50 Years Ago: Johnny Callison All-Star Game Hero

One of the highlights for the 1964 Phillies season was in the 35th Midsummer Classic played on July 7 1964.  

1967 Topps #85 Johnny Callison

Less than three weeks after Jim Bunning tossed a perfect game versus the Mets another Phillies player had a memorable day at Shea Stadium. Johnny Callison came up with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning of a tie ballgame. With two men on the left-handed hitter pulled the first pitch into the right field stands. The 3 run homer gave the NL a dramatic 7-4 victory.

The 1964 Phillies SABR collection Year of the Blue Snow has a chapter dedicated to Callison's Home Run in the 1965 ASG. Among the interesting tidbits unearthed by SABR biographer Mel Marmer are that Johnny Callison came into the game as a pinch hitter for the pitcher (Bunning) and expected to be removed. However, Hank Aaron wasn't feeling well and Callison ended up remaining in the game. Callison Also got to face the same pitcher twice, Dick "the Monster" Radatz.  In his first AB Callison flew out to CF Mickey Mantle. In the 9th versus Radatz, Callison felt he needed a lighter bat and used the lumber of future HoF ASG teammate Billy Williams.

Callison's fly out came on a low pitch from Radatz. Apparently it was deep enough to scare "the Monster" and the pitcher threw a High Fastball for his first pitch. Callison folllowed the same thought process, correctly guessing the pitch and location enabling him to connect perfectly.

1967 Topps #85 Johnny Callison #85 (b-side)

Johnny Callison's ASG heroics are the subject of the first cartoon on the flip side of his 1967 Topps Cards

1967 Topps
Last year we discussed Callison's HR during our 2013 ASG coverage - The game was hosted by the Mets for the first time since the Day Callison hit his dinger. Around the same time the card was also profiled by the 1967 Topps Blog

More 1964 Phllies
1964 Phils Series  Index


Sources
Baseball-ref
YouTube/The Baseball Page
The Year of the Blue Snow: The 1964 Phillies

Shea Stadium Opening 1964 04 17 - 50 Years Ago Today

Team Phungo isn't going to make a habit of Mets milestones, but I thought today we would put together a quick posting regarding the 50th anniversary of Shea Stadium

  

1964 04 17 Shea Stadium Opening Day Tix and Program

The Mets musuem/HoF whichis located in the new Citifield had some neat items including the above 1964 Opening ticket.  You can click on the photo to enlarge it, A field level box that day went for $3.50. 

 

ReWind: 1964 All-Star Game - 1965 Topps #310 Johnny Callison

The Last time the All-Star Game was hosted by the Mets was at old Shea Stadium in 1964.  The game was a big one for one Phillies Rep.   

1965 Topps #310 Johnny Callison

With the scored tied in 2 outs in the 9th Johnny Callison hit a 3 run homer to give the NL a 7-4 walk off victory.

The moment noted on the reverse of Callison's 1965 Topps card: 

1965 Topps #310 Johnny Callison(B-side)

1965 Topps

Commons from the much loved 65T set can often be found in the 3/Buck bin.  A semi-star like Callison would likely fetch somewhere between 50 cents adn a dollar. Commons from the set run from #1-370. The High Numbers start at 371 and run to the end of the set, 598. Non-stars among High Numbers go for around a dollar.

Other Voices

ESPN recently ran a full length piece on Callison and his famous Homer here.

1967 Topps #85 Johnny Callison

Sources

Baseball-ref.com

ESPN.com

2008 09 07 Shea Stadium Visit

Things have gone rather poorly for the Phils since winning the early Sunday game at Shea. The Phils were 1 game back of the Mets at the time, but that deficit has grown to three games. However, this cannot erase the good time that was had on our trip to New York. What follows is a review largely composed immediately following the trip.

Our trip to New York to check out the Phils and Mets was a good time all around. Team Phungo got to check out Shea Stadium before it closed, There was great weather, and The Phils Won.

We made the sound decision to not embark on a trip to New York on Saturday and fortunately the game was postponed long before the scheduled start time. Sunday provided much better post-hurricane weather and with many fans not present due to the move of the game, we were able to move to improved seats in the shade and behind the plate. Shea Stadium is simply what it is, an older symmetric stadium that doesn't have either the personality of an older stadium nor the fancy comforts of a newer stadium. We were in the upper level where concessions were fairly limited. There was a good dose of Nathan's products, including a Corn Dog, which was tasty although a bit greasy. Beers went for $8 a bottle, the limited selection did include the local Brooklyn Lager. Transportation to the park is only $2 via the 7 train from Manhattan, which is about a half hour ride.

This is the big scoreboard in Shea's Right Centerfield.

The completion of the early contest on Sunday meant there were but 14 remaining games at Shea. The Mets marked the occasion by having the son of Gil Hodges (his name escapes me now) remove the #15 and reveal #14, which was Gil Hodges uniform number as the Manager of the '69 Miracle Mets.

Hodges' 14 is one of three numbers retired by the Mets, the other are Casey Stengel's 37 and Tom Seaver's 41. The Mets as with all Major League teams have also retired Jackie Robinson's #42. The Shea Final Season Banner can be seen at the Left of the Photo. Hodges hit 370 homers during an 18 year career which he finished as a Met in 1963. The bulk of his career was spent with the Brooklyn and LA Dodgers with whom he played for World Champions in both cities.
1959 Topps #270 Gil Hodges

Hodges number isn't retired by the Mets for the two season that he spent as a player but for the 1969 season when he was the manager of the Miracle Mets. The 69 team along with the 86 Mets and several other NL and Divisional crown winning teams are recognized with banners beyond the outfield wall at Shea.

Notice that there in no 2007 Banner on that wall!

This is roughly the spot where Bill Buckner let that grounder bounce through the five hole during game 6 of the '86 World Series.

The Arthur Ashe Tennis center is located on the opposite side of the rail line from Shea. The Men's semis of the US Open were occurring during the Phils Mets game, you can see the jumbo-tron above the stadium. I blew up the shot and I think that might be Christie Brinkley on the screen. In the left center portion of the shot you can see the globe created for the 1964 Worlds Fair.

Here is a slightly closer look at the globe.

and Finally, next time we see the Mets it will likely be in the new Citi Field.

Ballparkdigest is an excellent resource for stadium information here is a link to their Shea Stadium Page.

The only other thing we had time for in our New York excursion was dinner at Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles.We were in a rush to get to the train after dinner so I did not get a picture. The restaurant was pricey as expected but very nice, with good food and great service.

2008 09 07 Phillies 6 @ Mets 2

Just some quick pictures from our trip up to Shea Stadium to see the Phils take on the Mets. Fortunately we caught the first game which the Phils won behind another great performance by the ageless Jamie Moyer. Greg Dobbs had the big hit on offesnse knocking out a 3 run homer against Pedro Martinez.
Another good day in the sun for Jamie Moyer. I was pretty happy the Mets announced the postponment of the game early on Saturday. The weather on Sunday was near perfect for baseball.

Here is a picture both Mets and Phils fans can enjoy.

There are several banners of Mets greats hung from the rafters in the lower concourse. This is one of Tug McGraw.

Here is another one more for the Mets Fans.
Luckily, The only time we saw The Big Apple make an appearance was not for a Mets Home Run but during the 7th innning stretch.

More pictures, highlights, and commentary later in the week.