1979 Topps #558 Jay Johnstone
About Jay Johnstone
Johnstone batted .223 in 71 games split between Philadelphia and New York in 1978. The Yankees appeared on his 1979 Topps #558, but on June 15 they traded him to San Diego for reliever Dave Wehrmeister. He finished 1979 batting .277 in 98 games for the two clubs.
Jay Johnstone was a left-handed-hitting outfielder who spent parts of twenty big-league seasons, from his 1966 debut with the California Angels to his final game with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1985. A platoon and role player for most of his career, he also played for the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs. He finished with a .267 average, 102 home runs and two World Series rings, in 1978 with the Yankees and 1981 with the Dodgers. Off the field he was known for clubhouse pranks, including putting a brownie in Steve Garvey's first-base mitt, setting teammates' cleats on fire and locking manager Tommy Lasorda in his office. He later recounted the pranks in three books written with sports columnist Rick Talley.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 128 | 14 | 74 | 29 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 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: #626 New York Yankees / Bob Lemon
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- #8 1978 Leading Firemen
- #16 Fred Stanley
- #35 Ed Figueroa
- #60 Mickey Rivers
- #89 Dick Tidrow
- #114 Cliff Johnson
- #140 Don Gullett
- #159 Roy White
- #179 Jim Beattie
- #202 Ron Guidry
- #225 Rich Gossage
- #250 Willie Randolph
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #558 card?
It is card #558 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jay Johnstone of the New York Yankees.
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.