1978 Topps #196 Bob Bailor
About Bob Bailor
Bailor led Toronto in 1977 with 154 hits, 15 steals and 62 runs. He hit his first home run on April 16 off Steve Stone at Comiskey Park and struck out only 26 times. He tore knee ligaments stealing third at Anaheim on August 21. Topps named him its rookie shortstop, hence the Rookie Cup on his Blue Jays card, #196, though he played only 53 games there. The Toronto writers voted him Blue Jays player of the year.
Bob Bailor was a utility man who played every position except first base and catcher over 11 seasons, 1975 to 1985, with the Orioles, Blue Jays, Mets and Dodgers. Born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, he never played high school baseball because his schools had no team, and signed with Baltimore in 1969 after American Legion ball. Toronto made him its first pick in the 1976 expansion draft. He hit .310 as a Blue Jays rookie in 1977, then a record for an expansion team, and struck out so rarely that he led the majors in at-bats per strikeout in 1978. Traded to the Mets for Roy Lee Jackson in December 1980, he stole 20 bases in 1982 and later played for the Dodgers, appearing in the 1985 NLCS. He finished with a .264 average, nine home runs and 90 steals. After retiring as a player he managed Syracuse to a first-place finish and International League Manager of the Year honors in 1989 and served as a Blue Jays coach from 1992 to 1995, including the World Series winners of 1992 and 1993.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 122 | 22 | 64 | 27 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #196 card?
It is card #196 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bob Bailor of the Toronto Blue Jays.
How many cards are in the 1978 Topps Baseball set?
726 cards, numbered 1 through 726 with none skipped and issued as a single series, and 728 collectible states: #23 Bump Wills comes with or without a black circle, and #374 Jose Morales with or without black stitching over the red laces, so the master set counts both states of each.
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.