1951 Topps Blue Back #17 Roy Smalley
About Roy Smalley
Smalley led all National League players in 1950 with 541 assists, 332 putouts and 115 double plays, six of those double plays coming in a single game. In another game he hit two triples and a home run off Johnny Sain. The work lifted his salary from $10,000 to $15,000 for 1951, the most he earned in any season, while the Cubs climbed to seventh place at 64-89 after going 61-93 in 1949.
Roy Smalley was a right-handed shortstop who played 11 seasons in the majors, 1948 through 1958, for the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Braves and Philadelphia Phillies. Signed at 17 out of Springfield Catholic High School, he took the Cubs' shortstop job in 1948 and held it until Ernie Banks arrived in September 1953. His best year was 1950, with career highs of 21 home runs, 85 RBI and 128 hits. That season he hit for the cycle on June 28, struck out a league-leading 114 times and made 51 errors, the last time a player made at least 50. The Cubs traded him to the Braves for pitcher Dave Cole in March 1954, and the Phillies bought his contract in April 1955. He finished with a .227 average, 61 home runs and 305 RBI in 872 games. He managed the Class C Reno Silver Sox to first place in 1961. He married Gene Mauch's sister Jolene in 1950, and their son Roy III became a major league shortstop.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · SABR · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 151 | 1 | 32 | 41 | 12 | 18 | 22 | 25 | 0 |
| SGC | 16 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 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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- Blue Back #27 Andy Pafko
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- Blue Back #49 Hank Sauer
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1951 Topps Blue Back #17 card?
It is Blue Back #17 in the 135-card 1951 Topps Baseball checklist, picturing Roy Smalley of the Chicago Cubs.
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.