1963 Topps #99 Jim Umbricht
About Jim Umbricht
Card #99 in 1963 Topps' first series pictures Umbricht with the Houston Colt .45's; he had already appeared with the Pirates and Colt .45's in the two prior years, and the number falls in the set's ordinary early run. The card arrived amid his comeback: diagnosed with melanoma that March, he was back on a big-league mound within two months and finished the season 4-3 with a 2.61 ERA over 76 innings, mostly in relief, for Houston.
Jim Umbricht was a right-handed relief pitcher born September 17, 1930 in Chicago and raised in Decatur, Georgia. A two-sport standout at the University of Georgia, he was named to the All-Southeastern Conference team as a shortstop in 1951 and captained both the baseball and basketball teams. He paid his own way into a 1953 tryout camp with the Class D Waycross Bears and was converted from shortstop to pitcher, then spent two years in the Army before working through the Milwaukee Braves' and Pittsburgh Pirates' minor-league systems. He reached the majors with Pittsburgh in September 1959 and pitched for the Pirates through 1961, mixing spot starts with relief work and shuttling to Triple-A Columbus. Left unprotected in the 1961 expansion draft, he was claimed by the Houston Colt .45's, the city where his parents had settled, and became one of the club's most reliable late-inning relievers. In March 1963 he was diagnosed with melanoma and underwent surgery, then returned to pitch that same season. He died on April 8, 1964, days before Houston's season opener; the club retired his uniform number 32.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 295 | 0 | 4 | 105 | 136 | 29 | 11 | 10 | 0 |
| SGC | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-09-24. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8), and PSA's qualified grades are counted separately from the straight-grade rows shown here.
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Related cards
Team card: #312 Houston Colt .45's
More Houston Colt .45's cards:
- #9 1962 National League Strikeout Leaders
- #24 Bob Bruce
- #45 Bob Aspromonte
- #77 Al Spangler
- #119 Bob Lillis
- #141 Manny Mota
- #153 Hal Smith
- #158 1963 Rookie Stars
- #189 Dave Giusti
- #204 Don Nottebart
- #208 1963 Rookie Stars
- #230 Pete Runnels
- #262 Ellis Burton
- #277 Dick Farrell
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1963 Topps #99 card?
It is card #99 of the 576-card 1963 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Umbricht of the Houston Colt .45's.
How many cards are in the 1963 Topps Baseball set?
576 cards, tracked as 583 collectible states. The numbers run from 1 to 576 with no gaps and no number used twice, and seven cards carry a catalogued print variation - three checklists, the two Rookie Stars cards also printed with a "1962" heading, and the #341 Jack Baldschun and #454 Art Fowler print states - that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, BaseballCardPedia, The Topps Archives, Baseball-Reference, the SABR BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-10-03.