Blake Hawksworth RC
321 Alex Romero RC
322 Mike Gosling RC
323 Ryan Budde RC
324 Kevin Howard RC
325 Wanell Macia RC
326 Travis Blackley RC
327 Kazuhito Tadano SP RC
328 Shingo Takatsu RC
329 Joaquin Arias RC
330 Juan Cedeno RC*
331 Bobby Brownlie RC
332 Lastings Milledge RC
333 Estee Harris RC*
334 Tim Stauffer SP RC
335 Jon Knott RC
336 David Aardsma RC
337 Wardell Starling RC*
338 Dioner Navarro RC
339 Logan Kensing RC
340 Jason Hirsh RC
341 Matt Creighton RC*
342 Felix Hernandez SP RC
343 Kyle Sleeth RC*
344 Dustin Nippert RC
345 Anthony Lerew RC
346 Chris Saenz RC
347 Steve Palermo UMP
348 Barry Bonds SP
MJ Roop Binder EXCH

Key Cards

The key rookie cards in the set include Felix Hernandez, Phil Hughes, Ervin Santana, Carlos Quentin, Homer Bailey, Yadier Molina, Dioner Navarro, Kurt Suzuki, Lastings Milledge, Fausto Carmona, Wade Davis, Conor Jackson, and Huston Street.

Parallel Sets

Black and White

Inserted a rate of one per pack the the Black and White Parallel cards are the primary parallel set for 2004 Bowman Heritage. The cards were printed on thicker card stock as a decoy for the game used cards. If a pack contained a game used card then the Black and White was not included. Note all 351 cards and variations are paralleled but none are short printed. The cards resemble their base set counterpart in all aspects but one; the black and whites contain a facsimile signature on the front of the card that the base set card does not.

Mahogany

One of the most popular parallel sets ever included in Bowman Heritage, these cards are heavily collected by a number of set builders. The cards were printed on a "mahongany" stock with a different texture than the other cards in the set and serial numbered on the back of the card to 25 copies each. The cards were inserted at a rate of 1:39 hobby only (approximately 1 per two boxes). All 351 of the cards in the base master set are paralled.

The set builders working on the this set do not follow book values. If there is a card they need for their set they will pay upwards of $300 for a single semi-star card (For example:In January 2007, a Mike Sweeney sold for $310 on eBay).

Printing Plates

As with many of the other Bowman and Topps products of the mid 2000's, Topps released the printing plates for the set into packs. 4 colored plates were used to manufacture the cards (Cyan, Yellow, Black, Magenta) and all of them were inserted into packs at an overall rate of 1:240 hobby packs only.

Card sales for these printing plates have been relatively light since 2006 due to lack of supply. A Jack Wilson plate sold in Feb 2007 for $32 on eBay.

Autographs and Game Used

Commissioner's Cut

One extreme chase card was also inserted into packs. A single (1/1), unique cut signature card of Ford Frick, who was the commissioner of baseball in 1955 was inserted at a rate of 1:320,720 hobby packs. This card is known as the Commissioner's Cut card, numbered FF on the back.

Signs of Authority

These cards are autographed inserts of major league umpires. As important as umpires are to the game of baseball, there is simply not a high demand for cards of umpires. This was the first inclusion of autographed cards of umpres in a set. The 20 umpires selected were the most recognized umpires in the game, however the set still did not sit well with collectors.

The base level cards were signed in Blue ink and were inserted 1:49 hobby packs and 1:107 retail packs. The print run of the Blue ink versions is approximately 550 cards.

The Red ink versions were printed to 55 serial numbered copies and inserted at a rate of 1:499 hobby and 1:1019 retail.

Signs of Glory

Signs of Glory Checklist and Gallery

One of several autographed inserts in the 2004 Bowman Heritage set. These cards feature players in their original pictures from the 1955 Bowman set. The blue ink version was inserted at a rate of 1:246 hobby and 1:530 retail. A more rare red ink version was also printed, hand serial numbered to 55 sets and inserted at a rate of 1:2019 hobby and 1:3961 retail packs.

Signs of Greatness

Signs of Greatness Checklist and Gallery

Another series of autographed inserts in 2004 Bowman Heritage. These cards feature the signatures of some of the top prospects in 2004. Phillip Hughes is far and away the most popular card in this set.

The blue ink set was inserted at a rate of 1:57 hobby and 1:122 retail and was not serial numbered. The red ink version was inserted at a rate of 1:999 Hobby and 1:2038 retail and had a hand serial numbered print run of 55 copies.

Threads of Greatness

Threads of Greatness Checklist and Gallery

Overall there were approximately 2 game used by hobby box and 1 game used per retail box. The Bobby Cox, Mike McDougald and Ruben Sierra cards are notable due the small number of game used cards that are actually in circulation for each player.