1978 Topps #683 Mike Champion
About Mike Champion
In 1978 Champion lost the second base job to Derrel Thomas, and on Opening Day he pinch-hit with the bases loaded in the eighth and drew a walk to force in the winning run. A knife slip over a lobster dinner cost him three stitches, and Hawaii, where he hit .328, came next. He returned for the season's final month and finished with 32 games for San Diego. His #683 pictures him with the Padres.
Mike Champion was a second baseman who played 193 games for the San Diego Padres from 1976 to 1978, hitting .229 with two home runs. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, and raised in Southern California, he pitched a no-hitter at Foothill High School in Tustin before the Padres took him in the second round, 28th overall, of the June 1973 draft. He started as a shortstop at Walla Walla, moved to second base when the Padres drafted Bill Almon first overall, and won the 1976 Pacific Coast League title game for Hawaii with a go-ahead single. Called up that September, he hit his first big league home run off Fred Norman on September 29, 1976. In 1977 he was the Padres' rookie second baseman, playing 149 games at the position, and in 1978 he moved into a utility role. His daughter Autumn played softball at Arizona.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 148 | 14 | 91 | 29 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 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: #192 San Diego Padres Team
More San Diego Padres cards:
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- #86 Dave Tomlin
- #116 Tucker Ashford
- #140 Rollie Fingers
- #164 Bob Owchinko
- #208 1977 Leading Firemen
- #240 Gene Tenace
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- #292 Gene Richards
- #318 Tom Griffin
- #364 Jerry Turner
- #390 Oscar Gamble
- #392 Billy Almon
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #683 card?
It is card #683 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Mike Champion of the San Diego Padres.
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.