Manufacturer: Bowman
Set: 1950 Bowman Baseball ➡️
Player Name: Walt Dropo
Position/Team: 1st Base Red Sox
Card #: 146
Card Size: 2-1/16” x 2-1/2”
Card Value Snapshot: Raw/Ungraded: $10 | Grade 7: $55
⬇️ See More Pricing Data Below
Walter Alexander “Moose” Dropo was a towering, physically imposing slugger whose thunderous arrival in the American League defined the classic post-war power archetype.
Standing an extraordinary 6-foot-5 and weighing 220 pounds, Dropo was a multi-sport phenom who chose diamonds over gridirons, famously becoming the first native of Connecticut to win a Major League Rookie of the Year award. Anchoring a terrifying, run-heavy Boston Red Sox lineup alongside Ted Williams, Dropo possessed a sweeping, aggressive swing that could carry any ball park in America. Though injuries disrupted his meteoric trajectory, his peak remains one of the most explosive offensive displays of the early 1950s.
After a brief cup of coffee in 1949, Dropo took over first base full-time for the Red Sox in 1950, putting together a rookie campaign for the ages that electrified Fenway Park:
The RBI Monarch: Dropo led all of Major League Baseball with an astonishing 144 runs batted in, out-slugging teammate Ted Williams and Yankees icon Yogi Berra.
The Power Output: He blasted 34 home runs, compiled 326 total bases, scored 101 runs, and batted a robust .322 with a sterling .583 slugging percentage.
The Historic Hardware: For his offensive onslaught, he cruised to a near-unanimous selection as the 1950 American League Rookie of the Year, instantly cementing his status as a marquee national star.
Teams Played For: Boston Red Sox (1949–1952), Detroit Tigers (1952–1954), Chicago White Sox (1955–1958), Cincinnati Reds (1958–1959), Baltimore Orioles (1959–1961).
Career Totals: 1,288 games, 1,113 hits, 152 home runs, 704 RBIs, and a .270 lifetime batting average.
The Ultimate Athlete: Prior to his MLB stardom, Dropo was a legendary three-sport star at UConn. He remains a unique piece of sports trivia, having been drafted into both the BAA/NBA (by the Providence Steamrollers) and the NFL (by the Chicago Bears) before electing to sign a professional baseball contract.
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Pricing Data For This Rookie Card
Tracking the current market value for the 1950 Bowman Walt Dropo Card #246. Below, find updated pricing data for ungraded (raw) copies, as well as verified PSA graded sales trends collected from secondary marketplaces.
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Raw/Ungraded: $10
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Grade 5: $25
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Grade 6: $35
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Grade 7: $55
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Grade 8: $177
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Grade 9: -
Data Updated: July 2026
➡️ See All 1950 Bowman Rookie Card Prices
Pricing data includes raw card price & some graded card value estimates.
These values are collated from a variety of resources including recently sold listings, sales averages and a variety of other sports card pricing data sources. Please see full disclaimer on “Terms Page” for more information. (Rookiecardprices.com only shows values for regular base set cards. No prices are shown for errors, parallels, subsets, misprints or other cards unless noted.)
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Did You Know? A severe wrist fracture suffered early in the 1951 season sapped a degree of his raw home run power, forcing the Red Sox to include him in a blockbuster multi-player trade to the Detroit Tigers in mid-1952.
Upon arriving in Detroit, Dropo immediately made baseball history by executing one of the greatest pure hitting stretches ever recorded. From July 14 to July 15, 1952, Dropo went on a historic tear, recording a hit in 12 consecutive plate appearances over a three-game span, tying a Major League record that still stands today. He remained a steady, highly productive middle-of-the-order threat for the Tigers and Chicago White Sox throughout the decade.
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