1951 Topps Blue Back #42 Bruce Edwards
About Bruce Edwards
Edwards hit eight home runs in 142 at-bats in 1950, matching his 1949 total in six fewer at-bats, but a .183 average and 16 RBI in 50 games left him a reserve. He caught 38 games and played two at first base. On June 15, 1951, Brooklyn sent him to the Cubs with Joe Hatten, Gene Hermanski and Eddie Miksis in an eight-player trade that brought Andy Pafko to the Dodgers. The next day, in a Cubs uniform, he hit a three-run homer off Carl Erskine to break a 3-3 tie in a 6-4 win over Brooklyn.
Bruce Edwards was a right-handed catcher who became Brooklyn's starter in June 1946, after the Dodgers called him up from Mobile, where he was hitting .332. He doubled in his first major league at-bat, off Harry Brecheen, on June 23, and finished 14th in the National League MVP vote. His best year was 1947: a .295 average, 9 home runs and 80 RBI, fourth in the MVP vote, an All-Star selection, and all seven games of the World Series against the Yankees. He was behind the plate when Rex Barney no-hit the Giants on September 9, 1948. An arm injury in the spring of 1948 and the arrival of Roy Campanella then turned him into a backup. He played for the Cubs, Senators and Reds, and played his last major league game on September 13, 1956, with 591 games, a .256 average and 39 home runs behind him. He died in Sacramento in 1975.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 152 | 0 | 15 | 29 | 10 | 26 | 27 | 45 | 0 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
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 Brooklyn Dodgers
More Brooklyn Dodgers cards:
- Red Back #11 Gene Hermanski
- Red Back #16 Preacher Roe
- Red Back #31 Gil Hodges
- Red Back #38 Duke Snider
- Blue Back #20 Ralph Branca
- Blue Back #48 Billy Cox
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1951 Topps Blue Back #42 card?
It is Blue Back #42 in the 135-card 1951 Topps Baseball checklist, picturing Bruce Edwards of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
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.