1951 Topps Blue Back #25 Sam Mele
About Sam Mele
Mele spent 1950 as a regular outfielder for Washington, his first full season with the Senators after splitting 1949 between Boston and Washington. He played 126 games, 99 in the outfield and 16 at first base, and hit .274 with 12 home runs. His 86 runs batted in were 54 more than the 32 he drove in the year before, on 125 more at-bats (435 against 310), and he scored 57 runs.
Sabath Anthony Mele, who picked up the nickname "Sam" from his initials, was born in 1922 in Astoria, in the New York City borough of Queens, the nephew of major leaguers Tony and Al Cuccinello. After starring at New York University in baseball and basketball and serving in the Marine Corps during World War II, he signed with the Boston Red Sox and made his major league debut in 1947, hitting .302 as a rookie right fielder. Over a ten-year playing career with the Red Sox, Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Redlegs and Cleveland Indians, he batted .267 with 80 home runs and led the American League in doubles in 1951. After his playing days ended, Mele coached for the Senators and followed the franchise to Minnesota, taking over as manager of the Twins in June 1961. He managed the club into 1967, compiling a 524-436 record and guiding Minnesota to its first American League pennant. He later scouted for the Red Sox for decades until retiring in 1994, and died in 2017 at 95.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 152 | 0 | 33 | 36 | 13 | 30 | 22 | 18 | 0 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 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 Washington Senators
More Washington Senators cards:
- Red Back #44 Sid Hudson
- Blue Back #1 Eddie Yost
- Blue Back #13 Mickey Vernon
- Blue Back #22 Bob Kuzava
- Blue Back #38 Irv Noren
- Connie Mack's All-Star Walter Johnson
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1951 Topps Blue Back #25 card?
It is Blue Back #25 in the 135-card 1951 Topps Baseball checklist, picturing Sam Mele of the Washington Senators.
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.