ANNIVESARY: 1980 Topps #270 Mike Schmidt - Hall of Fame Induction

25 years ago today (July 30 1995) Five baseball legends were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Among them were Richie Ashburn, Leon Day, Vic Willis and 19th century Executive William Hulbert.

The fifth inductee is the one we will discuss tonight. The only one to have played his entire career with the Philadelphia Phillies.

1980 Topps #270 Mike Schmidt

This is the first Mike Schmidt card tagged with an All-Star flair, honoring his first ever start for the NL squad in the mid-summer classic.

If your curious as to how well Mike fared in that game all you need to do is flip over the card.

1980 Topps #270 Mike Schmidt (b-side)

The Triple was in the first inning off of another Haller Nolan Ryan.  The hit plated Steve Garvey for the NLs first run in a 7-6 victory.

Schmidt made 12 All-Star teams and was named a starter 7 times.

1980 World Champions 
It is obvious I am not going to dedicate as much ink to the 1980 Phillies as I would like, but I am still trying to highlight as many players as possible.  For more of these postings see the link below.

Sources and Links
1980 World Series Champions Index 
Mike Schmidt Index
Baseball Card Database
Baseball-Ref
Baseball Hall of Fame

ANNIVERSARY 1968 OCT 02: Bob Gibson Sets World Series Strike Out Record

I missed the 50th anniversary of this a year ago so we are catching up today.

1969 Topps #162 World Series Special Game 1 Gibson Fans 17

Yes 51 years ago Bob Gibson Struck out 17 Tigers in Game one of the 1968 World Series.

Number of things to like on this card:

- Newsprint style format
- Gibson's face is a bit in the shadow, but overall I think this is a good photo from the era
- Great headline, subheader and synopsis
- Sponsorship by The Sporting News
- It's BOB freaking GIBSON

Gibson's 17K day broke the previous record set by Sandy Koufax 5 years prior, also on October 2 and in a game 1, Gibson struck out every Detroit hitter in the starting lineup at least once with the 3 & 4 Htiters Al Kaline and Norm Cash each whiffing 3 times. Other notable victims include Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews who went down on strikes as a Pinch Hitter, Bill Freehan and Willie Horton.

According to Baseball Almanac the record still stands today.

Flip

1969 Topps #162 World Series Special Game 1 Gibson Fans 17 (b-side)

The back of the card has a box score for the Cardinals 4-0 victory. Note the 17 Putouts credited to Tim McCarver. Lots of other big names on the Cardinals, HOF Lou Brock's hit was a Home Run which accounted for the single run in the 7th.

While the Cardinals won this battle, the Tigers would eventually win the War taking the 1968 Series in 7 games.

1968 Topps World Series Special Subset
The subber for the 1968 World Series runs 8 cards from #162-169, one for each game plus a summary. Hall of Famers earning cards in the set other than Gibson are the aforementioned Kaline and Brock.  

Sources and Links
1969 Topps Baseball
Bob Gibson Hall of Fame Index
1969 Topps World Series Special Subset
baseball card database
Baseball-Ref
Baseball Almanac

Happy Birthday Mike Schmidt: 1977 Topps #140

On September 27th Mike Schmidt will celebrate his 70th birthday. To mark the occasion we are examining a card that was issued back when Schmidt was 27 just on the cusp of hitting his prime.

1977 Topps #140 Mike Schmidt

In 1976 the Phillies wore a Bicentennial/All-Star Game patch on their left shoulders. The 1977T card which displays the patch most prominently is Mike Schmidt's.

That is probably my favorite aspect of the card. I have two other photo observations:

1) I believe this is Shea Stadium which is the setting for several Phillies cards in the era.

2) Schmidt appears to be swinging a Rawlings bat. Adirondack/Rawlings bats from the middle 70s carried a ring on the bat handle in the team color - seen in red here.

However, during a Louisville Slugger tour I took a few years ago I found out something interesting:

Louisville Slugger Museum

Above we have four Louisvlle Slugger Bats. Schmidt's lumber is the 3rd one from the top, notice the Red ring. Schmidt had an exclusive contract with Rawlings, however at times he felt the need to change bats. To hide the switch, Schmidt disguised the Louisville Slugger bat by creating his own red ring using tape. More detail on this can be found at the PSA Card site.

The four bats top to Bottom are Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray (HR #501, last as an Oriole), Schmidt and George Brett (note the Pine Tar).

