1978 Topps #98 Jim Essian
About Jim Essian
Essian was traded to Oakland in 1978 and set a career high with 126 games, 119 of them at catcher. He hit three home runs, drove in 26 runs and batted .223 for the Athletics. His #98 still carries the White Sox.
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
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 129 | 14 | 81 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 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: #66 Chicago White Sox Team
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- #251 Don Kirkwood
- #272 Royle Stillman
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #98 card?
It is card #98 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Essian of the Chicago White Sox.
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.