1979 Topps #518 Jim Umbarger
About Jim Umbarger
Umbarger's last major league season was 1978, when he worked mostly in relief. He went 5-8 with one save and a 4.88 ERA. He struck out 60 in 97 2/3 innings and started nine games. His #518 card, issued in 1979, is printed with the Texas Rangers.
Jim Umbarger was a 6-foot-6 left-handed pitcher who spent his four major league seasons, 1975 to 1978, almost entirely with the Texas Rangers. He attended Grant High School in Van Nuys, California, and was the 33rd pick of the 1971 draft by Cleveland but went to Arizona State instead. He earned honorable mention on The Sporting News All-America team in 1974 and signed with Texas as a 16th-round pick that year. He debuted in April 1975 and split his time between relief and starting. His career line was 25-33 with a 4.14 ERA over 133 games. He threw 15 complete games, five of them shutouts. After 1978 he kept pitching in the minors through 1983, and in 1981 he threw 10 scoreless innings of relief in the 33-inning Pawtucket-Rochester game, the longest professional game ever played. He died in Phoenix in August 2024 at age 71.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 41 | 6 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 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: #499 Texas Rangers / Pat Corrales
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #518 card?
It is card #518 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Umbarger of the Texas Rangers.
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.