1951 Topps Blue Back #39 Ed Lopat
About Ed Lopat
Lopat went 18-8 in 1950, his first 18-win season and one better than his 17 for the Yankees in 1948. He struck out only 72 batters in 236.1 innings, a low total for a starter that size, and still held a 3.47 ERA across 35 appearances, 32 of them starts. Fifteen of those starts ended in complete games, three of them shutouts. In the World Series he pitched 8.0 innings and struck out 5 as New York swept Philadelphia 4-0.
Ed Lopat, born Edmund Walter Lopatynski in New York City on June 21, 1918, pitched twelve big-league seasons for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles, debuting in April 1944 and finishing in 1955. A 5-foot-10 left-hander who beat hitters with an ever-growing assortment of speeds, grips and deliveries rather than a fastball, he answered to both the Junkman and Steady Eddie; Ted Williams, asked to name the five toughest pitchers he had faced, put Lopat at the head of the list. He went 166-112 with a 3.21 ERA, and from 1948 through 1953 formed the Yankees' Big Three with Allie Reynolds and Vic Raschi while New York won five straight World Series from 1949 to 1953. He pitched in the 1951 All-Star Game, and in 1953, at 35, he led the American League in ERA at 2.42 and in winning percentage at .800 on a 16-4 record. In seven World Series starts he went 4-1 with a 2.60 ERA. Coaching, managing and scouting kept him in the game for decades afterward, and he was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 1978.
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 | 198 | 0 | 36 | 59 | 27 | 20 | 31 | 25 | 0 |
| SGC | 28 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 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
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- Red Back #6 Allie Reynolds
- Red Back #18 Gerry Coleman
- Red Back #24 Hank Bauer
- Blue Back #10 Joe Page
- Blue Back #35 Tommy Byrne
- Blue Back #50 Johnny Mize
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- Connie Mack's All-Star Babe Ruth
- Major League All-Star Yogi Berra
- Major League All-Star Phil Rizzuto
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1951 Topps Blue Back #39 card?
It is Blue Back #39 in the 135-card 1951 Topps Baseball checklist, picturing Ed Lopat of the New York Yankees.
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.