 Flip

1977 Topps #140 Mike Schmidt (b-side)

This is the first card issued following Schmidt's Four Home Run game on April 17 1976 and the text leads of with that fun fact. The blurb closes mentioning that Schmidt had 11 Homers in April which is a record - not sure if this is for any month or specific to April. Regardless both records have been eclipsed since 1976. Sammy Sosa holds the MLB Record for HR in a month with 20 (June 1998), While the April Record of 14 is shared by Albert Pujols (2006) and A-Rod (2007).

Talkin Toons
Always good to see a cartoon on the back of the card. The subject of today's comic is Yankees Slugger Hank Bauer and his17 game Wolrd Series hitting streak( 1956 OCT 3 - 1958 OCT 4).  At the time this card was released Bauer had held the record for 18 years. Here we are almost 42 years later and he still holds the record. the 2018 World Series marked the 60th Anniversary of the record.

Bauer's 17 game hitting streak is also the record for consecutive postseason games as well. He shares the record with Derek Jeter (1998-1999) and Manny Ramirez (2003-2004).  The Astros George Springer has an active streak of 14 games

Bauer Toons
A couple of Hank Bauer own cards have comics that feature the record including 1960 and 1961.  My favorite is a manager card from 1969.

1969 Topps #124 Hank Bauer (b-side / baseball card datbase)

Rather than featuring a lengthy text bio the Manager cards from 1969 featured a full size cartoon that include a nice profile sketch.

Artsy
Speaking of sketches and bringing this back to our original subject, I created my own version of the 1977T Schmidt card.

1977T Mike Schmidt (Phungo Original)

Drawing 1997 Topps doesn't present any unusual challenges. The Team names are italicized which is a minor hassle. I like the drop shadow on the pennant.

I elected to leave the team logo and number off the uni, which are largely covered in the original - unfortunately this leaves a lot of blue space on the drawing and elongates Schmidt's Torso.

1980 Phillies
I am including this post as part of our 1980 Phillies Series. I hope to return to Schmidt again next year as he is not only one of the  most significant members of that particular team but also the franchise history.

Sources and Links
Mike Schmidt HoF Index
1980 Phillies World Champs Index
Phungo Artwork Index
Baseball Almanac
PSA Card
baseball card database
mlb.com / Astros 
Baseball-Ref

Roy Halladay Hall of Fame!!

Things have been busy around Phungo HQ with a myriad of activities that have kept me from posting regular columns here. Most of these distractions are good things including one hobby I have picked up in the last year - sketching.

 2011 Topps Roy Halladay NLDS No-Hitter

It may not be great, but it is mine - I had never drawn anything beyond a stick figure prior to last summer and I am pretty happy with some of the outcomes. The pictures never look like the people who I am trying to portray, however they do sort of look like people.  This particular drawing is inspired by a 2011 Topps card, click here for a better look.

I use color pencils and draw inspiration from folks like @Mosely_Mark and @Gummyarts who both put together some fun and exciting cardboard art.

This drawing commemorates one of my favorite games and I am glad to see Roy Halladay get honored by the Hall of Fame.



 

 

sources and links
Roy Halladay HOF Index
Phungo Artwork

Happy 80th Birthday Willie McCovey and the birth of the Topps All-Star Rookie Team

On January 10th First Ballot Hall of Famer Willie McCovey celebrates his 80th birthday.

To mark the occasion I would like to take a look at McCovey's rookie card.

 1960 Topps #316 Willie McCovey

Not only is this a Rookie Card but it is also Topps first ever All-Star Rookie Cup card.

Therefore here we have a card that historic for not one but two reasons. The card is the beginning of some interesting Topps history. 

Check out the text at the top of the yellow circle. It specifies that McCovey was "Selected by the Youth of America"

What does that mean? Well Topps actually sent out ballots to the Boy Scout, YMCA, Boys Club of America and other youth organizations to vote on the All-Star Rookie team. I believe this was part of a greater effort to attract young collectors.

The Following Ad appeared in an issue of The Sporting News during the summer of 1959.

 The Sporting News 1959 Jul 15  

A couple of things to unpack here, first The trophy looks terrific. The clipart used for the Trophy on early Topps cards looks fine, but here we have a bit more detail, I mean who knew the pedestal was a Top Hat?

The text above is where I got the info on the clubs involved in the rookie all-star election.

