1951 Topps Red Back #8 Early Wynn
About Early Wynn
Wynn's second season in Cleveland was the one that made him a front-line starter. He went 18-8 in 1950, seven more wins than his 11-7 first year with the club, and cut his ERA by nearly a full run from 4.15. His strikeouts jumped from 62 to 143 in 213 2/3 innings, and he completed 14 of his 28 starts, two of them shutouts. He also hit .234 with two home runs.
Early Wynn pitched 23 major-league seasons between 1939 and 1963 for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox, finishing 300-244 with a 3.54 ERA and 2,334 strikeouts. Washington sent him to Cleveland with Mickey Vernon after the 1948 season for Joe Haynes, Ed Klieman and Eddie Robinson, and there pitching coach Mel Harder added a curveball, slider and knuckleball to a fastball that had been almost his whole arsenal. Wynn led the American League with a 3.20 ERA in 1950, won 20 or more games four times in Cleveland alongside Bob Feller, Bob Lemon and Mike Garcia, and started Game 2 of the World Series for the 1954 club that set an American League record with 111 wins. Traded to the White Sox after the 1957 season, he won the 1959 Cy Young Award at 39 with a league-best 22 victories and pitched Chicago to its first pennant since 1919, opening that World Series with seven scoreless innings in an 11-0 rout of the Dodgers. Released after 1962 sitting on 299 wins, he signed with Cleveland in June 1963 and at 43 became the 14th pitcher to reach 300. A nine-time All-Star and one of the most intimidating men in the game, Wynn entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia · Encyclopedia of Alabama
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 471 | 2 | 31 | 111 | 76 | 83 | 65 | 103 | 0 |
| SGC | 95 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 50 | 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 Cleveland Indians cards:
- Red Back #12 Jim Hegan
- Red Back #13 Dale Mitchell
- Red Back #22 Bob Feller
- Red Back #23 Ray Boone
- Red Back #26 Luke Easter
- Red Back #29 Bob Kennedy
- Red Back #35 Al Rosen
- Red Back #40 Mike Garcia
- Blue Back #31 Lou Brissie
- Blue Back #52 Sam Chapman
- Connie Mack's All-Star Tris Speaker
- Major League All-Star Larry Doby
- Major League All-Star Bob Lemon
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1951 Topps Red Back #8 card?
It is Red Back #8 in the 135-card 1951 Topps Baseball checklist, picturing Early Wynn of the Cleveland Indians.
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.