Happy Trails Randy Wolf

We got the news that Randy Wolf announced his retirement last week. The southpaw will turn 40 later this summer and had a fine 16 year career. It does bring a bit of sadness to Phungo HQ as he was always a house favorite.

2003 Fleer Tradition #U256 Randy Wolf

Corinne Landrey wrote a terrific tribute to Randy Wolf's career over at Crashburn Alley which can be found here. Wolf's was an important player that bridged the era between the 1993 and 2007 NL Pennant teams but never got to play in the postseason with the Phillies. There are times when I look at those lean years with fondness and think about Scott Rolen, Mike Lieberthal, Bobby Abreu and Randy Wolf - That crew deserved better.  

Randy Wolf has two careers; his first eight seasons all with the Phillies and the other eight which he spent as a journeyman pitching for seven different clubs. And Yes as noted by the above Fleer Tradition card Randy Wolf represented the Phillies at the 2003 All-Star Game in Chicago.

2003 was the final of four consecutive seasons where he recorded double digit wins for the Phillies. He deserved the honor as he was coming off perhaps his best season (2002: 11-9, 3.20 ERA, 210 IP, 172Ks).

flip

2003 Fleer Tradition #U256 Randy Wolf (b-side)

The back of the card tells the story of Wolf's sole All-Star appearance. The game was a 7-6 AL victory played at US Cellular Field in Chicago.  The strikeouts were recorded against Jorge Posada and Alfonso Soriano. The RBI was ceded on a single to Carlos Delgado who plated Ichiro.

2003 Fleer Tradition
The '03 Fleer Tradition release homages the original 1963 set, I don't think there were all-star cards in that set. These 2003 cards do a decent job of echoing the 60s stylistically, but really don't appear to close to 1963F. The one nod is retaining the card numbering element, a circle backed by crossed bats.

Sources and Links
Corinne Landry - Crashburn Alley 
Baseball Cardpedia
baseball-ref 

1964 Phillies @ 50: Clay Dalrymple 1963 Fleer #52

Tonight we return to our 1964 Phillies feature with the Phillies Catcher Clay Dalrymple.

1963 Fleer #52 Clay Dalrymple

Prior to 1964 Dalrymple had a couple of decent offensive seasons as the Phillies full time Catcher. For the 64 campaign Manager Gene Mauch elected to platoon the left-handed Dalrymple with Gus Triandos. The part-time play was likely not the reason, but Clay developed a hitch in his swing and never really recovered. Prior to 1964 during his age 23 through 26 seasons Dalrymple hit 30 of his 55 career home runs. His career BA after those four seasons was .252. He would stick around the league for 8 more seasons as a defense first catcher and would never hit above .245 again. 

His defensive reputation certainly appears deserved. For his career Dalrymple eliminated a very impressive 49% of base stealing attempts. Three times he led the league in Caught Stealing, Those same three seasons (61, 63, 65) he also led the NL in assists.

While he didn't get to the World Series with the 1964 Phillies, Dalrymple did get to play in the Fall Classic as a member of the 1969 Orioles. He was also a member of the 1970 World Champion Orioles, although he was not a part of the postseason roster. In 71 he was on the roster for the O's AL Championship squad but did not appear in any games.

Clay Dalrymple now 77 lives in Northern California, He has been married five times - and a Widower twice. His first wife, Celia, died of cancer near the end of his playing career.

Dalrymple stayed in contact with major league baseball in various capacities after his retirement as a player. His time with the Orioles include a stint as a color commentator. In 2005 Dalrymple submitted a heartfelt letter to the Baltimore Sun regarding the death of the towns legendary broadcaster Chuck Thompson - Dalrymple commented on the support that Thompson gave him as he began a new career.

1963 Fleer
1963 Fleer is a set that I am fond of and at various times have considered building. The abbreviated set is a mere 66 cards - Due to a legal action from Topps, Fleer was only able to produce a single series. The series is significant for containing the first Maury Wills card.

There are five Philies in the set that run from #50-54. If you want an easy to build Vintage Phillies team set, this may be the one for you, The cards can often be found for $2.     

My only quibble with the set is the drawing of the catcher in the bottom left. He is clearly demonstrating poor form. You have to get that off hand behind your back, no need to get it busted by a foul tip.

For more info on 1963 Fleer please read the Cardboard Connection article by the late Chris Stufflestreet   

Sources & Links
1964 Phillies Index
Year of the Blue Snow (Rory Costello)
Baseball-ref
Baltimore Sun

2013 12 08 Philly Show - 1963 Fleer #50 Ruben Amaro

1963 Fleer #50 Ruben Amaro

The December version of the PhillyShow was a bit of a mess for a variety of reasons. Shane Victorino was unable to make the show and the promoter failed to update their website.

There are a variety of reasons why cancellations might happen and it is usually excusable. Both local promoter Poppel and regional CSA (who run the Chantilly Show) seems to do a good job of keeping their customers updated.   At the PhillyShow I think there is at least a 50% chance of at least one guest no-show and I have NEVER seen a pre-show announcement by Hunt Auctions or Philly Show regarding a cancellation.  In Fact the Shane Victorino appearance is STILL on the Sports Vault website
(as of 12/17)

Okay enough of that drama. Lets talk about some cards - first up a couple of 1963 Fleer Cards

The Ruben Amaro card above is one of two 1963F Phillies cards that I picked up. The other was #54 Art Mahaffey.

1963 Fleer #54 Art Mahaffey

1963 Fleer is a set that I am fond of and at various times have consider building. The abbreviated set is a mere 66 cards - Due to a legal action from Topps, Fleer was only able to produce a single series. The series is significant for containing the first Maury Wills card.

There are five Philies in the set. The Amaro and Mahaffey cards seen here are the bookends for the 63F Phillies team set which runs from #50-54. The three middle cards are Johnny Callison, Clay Dalrymple and Don Demeter. If you want an easy to build Vintage Phillies team set, this may be the one for you - each of the above cards went for $2.    

For more info on 1963 Fleer please read the Cardboard Connection article by the late Chris Stufflestreet   

Sources
TeamSets4u
Cardboard Connection - Chris Stufflestreet