Further down in the ad we have additional info:

 

The Sporting News 1959 Jul 15

 

Check it out there was an actual trophy presentation ceremony with an associated bonus of $125! According to the CPI Inflation Calculator that is a little bit over a grand in today's money.

To the right is a "Sample Ballot". Kids write in the players name, team and position, and send their vote to Topps Bazooka office in Brooklyn.

The final thing I want to point out is the "Honorary All-Star Election Committee" which consists of various media representatives plus JACKIE ROBINSON, who is referred to not as Major Leaguer, World Champion, All-Star, or Future Hall of Famer. Nope for purposes of this exercise he was Vice President, Chock Full O' Nuts, Inc.

According to a TSN article the 1959 All-Star Rookie election consisted of 1.5 Million votes. Topps eligibility requirements to make the team were no more than 45 Days in the Majors, 90 Plate Appearances, or 45 innings prior to the season.

Banquet

The Sporting News 1960 Apr 20

And there they are Topps Historic First All-Star Rookie Team. They are pretty much in the order that they appear on the 1960T checklist. Willie McCovey is on the left followed Pumpsie Green, Jim Baxes, Phillies Shortstop Joe Koppe (the shortest guy in the shot) Bob Allison, Ron Fairly, John Romano and Jim Perry. Willie Tasby and Jim O'Toole who could not make the outing are shown in an inset bottom left.

The Subset
The Initial All-Star Rookie subset is unique within the history of the on card award as it is the only time the cards are presented consecutively running from #316-#325.

They also run in position sequence using scoring notation, except they start at 1B rather than pitcher. I don't know if this is luck or if Topps wanted one of the two Rookie of the Year award winners to lead off the subber. The AL ROY was Bob Allison. Regardless if planned or happy accident it is a nice touch that the first All-Star Rookie card EVER went to a 500 Home Run guy and future Hall of Famer. 

 Flip

1960 Topps #316 Willie McCovey (b-side)

The back of the All-Star Rookies are essentially the same as the base backs. Note McCovey took home NL ROY honors despite only getting involved in 52 games. Perhaps it had to do with his HOT start. I always loved how 1960T bullet pointed highlights from the players 1959 season. Check ou the first five of these HighLights for Stretch. The man puts up notable games FOUR days in a row right at the top of his career

Sources and Links
Phungo Willie McCovey HOF Index
1960 Topps Rookie Topps Index
The Sporting News
Baseball Card Database
Cardboard Connection
Baseball-Ref
CPI Inflation Calculator

Anniversary: 45 Years ago Harmon Killebrew Joins 500 HR Club.

August 10th marks the 45th Anniversary of Harmon Killebrew's 500th Homer. The milestone occurred in the first inning of a Twins 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles

2015 Topps #H-74 Harmon Killebrew 500 Home Runs.

 

The event was honored in Topps 2015 Highlight of the Year insert.

 

2015 Topps #H-74 Harmon Killebrew 500 Home Runs. (b-side)

A brief synopsis on the back of the card also notes that the hit was part of a pretty big day for Killebrew in which he had a pair of Home Runs, both lead changers, and 3 RBIs.


Sources and Links
Phungo Harmon Killebrew HoF Page
Baseball-ref

 

Don Sutton HoF index

This is an index of our posts related to Don Sutton and his cards

 

 

1966 Topps Bill Singer Don Sutton (rc)

1968 Topps #103
1986 Donruss Highlights #16 (300th Career Win - 30th Anniversary)


 

1976 ASG +40: Joe Morgan 1976 Topps #420

This weekend the Phillies open a nine game homestand with a three game set against the Reds. Forty years ago when the All-Star game was held in Philadelphia the Reds sent an entourage of seven players plus manager Sparky Anderson.

1976 Topps #420 Joe Morgan AS

Among the seven was the teams entire infield including future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan. At the time of the 76 All-Star game Morgan may have been at the height of his 22 year career. He was in the middle of his 2nd consecutive MVP season. The Reds won the World Series during both of Morgan's MVP campaigns. The only folks that separated Joe Morgan from winning both of those MVP awards unanimously were his Reds teammates (Pete Rose 2 Votes in 1976 & George Foster 5, 1976).

And from an advanced stats perspective, the Voters were correct, Joe Morgan was a monster. 1976 was the 5th of  six consecutive seasons in which the second baseman would lead the league in Offensive WAR. Four of those years he would lead all Position Players in WAR, during both MVP years he led all players in WAR.

