1951 Topps Blue Back #28 Harry Brecheen
About Harry Brecheen
Brecheen went 8-11 with a 3.80 ERA in 1950, the highest of his career to that point, working 163 1/3 innings in 27 games, 23 of them starts, with 80 strikeouts and 2 shutouts. He handled every fielding chance without an error and tied for the National League lead in fielding percentage at 1.000, the third time he did so. In 1951 he passed Bill Sherdel as the Cardinals' career strikeout leader among left-handers, a mark that held until Steve Carlton broke it in 1971.
Harry Brecheen was a left-handed pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1940 to 1952 and the St. Louis Browns in 1953, best remembered for the 1946 World Series, when he beat Boston three times; his career World Series ERA of 0.83 stood as a record until 1976. After three relief outings in 1940 he spent three more seasons at Columbus and stuck in the majors in 1943, working with a screwball he learned from Cy Blanton and control that catcher Dick Luckey helped him find at Portsmouth in 1937. His best year was 1948, when he went 20-7 and led the National League with a 2.24 ERA, 149 strikeouts and 7 shutouts. He was an All-Star in 1947 and 1948 and retired with a 133-92 record and a 2.92 ERA. From 1954 to 1967 he coached Orioles pitchers, including Jim Palmer and Dave McNally, and in 1959 turned Hoyt Wilhelm into a starter. He entered the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 139 | 1 | 21 | 38 | 17 | 11 | 23 | 28 | 0 |
| SGC | 18 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 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.
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Related cards
Team card: Team card St. Louis Cardinals
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- Blue Back #6 Red Schoendienst
- Blue Back #7 Gerald Staley
- Blue Back #14 George Munger
- Blue Back #21 Billy Johnson
- Blue Back #30 Enos Slaughter
- Connie Mack's All-Star Grover Cleveland Alexander
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1951 Topps Blue Back #28 card?
It is Blue Back #28 in the 135-card 1951 Topps Baseball checklist, picturing Harry Brecheen of the St. Louis Cardinals.
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.