1979 Topps #455 Bill Lee
About Bill Lee
Card #455 still lists Lee with the Red Sox, although he had been dealt to the Expos. In 1979 he went 16-10 with a 3.04 ERA. He made 33 starts and threw 3 shutouts in 222 innings. The Sporting News named him its National League Left Hander of the Year, placing him ahead of Philadelphia's Steve Carlton.
Bill Lee was a left-handed pitcher who worked for the Boston Red Sox from 1969 to 1978 and the Montreal Expos from 1979 to 1982, finishing 119-90 with a 3.62 ERA. A USC product on the 1968 College World Series winner, he lacked a good fastball and leaned on off-speed pitches, including his own slow, arcing take on the eephus that he called the Leephus pitch. Used almost entirely in relief for four seasons, he moved into the rotation in 1973, went 17-11 and made the American League All-Star team, then won 17 games in each of the next two years. He started two games of the 1975 World Series against Cincinnati. He was nicknamed Spaceman by former Red Sox infielder John Kennedy, and his outspoken, countercultural opinions were frequently recorded in the press. A feud with manager Don Zimmer led to his trade to Montreal after 1978, and he was released by the Expos in 1982 after a one-game walkout over the release of Rodney Scott. He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2008.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 239 | 68 | 113 | 43 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 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: #214 Boston Red Sox / Don Zimmer
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #2 1978 Home Run Leaders
- #3 1978 RBI Leaders
- #12 Dick Drago
- #40 Dennis Eckersley
- #63 Jack Brohamer
- #83 Fred Kendall
- #106 Frank Duffy
- #125 Rick Burleson
- #155 Dwight Evans
- #185 Mike Torrez
- #270 Butch Hobson
- #320 Carl Yastrzemski
- #349 Jim Wright
- #375 Bill Campbell
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #455 card?
It is card #455 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bill Lee of the Boston Red Sox.
How many cards are in the 1979 Topps Baseball set?
726 cards, numbered 1 through 726 with none skipped and issued as a single series, tracked as 727 collectible states: #369 Bump Wills comes with a Rangers or a Blue Jays team banner, and the master set counts both.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA, 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.