1976 All-Star Game
Morgan started the game along with the rest of the Reds Infield, He went 1 for 3 including a single off of HoF Pitcher Cafish Hunter in the 3rd. Later in the inning he would score on a Home Run by teammate George Foster.

The 1976 All-Star Game was the 7th of 10 trips to the Mid-Summer Classic including 1972 when he was the Games MVP. Morgan started and played all nine innings of that game, He only picked up one hit, but it was an important one. With one out and Nate Colbert at second base Morgan punched a single off of Dave McNally to drive in the game winning run.

1976 Topps #420 Joe Morgan AS (b-side)

Just posting the b-side so you can see Morgan's 1975 MVP Stat line.

For more on this card and a lot of info on his playing career plus a couple of videos check out Project Baseball 1976.


Sources and Links
1976 ASG 40th Anniversary Index
Joe Morgan HoF Index
Project Baseball 1976
Baseball-Ref

Joe Morgan HoF Index

This is an Index of Cards and Postings related to Joe Morgan

1976 Topps #420 Joe Morgan AS

Joe Morgan HoF Index
1976 Topps #420 (1976 ASG 40th Anniversary)
1984 Topps #705 (NL Active SB Leaders / 1983 NL Champ Series)

ANNIVERSARY: George Brett Sets Record for Consecutive 3-Hit Games

Forty years ago George Brett set a bit of an odd record. He logged 3 or more hits in six consecutive games.

1977 Topps #231 Record Breaker George Brett 

I am a little amazed that in the pre-BigData era that anyone (probably Elias in this case) was able to research this record. The Streak began on May 8 1976 in Baltimore where Brett recorded 3 hits in the last two games of a three game set. The Royals then returned home to face the Twins, Brett collected 3 hits in each of the three games of that series and then he was able to repeat the feat for one game versus the White Sox.

During the six games Brett went 18 for 26 and added a pair of Walks for an average of .692 and an OBP of .714. His long hits were a Double and a Homer for a slugging number of .846.

The Royals went 5-1 during the streak.

Brett's Victims
May 8 vs Orioles - Ken Holtzmanman (2), Doyle Alexander (3rd Hit in 8th inning),
May 9 vs Orioles - F Jim Palmer (2), Ross Grimsley,
May 10 vs Twins - HoF Bert Blyleven (3, Double, 3rd Hit in 8th, but batted in 9th),
May 11 vs Twins - Jim Hughes (2), Tom Burgmeier
May 12 vs Twins - Joe Decker (2), Vic Albury
May 13 vs White Sox - Bart Johnson (2, HR), Francisco Barrios (3rd Hit in 8th Inning

During the streak Brett saw his average rise from .277 to .396. Pretty good for mid May.

 1977 Topps #231 Record Breaker George Brett (b-side)

According to Baseball-Ref the record still stood as of 2009. Although B-Ref also mentions a streak by Dodgers second baseman Ted Sizemore in 1970 that is overlooked by Topps. 

1976 All-Star Game
We ran a column on George Brett and the 1976 ASG previously, just wanted to take this opportunity to post a couple of screenshots and addendums to that post:

George Brett introduced himself as "Ken Brett's baby Brother"

During his first At Bat ABC put up his stats and it is easy to see why Brett made the All-Star game.

Brett tailed off a bit but still ended up leading the league in batting with a BA of only .333. He also led the league in Hits, Triples, Total Bases and Offensive WAR. For a more detailed discussion of the 1976 AL MVP voting check the post from last month. 

Sources and Links
1976 All-Star Game Index
1977 Topps Record Breakers Index
George Brett HoF Index
Baseball-Ref
YouTube - 1976 ASG
Baseball Almanac

1976 ASG +40: Bob Lemon 1956 Topps #255

The Phillies are hosting their first Home Inter-League Series of 2016 this weekend. The rare meeting with the Indians gives us the opportunity to discuss Hall of Famer Bob Lemon as part of our 1976 All-Star Game Anniversary coverage.

1956 Topps #255 Bob Lemon

The 1976 inductees for the Hall of Fame were Pitchers Bob Lemon and the Phillies own Robin Roberts.

As part of the All-Star game festivities the two were made honorary captains for the squads. Lemon who spent his entire career with the Indians was affiliated with the AL while Roberts repped the NL.

