1978 Topps #493 Steve Renko
About Steve Renko
The White Sox got Renko from the Cubs for minor league pitcher Larry Anderson and cash, and he appears with them on card #493. Across the two Chicago teams in 1977 he went 7-2 with a 4.04 ERA, starting 16 of his 21 games. He struck out 70 in 104 2/3 innings and saved one game. Just before the 1978 opener he went to Oakland with catcher Jim Essian for pitcher Pablo Torrealba.
Steve Renko was a 6-foot-5 right-handed starter who worked 15 seasons, 1969 to 1983, for the Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, California Angels and Kansas City Royals. He finished 134-146 with a 3.99 ERA over 2,494 innings. He struck out 1,455 batters and completed 57 games. A three-sport athlete at Kansas, he played quarterback in the same backfield as Gale Sayers and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 1966, but the Mets had signed him a year earlier and baseball won out. He was the last remaining 1969 Expo when he left Montreal as the club's winningest pitcher with 68 victories. He threw three career one-hitters. He was 11-6 for the 1982 Angels, who won the American League West.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 129 | 5 | 55 | 41 | 15 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 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
More Chicago White Sox cards:
- #14 Lerrin LaGrow
- #42 Jorge Orta
- #98 Jim Essian
- #127 Chet Lemon
- #153 Steve Stone
- #182 Jim Spencer
- #213 Alan Bannister
- #231 Wayne Nordhagen
- #251 Don Kirkwood
- #272 Royle Stillman
- #288 Dave Hamilton
- #316 Henry Cruz
- #329 John Verhoeven
- #361 Chris Knapp
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #493 card?
It is card #493 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Steve Renko 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.