Essian originally came up to the Big Leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1973, appearing in two games before coming back in 1974 with 17 games.
Over those 17 games he went 2-for-20 at the plate, with a run scored and two base on balls before coming back in 1975 for yet another brief appearance in the Majors, this time two games where he went 1-for-2 at the plate with an RBI.
1976 would be his break, as he was now a member of the Chicago White Sox, playing in 78 games and hitting .246 with 49 hits over 199 at-bats, thus his true rookie card in the 1977 set.
He would go on to play 12 seasons in the Majors, finishing up in 1984 with 63 games as an Oakland A’s catcher, putting in a career .244 average with 453 hits in 1855 at-bats, with 33 homers and 207 runs batted in.
He’d go into coaching post playing career, even getting some managerial experience in 1991 as the third manager of the season for the Chicago Cubs, going 59-63 for a fourth place finish.