Haller
Bob Lemon was a borderline Hall of Famer who had been on the Ballot over a dozen times prior to being elected in 1976. His resume is by a World Championship with the 1948 Indians. Lemon recorded 2 wins in the series including the game six clincher.  The seven time All-Star garnered AL Pitcher of the Year honors from the Sporting News three times, He won 20 games seven times and lead the AL three times. Lemon was a durable starter leading the league in complete games five times, innings four times and Strikeouts and Shutouts once each. 

Lemon spent three years during the early part of his career in the Navy. The time lost was likely a significant consideration for Hall of Fame voters. 

Flip

1956 Topps #255 Bob Lemon (b-side)

I want to start with the last cartoon. I like how they point out Bob Lemon moved from the infield to pitching. The switch was made following Lemon's return from the service. Note that the cartoon has the hitter batting left-handed and the pitcher throwing righty, which matches the description of Mr Lemon.

Now I want to take a look at the middle panel. In the politically correct 21st century I am not sure we would see this cartoon on the back of a baseball card.

Getty Got It
According to the Getty Images archive the posed action shot was taken on September 28 1954, the day prior to game one of the World Series. However, I doubt the accuracy of that info as Lemon is wearing Home White on the card and in the photo and game 1 of the '54 series was played at the Polo Grounds.

However, if the photo is from prior to 1954 Game 1 it is connected to this card in the 1959 Topps Set. Yes that is correct, that is the game in which Willie Mays made "the Catch" at the Polo Grounds.

The Bob Lemon Action Shot is from the Otto Bettmann Collection.

Bob Lemon HoF Index
1978 Topps #574 (As Player/As Manager)

Sources and Links
1976 ASG 40th Anniversary Index
YouTube - 1976 All-Star Game
SABR Bio Jon Barnes
baseball-ref
baseball almanac
Getty Images 

ANNIVERSARY: April 17 1976 Mike Schmidt 4 Home Run Game

Missed a Phillies anniversary yesterday and wanted to correct that error today. Special thanks to @HighHeatStats for mentioning the event last night or else I would have completely bypassed the occasion.

2008 UD Baseball Heroes #138 Mike Schmidt 

On April 17th of 1976 Mike Schmidt became the first NL player to hit four consecutive Home Runs in a game. The feat was commemorated on the above card in the 2008 UD Baseball Heroes set.

2008 UD Baseball Heroes #138 Mike Schmidt (b-side)

The back has a capsule summary of the wild game which the Phillies eventually won 18-16.  Schmidt's final Home Run of the four broke a 15-15 tie in the 9th inning.

Upper Dreck
Just gotta mention one of those things that will always bug me, Schmidt's four homer game came at Wrigley field but the UD card captures him in a Home uni - slackers.

Sources and Links
Phungo Mike Schmidt HoF Index
High Heat Stats Twitter
Baseball-Ref 

HoF Laker Elgin Baylor

With Sunday Night Baseball in LA and the recent retirement Kobe Bryant I wanted to take a look at one of the first LA Lakers, Elgin Baylor

1961-62 Fleer #46 Elgin Baylor

Elgin Baylor played the entirety of his Hall of Fame career with the Lakers, but in two different towns, 2 seasons in Minnesota and a dozen in LA.

The 11 time All-Star earned the Final Four Most Outstanding Player award with Seattle U in 1958. He followed that up by being drafted first overall and winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award for 1958-59.

Baylor was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977. Following his playing career Elgin stayed in basketball as a coach with the Utah Jazz and executive with the LA Clippers.  He was named to the NBA All-Time Teams for both the leagues 35th (1980) and 50th (1996) Anniversaries.

1961-62 Fleer #46 Elgin Baylor (b-side)

The last 22 cards of 1961-62 Fleer Hoop are Action shots. The simple clean backs don't contain stats but do have a healthy paragraph on the player. In addition there is a nice closing sentence describing the action in the shot on the card front.

Phungo Colleciton V1.0
There are two 61-62 Fleer cards in the Phungo collection, they are both from my childhood collecting years. I am not sure how they came into my hands but I was 11 or 12 at the time, which would have been the late 1970s. I think it my father may have gotten them from a co-worker. At the time they were the oldest cards in the collection.

A Classmate who was a bigger sports nerd than myself had to explain who Elgin Baylor was. That classmate is now working in a University Sports Info Department.

