1951 Topps Blue Back #31 Lou Brissie
About Lou Brissie
Brissie spent 1950 as a starter for the Athletics, making 31 of his 46 appearances and working 246 innings with a 4.02 ERA and 8 saves, yet he lost 19 games against 7 wins. On April 30, 1951 he was traded to Cleveland in a three-way deal with the White Sox that sent Minnie Minoso to Chicago and Gus Zernial and Dave Philley to Philadelphia. Cleveland used him mainly as a reliever, and across 56 games for both clubs in 1951 he started 6, saved 9 and finished with a 3.58 ERA.
Lou Brissie was a 6-foot-4 left-handed pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Cleveland Indians from 1947 to 1953, and the road he took to get there is what he is remembered for. As an Army squad leader in Italy with the 88th Infantry Division, he had his left shinbone shattered by an artillery shell in December 1944, and he talked surgeons out of amputating the leg. Two years and 23 operations later, Connie Mack signed him in December 1946. Pitching in a metal brace, he went 23-5 with a 1.91 ERA for Savannah in 1947 and debuted for the Athletics on September 28 at Yankee Stadium. He won 14 games in 1948, finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting, and went 16-11 in 1949, when he made the American League All-Star team and pitched three innings. His career record was 44-48 with a 4.07 ERA and 436 strikeouts. He later ran American Legion Junior Baseball and died on November 25, 2013.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 132 | 0 | 18 | 36 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 36 | 0 |
| SGC | 17 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 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 Cleveland Indians cards:
- Red Back #8 Early Wynn
- 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 #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 Blue Back #31 card?
It is Blue Back #31 in the 135-card 1951 Topps Baseball checklist, picturing Lou Brissie 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.