1964 Topps #389 Jim Umbricht
About Jim Umbricht
Card #389 in 1964 Topps' fifth series again shows Umbricht with the Houston Colt .45's. The back reports his comeback 1963 season, in which he returned from melanoma surgery within two months and posted a 4-3 record with a 2.61 ERA over 76 innings, mostly in relief. Umbricht died on April 8, 1964, days before Houston's season opener, making this his final Topps card.
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 | 242 | 3 | 34 | 122 | 46 | 23 | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-09-04. 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 Houston Colt .45's cards:
- #23 Chris Zachary
- #38 Jim Wynn
- #56 Hal Brown
- #109 Rusty Staub
- #121 Pete Runnels
- #142 John Bateman
- #158 Ken Johnson
- #179 Carl Warwick
- #205 Nellie Fox
- #226 Colts 1964 Rookie Stars
- #241 Jim Owens
- #256 Johnny Weekly
- #282 Bob Bruce
- #298 Harry Craft
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #389 card?
It is card #389 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Umbricht of the Houston Colt .45's.
Why is #389 harder to find?
It is a series 5-6 card. Cards from the fifth and sixth print series (#371-522) are a step tougher to find than #1-370; availability in 1964 runs in three tiers, not a cliff.
How many cards are in the 1964 Topps Baseball set?
587 cards, tracked as 589 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 587 with no gaps, and no number carries two different cards; two cards - #4, the A.L. Pitching Leaders, and #517, the seventh-series checklist - carry a catalogued back variation that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, The Topps Archives, Baseball Almanac, 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 2026-10-11.