1953 Topps #224 Lou Sleater
1953 Topps #224 Lou Sleater
About Lou Sleater
Louis Mortimer Sleater Jr. (1926-2013) was a left-handed pitcher signed out of Baltimore's Mount Saint Joseph High School by Boston Braves scout Jeff Jones in 1944. After a long minor-league apprenticeship with roughly a dozen clubs, the St. Louis Browns selected him off waivers and he reached the majors in 1950. Over seven seasons (1950-52, 1955-58) he pitched for the Browns, Washington Senators, Kansas City Athletics, Milwaukee Braves, Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles, working mostly in relief while developing a knuckleball and screwball. He finished 12-18 with a 4.70 ERA and 152 strikeouts in 131 games (21 starts). His card here shows him with Washington, fittingly so: traded to the Senators in May 1952, he threw complete games in his first three outings, including his only big-league shutout on May 25 against the Philadelphia Athletics. A capable hitter for a pitcher, he belted a walk-off home run in 1957 with Detroit. After baseball he sold tools and later twice won the Maryland State Golf Association's two-man title (1984, 1988).
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · SABR
Designations, variations & errors
High Number
Series 4 (#221-280). Printed in shorter supply and distributed late in the season, when retailers cut orders for the football months. The scarcest run in the set - holding #244 Willie Mays and the #258 Gilliam and #263 Podres rookies - and routinely 3-4x the price of low-number commons.
Double Print
Marked DP. Roughly 50% more of these cards were printed than their neighbors (the hobby calls it 'double-printed'), so they are the most plentiful cards in the set. TCDB flags 103 of them, concentrated in the low series. Five cards normally in the low run - #94, #107, #131, #145 and #156 - were also printed on the more-plentiful #166-220 sheet. A print-quantity designation, not an error or a separate card.
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 523 | 0 | 3 | 60 | 84 | 134 | 138 | 104 | 0 |
| SGC | 72 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 18 | 23 | 20 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-06-26. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8). PSA counts are straight-graded.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1953 Topps Lou Sleater card?
It is card #224 of the 1953 Topps Baseball set - one of the most beautiful sets ever made, with hand-painted color portraits numbered to 280 (274 cards issued). It pictures the Washington Senators player.
Why is this card scarce?
It is in the 1953 Topps high-number series (#221-280), released late in the season in shorter supply - the scarcest run in the set, routinely 3-4 times the price of low-number commons.
What does 'double print' mean for this card?
Roughly 50% more of these cards were printed than their neighbors, so double prints (DP) are the most plentiful cards in the set. It is a print-quantity note, not an error or a separate card.
Is the 1953 Topps Lou Sleater valuable?
Value depends on grade and eye appeal. Use the links above to check current T206 Cards inventory and live eBay listings.
Sources: Trading Card Database, Baseball-Reference, PSA & SGC population reports, and Baseball-Almanac. Card data & population compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-07-01.