1951 Topps Red Back #17 Dave Bell
About Dave Bell
A .400 start at Triple-A Indianapolis, 66 hits in 38 games, brought Bell to Pittsburgh at the end of May 1950. He debuted on May 30 by playing both ends of a Memorial Day doubleheader against the Cardinals at Forbes Field and going 4 for 10, then had two more hits in five at-bats against the Boston Braves the next day. He held the starting right field job the rest of the way and finished at .282 with 8 home runs and 53 RBI in 111 games, following two .300-plus seasons in the farm system, the second of them, 1949, with the Eastern League lead in hits.
Gus Bell was a left-handed-hitting outfielder who played 15 major league seasons, nine of them for Cincinnati, and headed one of the few three-generation families in the majors. Born David Russell Bell in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 15, 1928, he took his nickname as a boy from his admiration for Gus Mancuso. He debuted with the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 30, 1950, led the National League with 12 triples in 1951, and hit for the cycle against the Phillies on June 4 of that year; his grandson David matched him in 2004, and they are the only grandfather-grandson pair to do it. After Pittsburgh went 42-112 in 1952 and Bell slumped to .250, the Pirates traded him to Cincinnati on October 14, 1952, for three players. With the Reds he made four All-Star teams (1953, 1954, 1956 and 1957), hit .300 with 30 home runs and 105 RBI in 1953, batted .308 in 1955 and drove in 115 runs in 1959. He finished with 1,823 hits, 206 home runs, 942 RBI and a .281 average, entered the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1964, and later scouted for the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers. He died on May 7, 1995, at 66.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 298 | 1 | 38 | 71 | 44 | 48 | 54 | 42 | 0 |
| SGC | 33 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 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
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- Red Back #15 Ralph Kiner
- Red Back #25 Cliff Chambers
- Red Back #27 Wally Westlake
- Red Back #33 William Werle
- Blue Back #16 Murry Dickson
- Connie Mack's All-Star Honus Wagner
- Major League All-Star Ralph Kiner
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1951 Topps Red Back #17 card?
It is Red Back #17 in the 135-card 1951 Topps Baseball checklist, picturing Dave Bell of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Is 1951 Topps Red Back #17 a rookie card?
Yes - Red Back #17 is the rookie card of Dave Bell.
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.