Sources and Links
Cardboard Connection
Basketball-Ref
NBA.com

1976 All-Star Game +40: Sparky Anderson 1978 Topps #401

With the Phillies in Cincinnati for Opening Day it gives a chance to look at the leader of the NL All-Star Squad and manager of a Reds squad that placed seven players on the 76 squad.

1978 Topps #401 Sparky Anderson

George Lee "Sparky" Anderson earned the privilege of managing the 1976 All-Star Squad by leading the Reds to capturing the prior years pennant en route to a World Championship. It was the first of three World Series Wins for the Hall of Fame manager who managed in five of them, Four with the Reds and one with the Tigers.

The Five League Pennants meant that Anderson got to helm a like number of All-Star teams. His record was 3-2 in the contests with all 3 of the victories coming for the NL.

The 1976 Reds and their 7 all-stars would go onto win 102 games and the final World Series of their 1970s era dynasty.

Anderson was likely an Hall of Fame manager based on his Reds resume alone, if there was any question an additional World Championship with the 84 Tigers rebuffed most doubts.

1978 Topps Managers
I am a fan of these cards, it is a nice variation on an solid and underated base design. The dual pictures which couples a current photo with a shot of the manager from their playing days is a concept that I would like to see Topps reprise in a flagship set - it doesn't have to happen every year, but we shouldn't have to wait 40 years for it to return. 

Source and Links
1976 All-Star Game Index
Sparky Anderson HoF Index
Baseball-ref
Baseball Almanac

Happy 60th Birthday Eddie Murray: 1979 Topps #640

Eddie Murray played for five teams during his career but to me he will always be an Oriole and one of my favorites. Tonight we mark the Hall of Famer's 60th Birthday on Wednesday with a look at his 1979T card.

1979 Topps #640 Eddie Murray

This is 2nd year card of Eddie Murray which followed his first All-Star Season in 1978.  Despite the fact that he only DH'd in one game that is still the first position listed on Murray's 1979 card. Of course this is balanced out on the last couple of Eddie Murray's Topps cards he is listed at First Base despite being primarily a DH.

During the 1978 season the slugger actually played more games at 3rd base (3) than that single game at DH - but he has never been listed on any card as a Third Baseman. Murray played a grand total of 6 games at 3rd, His only 3 as a starter were during that 1978 season.

Flip

1979 Topps #640 Eddie Murray (b-side)

Despite being listed as a DH and All-Star First Baseman and the 1977 AL Rookie of the Year the text blurb on back of Eddie Murray's card drones on about a bunch of defensive stats accrued in the single-A Florida State League.

This is not uncommon for 1979 Topps, Many of the cards for the sets younger players reference either minor league, college or High School accomplishments. For Murray I think neglecting the RoY award is a pretty glaring omission.

Baseball Dates
The B-side flair for 1979T are trivia Qs related to random dates in Baseball History. The Eddie Murray Card references a Mets Astros game from April 15 1968. The 24 inning marathon was finally won 1-0 by the Astros when Bob Aspomonte reached on a Bases Loaded Error by shortstop Al Weis. Alsponte went 0 for 9 in the game.

Lots of other fun facts from the box. The Starting pitchers were Tom Seaver and Don Wilson but Astros Reliever Jim Ray may have been the star of the game. He recorded 11 Strikeouts despite not entering the game until the 14th inning. The Mets used seven relievers in the game, a dozen different players occupied the 9 spot in the batting orders for New York.

Bob Aspomonte did not have the worst 0-Fer in the game - Mets Tommie Agee and Ron Swoboda each went 0 for 10. Each team batted .139 for the game (11/79) and they were a  collective 1-23 with runners in Scoring Position.

Ed Kranepool came close to racking up a games worth of Putouts with 25 at first base for the Mets. His counterpart Rusty Staub logged 23.

Tom Seaver was the only future Hall of Famer who played in the game. Big names involved in the game other than those mentioned above include Cleon Jones, Bud Harrelson, Jimmy Wynn, Doug Rader, and Former Phillies GM Lee Thomas. The Mets manager was Gil Hodges.

Sources and Links
Eddie Murray Phungo HoF Index
Baseball-ref

Phillies Wall of Fame Robin Roberts

Each season I make it a priority to check in on Phillies Alumni weekend. I love seeing the players from my younger years come back to Philadelphia, even if it is to just wave to the crowd. When a club is going to lead the league in losses you look for bright spots anywhere they can be found. 

The 2016 Phillies schedule came out earlier this week and it appears the weekend will occur August 12th &13th versus the Rockies.

