1951 Topps Red Back #5 Phil Rizzuto
About Phil Rizzuto
Rizzuto played shortstop in all 155 Yankees games in 1950, and over one stretch he handled 238 consecutive chances without an error, then a major league record. In the MVP balloting he drew 16 of the 23 first-place votes and outpointed Boston's Billy Goodman 284 to 180. He also won the first S. Rae Hickok Award as professional athlete of the year, and that December he signed a one-year contract for $50,000, a Yankees salary topped only by those of Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio.
Philip Francis Rizzuto, the Brooklyn-born shortstop nicknamed "Scooter" by minor league teammate Billy Hitchcock for the way he ran the bases at Kansas City, spent all thirteen of his major league seasons with the New York Yankees (1941-1942, 1946-1956), losing three years to Navy service in World War II. Listed at five feet six, he became one of the best shortstops of his era and one of the game's great bunting artists, anchoring Yankees clubs that took nine American League pennants and seven World Series titles, five of them in a row from 1949 through 1953. Rizzuto made five All-Star teams, in 1942 and every year from 1950 to 1953, and peaked in 1950: a .324 average, 200 hits, 125 runs, 92 walks and the American League Most Valuable Player award. The Yankees released him on August 25, 1956, ending a career at a .273 average whose 1,217 double plays then trailed only Luke Appling's in major league history. He moved straight into the broadcast booth for a forty-year run on Yankees radio and television, famous for his rambling style and his cry of "Holy cow!" The Veterans Committee voted him into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994; the Yankees retired his number 10 and honored him in Monument Park.
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 | 555 | 0 | 36 | 119 | 51 | 69 | 113 | 167 | 0 |
| SGC | 157 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 114 | 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.
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 Phil Rizzuto in this set: Major League All-Star Major League All-Stars
More New York Yankees cards:
- Red Back #1 Yogi Berra
- 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 #39 Ed Lopat
- Blue Back #50 Johnny Mize
- Connie Mack's All-Star Lou Gehrig
- 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 Red Back #5 card?
It is Red Back #5 in the 135-card 1951 Topps Baseball checklist, picturing Phil Rizzuto 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.