1977 Topps #529 Jim Essian
About Jim Essian
The White Sox gave Essian 78 games in 1976, and in 1977 he caught 111 of his 114 games. He set career highs with 10 home runs, 44 RBI and a .374 on-base percentage, and hit .273. His #529 is his rookie card.
Jim Essian was a catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians over 12 seasons, and later managed the Chicago Cubs. A Detroit native who played at Arizona State, he signed with Philadelphia as an undrafted free agent in 1969 and debuted on September 15, 1973. In May 1975 the Phillies sent him to Atlanta, and on May 15 the White Sox took him from the Braves as the player to be named later in the Dick Allen trade. In 1976 he finished second to Rick Dempsey among American League catchers in caught-stealing percentage. He backed up Carlton Fisk in 1981 and went to Seattle that December in a trade for Tom Paciorek. He retired with 33 home runs and a .244 average in 710 games. After coaching with the Cubs organization in 1986 and managing in the minors, he took over the Cubs in 1991 when Don Zimmer was fired and went 59-63, becoming the first major league manager of Armenian heritage. He later headed the Greek national team and managed the Utica Unicorns to three straight USPBL titles, 2019 to 2021. The Reading Baseball Hall of Fame inducted him in 2000.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 61 | 4 | 36 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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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Related cards
Team card: #418 Chicago White Sox Team
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- #198 Wilbur Wood
- #222 Francisco Barrios
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- #271 Terry Forster
- #273 Eric Soderholm
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1977 Topps #529 card?
It is card #529 of the 660-card 1977 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Essian of the Chicago White Sox.
Is 1977 Topps #529 a rookie card?
Yes - #529 is the 1977 Topps rookie card of Jim Essian.
How many cards are in the 1977 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, numbered 1 through 660 with none skipped and distributed as a single series. No card carries a catalogued print variation, so the base set and the master set are the same 660 cards.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, BaseballCardPedia, Cardboard Connection, 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 2026-10-25.