1951 Topps Red Back #39 Ted Kluszewski
About Ted Kluszewski
Kluszewski's power arrived in 1950. He had hit 12 home runs in 1948 and eight in 1949, when his average rose 35 points from .274 to .309. In 1950 he hit 25, drove in 111 and batted .307 with 165 hits in 538 at-bats. The 111 RBI were 43 more than the year before and his first 100-RBI total, and 131 of his 134 games came at first base.
Theodore Bernard Kluszewski, known as Big Klu, was a power-hitting first baseman born September 10, 1924, in Argo, a section of Summit, Illinois. A football and baseball player at Indiana University, he signed with Cincinnati after graduating in 1946, debuted with the Reds in April 1947 and took over first base for good early in 1948. At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, he became famous for cutting the sleeves off his jersey because they restricted his swing. From 1953 through 1956 he was a four-time All-Star, averaging about 43 home runs and 116 RBI a year. In 1954 he topped the National League in both homers (49) and RBI (141). He paired that power with rare contact skill: in 1955 he hit 47 home runs while striking out only 40 times. A slipped disc ended his prime. After Cincinnati he played for Pittsburgh and the Chicago White Sox, helping the 1959 Go-Go Sox to the American League pennant and hitting three home runs in a World Series the Dodgers won. He closed out with the 1961 Angels, retired at .298 with 279 homers, and later coached the Big Red Machine. The Reds retired his number 18 and put him in their team Hall of Fame.
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 | 410 | 0 | 61 | 90 | 43 | 53 | 75 | 88 | 0 |
| SGC | 77 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 40 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1951 Topps Red Back #39 card?
It is Red Back #39 in the 135-card 1951 Topps Baseball checklist, picturing Ted Kluszewski of the Cincinnati Reds.
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.