1979 Topps #556 Mike Lum
About Mike Lum
Lum played 43 games in the outfield and 7 at first base for Cincinnati in 1978. After the Reds' tour of Japan, he declined a three-year, $1 million offer from the Seibu Lions. His 1979 Topps #556 still shows him with Cincinnati, although he opened that season as Atlanta's first baseman and later led the National League with 17 pinch hits.
Mike Lum was born in Honolulu in 1945 to a Japanese mother and an American soldier and was adopted as a baby by a Chinese couple, making him the first American of Japanese ancestry to reach the majors. A star quarterback in high school, he signed with the Milwaukee Braves in 1963 and converted from first base to the outfield in the minors. Lum debuted for Atlanta in September 1967 and spent fifteen big-league seasons with the Braves, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs, playing outfield and first base in a mix of starting and reserve roles. His best year came in 1973, when he hit .294 with career highs of 16 home runs and 82 RBI after taking over first base when Hank Aaron moved back to the outfield. Traded to Cincinnati after the 1975 season, he served on the Big Red Machine's bench before returning to Atlanta as a spot starter and pinch hitter. He finished with 103 career pinch hits and later spent decades as a hitting coach, including 1990 through 2005 as minor-league hitting coordinator for the White Sox.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 94 | 8 | 49 | 28 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 1 | 1 | 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: #259 Cincinnati Reds / Sparky Anderson
More Cincinnati Reds cards:
- #2 1978 Home Run Leaders
- #3 1978 RBI Leaders
- #20 Joe Morgan
- #47 Fred Norman
- #73 Ken Henderson
- #100 Tom Seaver
- #126 Doug Bair
- #149 Manny Sarmiento
- #174 Rick Auerbach
- #200 Johnny Bench
- #204 Pete Rose
- #220 Cesar Geronimo
- #281 Vic Correll
- #301 Tom Hume
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #556 card?
It is card #556 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Mike Lum of the Cincinnati Reds.
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.