1951 Topps Blue Back #34 Earl Torgeson
About Earl Torgeson
Torgeson's 1949 ended after 25 games with a separated left shoulder, and he spent the spring of 1950 relearning to throw, trading his overhand motion for a sidearm toss. He then played all 156 Braves games at first base, hitting .290 with 23 home runs and 87 RBI and drawing 119 walks, third in the National League. After Pittsburgh's Cliff Chambers hit him in the ribs and threw at his head the next day, he charged the mound, and he played out the season with a broken rib.
Clifford Earl Torgeson was a tall, bespectacled left-handed first baseman from Snohomish, Washington, who played fifteen major league seasons from 1947 through 1961 for the Braves, Phillies, Tigers, White Sox and Yankees. A regular for nine years, he paired a superb batting eye with baserunning speed rare at his position, leading the National League with 120 runs scored in 1950 and stealing 20 bases in 1951; with Sam Jethroe he gave the early-1950s Braves the best base-stealing tandem in the game. He finished at .265 with 149 home runs, 740 runs batted in and 980 walks, and his .385 career on-base percentage towered over the .339 league average of his era. In 1957, split between Detroit and Chicago, he led the American League with a .999 fielding average at first base. Fierce enough to be remembered for his brawls, he was also a clubhouse favorite for his humor. He played in the 1948 World Series for Boston, batting .389 to lead all regulars in a six-game loss to Cleveland, and reached it again with the 1959 pennant-winning White Sox. He later served Snohomish County as a commissioner and as director of emergency management, and died in Everett, Washington in 1990.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 148 | 0 | 20 | 36 | 30 | 14 | 23 | 25 | 0 |
| SGC | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 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.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1951 Topps cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
More Boston Braves cards:
- Red Back #2 Sid Gordon
- Red Back #30 Warren Spahn
- Red Back #52 Tommy Holmes
- Blue Back #9 Johnny Sain
- Blue Back #12 Sam Jethroe
- Blue Back #32 Bob Elliott
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1951 Topps Blue Back #34 card?
It is Blue Back #34 in the 135-card 1951 Topps Baseball checklist, picturing Earl Torgeson of the Boston Braves.
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.