1978 Topps #500 George Foster
About George Foster
Foster's average slipped to .281, but he again led the National League with 40 home runs and 120 RBI and made his third straight All-Star start. He has three cards in the set. #202 is a League Leaders card with Jim Rice of the Red Sox, #203 a League Leaders card with Larry Hisle of the Twins, and #500 his own All-Star card with the Reds.
George Foster was the left fielder and cleanup hitter of Cincinnati's Big Red Machine. The San Francisco Giants, the club of his boyhood hero Willie Mays, drafted him in the third round in 1968 out of El Camino Junior College and later sent him to the Reds for Frank Duffy and Vern Geishert. After years as a reserve, he took over left field in 1975 and helped Cincinnati win the 1975 and 1976 World Series. In Game 6 of the 1975 Series he caught Fred Lynn's drive and threw Denny Doyle out at the plate to send the game to extra innings. He won the 1977 National League MVP award and was a five-time All-Star. Foster was traded to the New York Mets on February 10, 1982, and signed a five-year, $10 million contract the next day. The Mets released him in August 1986, and he finished with the White Sox. He retired with 348 home runs and 1,239 RBI, and was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 2003.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 543 | 55 | 276 | 131 | 24 | 17 | 22 | 18 | 0 |
| SGC | 29 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 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
More George Foster in this set: #202 League Leaders, #203 League Leaders
Team card: #526 Cincinnati Reds Team
More Cincinnati Reds cards:
- #5 Pete Rose
- #20 Pete Rose
- #47 Jack Billingham
- #80 Ken Griffey
- #106 Bill Plummer
- #126 Paul Moskau
- #149 Dale Murray
- #180 Dave Concepcion
- #202 1977 Home Run Leaders
- #203 1977 RBI Leaders
- #220 Pedro Borbon
- #246 Dan Driessen
- #273 Fred Norman
- #276 Bill Bonham
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #500 card?
It is card #500 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing George Foster of the Cincinnati Reds.
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.