1951 Topps Red Back #7 Howie Pollet
About Howie Pollet
Pollet followed his 20-win 1949 season, which ended one game behind Brooklyn, with a 14-13 record and a 3.29 ERA in 1950. He worked 232.1 innings in 37 games, 30 of them starts, and struck out 117, the most of any season in his career. The Cardinals traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 15, 1951, and he went 6-13 with a 4.98 ERA over the year with both clubs.
Howie Pollet was a left-handed starter who pitched 14 seasons, 1941 to 1956, for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox. He led the National League in earned run average twice, at 1.75 in 1943 and 2.10 in 1946, and in 1946 also led in wins (21) and innings (266) as the Cardinals took the pennant and the World Series. He started the opener of the best-of-three National League playoff and beat Brooklyn 4-2 on October 1, 1946. Army Air Forces service cost him 1944 and 1945, and a sore shoulder and elbow followed his return; a bone spur was removed from the elbow after 1947. In 1949 he won 20 games with a league-high five shutouts and was named The Sporting News pitcher of the year. He finished 131-116 with a 3.51 ERA and 934 strikeouts in 2,107.1 innings. He later coached pitchers for the Cardinals from 1959 to 1964, including the 1964 champions, and for the Houston Astros in 1965. He died in Houston on August 8, 1974.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 243 | 0 | 38 | 63 | 21 | 36 | 44 | 41 | 0 |
| SGC | 29 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 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
Team card: Team card St. Louis Cardinals
More St. Louis Cardinals cards:
- Red Back #47 Tommy Glaviano
- Blue Back #6 Red Schoendienst
- Blue Back #7 Gerald Staley
- Blue Back #14 George Munger
- Blue Back #21 Billy Johnson
- Blue Back #28 Harry Brecheen
- Blue Back #30 Enos Slaughter
- Connie Mack's All-Star Grover Cleveland Alexander
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1951 Topps Red Back #7 card?
It is Red Back #7 in the 135-card 1951 Topps Baseball checklist, picturing Howie Pollet 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.