2006 Toyota Phillies Wall of Fame Robin Roberts

Each year the Phillies add an alum to their Wall of Fame, the initial induction was of Robin Roberts in 1978.

In 2006 the Phillies issued a set of postcards to honor the "Wallers". Today we have the card dedicated to Roberts.

2006 Toyota Phillies Wall of Fame Robin Roberts (b-side)


Robin Roberts Stats on the back plus a ghosted faux-action shot.


Phillies Wall of Fame Index

Robin Roberts	1978
Richie Ashburn	1979
Chuck Klein	1980
Grover Alexander	1981
Del Ennis	1982
Jim Bunning	1984
Ed Delahanty	1985
Cy Williams	1986
Granny Hamner	1987
Paul Owens	1988
Steve Carlton	1989
Mike Schmidt	1990
Larry Bowa	1991
Chris Short	1992
Curt Simmons	1993
Dick Allen	1994
Willie Jones	1995
Sam Thompson	1996
Johnny Callison	1997
Greg Luzinski	1998
Tug McGraw	1999
Gavvy Cravath	2000
Garry Maddox	2001
Tony Taylor	2002
Sherry Magee	2003
Billy Hamilton	2004
Bob Boone	2005
Dallas Green	2006
John Vukovich	2007
Juan Samuel	2008
Harry Kalas	2009
Darren Daulton	2010
John Kruk	2011
Mike Lieberthal	2012
Curt Schilling	2013
Charlie Manuel	2014

Pat Burrell            2015
Jim Thome           2016
 (Pete Rose)          2017 (rescinded)
Roy Halladay       2018
Pat Gillick            2018
Bobby Abreu       2019
Manny Trillo        2020


There is also a Section of the Wall dedicated to the Philadelphia A's

Philadelphia A's Wall of Fame

Connie Mack	1978
Jimmie Foxx	1979
Lefty Grove	1980
Al Simmons	1981
Mickey Cochrane	1982
Jimmy Dykes	1984
Eddie Plank	1985
Rube Waddell	1986
Eddie Collins	1987
Wally Moses	1988
Bob Johnson	1989
Elmer Valo	1990
Chief Bender	1991
Jack Coombs	1992
Frank Baker	1993
Bobby Shantz	1994
Eddie Joost	1995
Ed Rommel	1996
Ferris Fain	1997
Bing Miller	1998
Sam Chapman	1999
George Earnshaw	2000
Gus Zernial	2001
Rube Walberg	2002
Rube Oldring	2003

Sources and Links
Phungo Robin Roberts HoF Index
Phillies

50th Anniversary: Sandy Koufax = Perfect

Most of the season we have been looking back 25 years to the Year of the No-Hitter.  Today we turn the clock back an additional quarter century and find ourselves on the day that Sandy Koufax became the first man to pitch four no-hitters.

That fourth No-Hitter was also a Perfect Game.

2007 UD Masterpieces #17 Sandy Koufax

Love the Image on the card. Four Baseball symbolizing the Four No-Hitters and The 29 year old Sandy Koufax with a reluctant smile that he can't hold back. Hard to believe 13 months later his career would be over.

Flip

2007 UD Masterpieces #17 Sandy Koufax (b-side)

The text on the back of the card tells the story of the Perfect Game in which the Dodgers beat the Cubs by the narrowest of margins 1-0. The hard luck loser was journeyman pitcher Bob Hendley who pitched a 1-Hitter giving up only an unearned run.

The Cubs lineup that day featured three future Hall of Famers, Ernie Banks (3 Strikeouts), Billy Williams (2 Ks), and Ron Santo (1 K). Of course on the other side of the ledger there were two Cubbies making their Major League Debut Don Young and future Phillie Bryon Browne.

Notable Dodgers in the Lineup were Maury Williams, Willie Davis, Catcher Jeff Torborg (see below), and Lou Johnson who scored the Dodgers lone Run and got the games only hit.    

I re-read the chapter on Koufax's Game in James Buckley Jr's "Perfect". Couple of interesting things in the article.

1) The Cubs were in LA for one game only, Apparently this was part of the regular schedule NOT a rain out make-up.
2) The final out was a strikeout of Harvey Kuenn who was also the the last out in Koufax's 2nd No-Hitter.
3) The Cubs Bob Hendley pitched to two over the minimum for an 8-inning start, meaning only 53 batters came to the plate combined. The Lowest possible Combined PAs is 52, which has never been done.  
4) The Perfect Game was the 2nd of three called by Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully: Don Larsen, Koufax, and Denny Martinez. Both the Larsen and Martinez Perfectos were versus the Dodgers.

