1951 Topps Red Back #45 Andy Seminick
About Andy Seminick
Seminick had the best year of his career in 1950, batting .288 with 24 home runs and 68 RBIs in 130 games. At 29 he handled a young Phillies pitching staff, and Philadelphia writers called him Grandpa Whiz. On August 12 he slid hard into Bill Rigney at second after Eddie Stanky was ejected, setting off a ten-minute brawl in a 4-3 win over the Giants. He broke an ankle late in the year and played through the World Series, going 2-for-11 against the Yankees.
Andy Seminick caught 15 major league seasons, 1943 through 1957, almost all of them for the Phillies, with the Cincinnati Reds from 1952 into 1955. A right-handed hitter with power, he batted .243 with 164 home runs in 1,304 games and threw out 44.6 percent of the runners who tried to steal against him, 16th on the career list. He grew up in the coal town of Muse, Pennsylvania, worked in the mines, and reached the majors only after a release from a Pirates farm club and years in the low minors. The Phillies bought him from Milwaukee on his 23rd birthday in 1943. Coaches Cy Perkins and Benny Bengough rebuilt his catching, and fans voted him the National League's starting catcher for the 1949 All-Star Game. He led league catchers in fielding percentage in 1955. After his playing days he coached the Phillies, managed 11 minor-league clubs and taught catching into the 1990s; Mike Schmidt, Greg Luzinski and Bob Boone passed through his hands. He died on February 22, 2004.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 242 | 0 | 26 | 64 | 43 | 35 | 42 | 32 | 0 |
| SGC | 32 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 1 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-10-19. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted.
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Related cards
Team card: Team card Philadelphia Phillies
More Philadelphia Phillies cards:
- Blue Back #3 Richie Ashburn
- Blue Back #4 Del Ennis
- Blue Back #8 Dick Sisler
- Blue Back #29 Granville Hamner
- Blue Back #43 Willie Jones
- Blue Back #51 Eddie Waitkus
- Major League All-Star Jim Konstanty
- Major League All-Star Robin Roberts
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1951 Topps Red Back #45 card?
It is Red Back #45 in the 135-card 1951 Topps Baseball checklist, picturing Andy Seminick of the Philadelphia Phillies.
How many cards are in the 1951 Topps Baseball set?
135 cards across five issues - the Red Backs and Blue Backs (52 each), nine Team cards, and eleven each of Connie Mack's All-Stars and the Major League All-Stars. With the Zernial and Holmes variations and both versions of each Team card the master set is 146. All 135 count toward the full set; Jim Konstanty, Robin Roberts and Eddie Stanky, the three rarest Major League All-Stars, are so rarely seen that collectors often count a complete set as 132 without them.
Sources: PSA, BaseballCardPedia, Trading Card Database, Baseball-Reference, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-10-26.