1951 Topps Red Back #2 Sid Gordon
About Sid Gordon
Gordon's 1950 was his first year in Boston, after the Giants sent him, Willard Marshall and others to the Braves in December 1949 for Alvin Dark and Eddie Stanky. He hit .304 with 27 home runs and 103 RBI and tied the then-record with four grand slams. Only 5 of his homers came at home against 22 on the road, a 17-homer gap that matched the largest for a season to that point. He ranked fourth in the National League in slugging at .557.
Sid Gordon was a right-handed power hitter who played third base and the outfield for the New York Giants, Boston and Milwaukee Braves, and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1941 to 1955. A Brooklyn native who signed with the Giants in 1938, he spent 1944 and 1945 in the Coast Guard. After the war he became a regular, and in 1948 coach Red Kress rebuilt his swing to pull the ball, which produced 30 home runs and 107 RBI and the first of two All-Star selections; the second came in 1949. He homered twice in one inning in 1949 and hit four grand slams in 1950. Traded to the Braves in December 1949, he drove in 109 runs in 1951 and was dealt to Pittsburgh in a six-for-one trade after the 1953 season. He finished with a .283 average, 202 home runs and 805 RBI, and drew 731 walks against 356 strikeouts. He died on June 17, 1975, at 57, after a heart attack while playing softball in Central Park.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 209 | 0 | 21 | 48 | 19 | 32 | 32 | 57 | 0 |
| SGC | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 23 | 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
More Boston Braves cards:
- Red Back #30 Warren Spahn
- Red Back #52 Tommy Holmes
- Blue Back #9 Johnny Sain
- Blue Back #12 Sam Jethroe
- Blue Back #32 Bob Elliott
- Blue Back #34 Earl Torgeson
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1951 Topps Red Back #2 card?
It is Red Back #2 in the 135-card 1951 Topps Baseball checklist, picturing Sid Gordon of the Boston Braves.
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.