Scully's call of the final 3 outs of the Perfect Game can be heard at Archive.org. If you stay with the recording to the end Vin Scully can be heard in an interview, he notes that he specified the time of day during this broadcast in an effort to add something special to the No-hitter since Sandy Koufax already had 3 recordings of the 9th innings of his no-hitters.

Much of Buckley's essay was derived from an interview with Catcher Jeff Torborg who caught no-hitters in Both Leagues. In addition to the Koufax Perfecto Torborg while with the Angels caught Nolan Ryan's first No-Hitter. He is one of 3 men to have caught No-Hitters in both leagues  - all 3 have caught Perfect Games as well (Gus Triandos - Jim Bunning (NL - Phillies vs Mets) & Hoyt Wilhelm (AL) , and Ron Hassey Len Barker (AL) & Denny Martinez (NL))

Sources and Links
Phungo Sandy Koufax HoF Index
Phungo No-Hitter Card Index 
archive.org 
Perfect - James Buckley Jr 
SABR Baseball Games Project - Mike Huber
Sandy Koufax Time Capsule
baseball-ref
Baseball Almanac

1966 Topps #100 the Final Sandy Koufax Card

Going to put up this quick posting to use as our Sandy Koufax HoF Index.  Hopefully fill in some details later in the season.

1966 Topps #100 Sandy Koufax

Picked up this trimmed beauty for $5 at a card show last winter

Sandy Koufax HoF Index
2007 UD Masterpieces #17 (Perfect Game Anniversary/4 No-Hitter)

2009 UD Signature Stars Pedro Martinez

Pedro Matrinez finished his Hall of Fame career with a dozen starts for the Philadelphia Phillies. Dueu to his notoriety in the game he likely has as more Phillies Cards than games pitched with the club.

2009 Signature Series #SSD-8 Pedro Martinez

Above we present one of those cards - 09 UD Sign Sealed Delivered uses a newspaper layout format to create the atmosphere of a signing announcement on this card. The signing date of July 14th differs from the Baseball-Ref transaction by a day for some reason,

Flip

2009 Signature Series #SSD-8 Pedro Martinez (b-side)

UD did get the date of Pedro's first game as a Phillie correct, August 12th - He got the W in a 12-5 Phillies victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field

Sources and Links
Pedro Martinez HoF Index
Baseball-ref

Sunday Night Baseball Dodgers @ Pirates

Tonight the Pittsburgh Pirates host the LA Dodgers on Sunday Night Baseball. Our Pirates card to mark the occasion is an insert from 2015 Topps.

 2015 Topps Inspired Play #I-15 Willie Stargell & Andrew McCutchen

Topps frequently produces subsets that tie together players from different eras. This year they dubbed that set Inspired Play.

The Pirates entry into the subset features 1970s era Hall of Famer and team leader Willie Stargell. The current pirates feature Centerfielder Andrew McCutchen who fulfills a similar role.  

Currently Andrew McCutchen's career is much more advanced then Stargell's was at age 28. Going into the season McCutchen's career WAR was 33.3 - compare that with 11.5 for Stargell. McCutchen wins the traditional numbers as well BA McCutchen .299, Stagell .278, HR McCutchen 128-112, RBI 462-411, and Stolen Bases 143-5. Stargell does have McCutchen in Slugging Pct, but by just 2 points.

At age 27 Willie Stargell had one HoF in his SimScore Top 10 - Frank Thomas at #8. Andrew McCutchen has 3 HoFs Andre Dawson (#2) Billy Williams (#7) and Dave Winfield (#9)

 2015 Topps Inspired Play #I-15 Willie Stargell & Andrew McCutchen (b-side)

Inspired Play
IP is a 15 card insert set representing half the teams in the league, which led me to believe that this may be a continuity set with the other 15 cards in S2. This was not the case and it appears this may be series one only. Card I-5 features the Phillies connecting a pair of the teams great soutpaws Steve Carlton and Cole Hamels. Five of the 15 cards serve as a base for relics, The Phillies are amongst the 5 (#IR-HC)

Sources and Links
Willie Stargell HoF Index
Cardboard Connection
baseball-ref