Let's take a look at the first card in my 1955 collection that deals with the most controversial inclusion: the umpires. Now, 1955 Bowman was not the first set to ever include umpire cards, but it was the only one in what's considered the modern card era. There were 31 umpire cards in the set. I think the fact that they don't put umpire cards in sets anymore tells you just how popular these cards were. Secory was a major league baseball player before he became an umpire. He spent 1 game with the Detroit Tigers in 1940 and 2 games with the Cincinnati Reds in 1942. He did not register a single hit in his 9 plate appearances during those two stints. In 1943 he joined the Chicago Cubs where he was largely a pinch hitter for the next 3 seasons. In 3 seasons with the Cubs he played in 90 games and had 156 at bats. He was a .237 hitter for his career. After his playing career, he became an umpire in the West-Texas League from 1948 until 1952 when his contract was bought by the M...