Monday, November 10, 2014

1994 Phillies Team Issue

I updated this post here in September 2023 and this original post is now outdated.
 

Number of Cards:  46
Card Size:  4" x 6"
Description:  For the sixth year in a row, the card fronts feature a photo with the player's, coach's or manager's name in a red band with white text.  The card backs feature biographical information along with complete career statistics.  The card backs also feature the club's 1993 N.L. Champions logo.  From this point forward (as of this writing), the Phillies team issued sets have been sponsor-less.  Medford Food Company sponsored its third and final set in 1993.

How Distributed:  The original 36-card set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium throughout the season.  A ten-card update series was produced and sold at the ballpark in the second half of the season, before the strike ended the season prematurely on August 11th.

Complete Standard Checklist (36):  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.
  • 2 - Larry Bowa CO
  • 4 - Lenny Dykstra
  • 5 - Kim Batiste
  • 6 - Todd Pratt
  • 7 - Mariano Duncan
  • 8 - Jim Eisenreich
  • 9 - Mike Ryan CO
  • 10 - Darren Daulton
  • 11 - Jim Fregosi MG
  • 12 - Mickey Morandini
  • 14 - Denis Menke CO
  • 15 - Dave Hollins
  • 16 - Tony Longmire
  • 17 - Ricky Jordan
  • 18 - John Vukovich CO
  • 19 - Kevin Stocker
  • 22 - Pete Incaviglia
  • 23 - Doug Jones
  • 25 - Milt Thompson
  • 26 - Mel Roberts CO
  • 27 - Danny Jackson
  • 28 - Tyler Green
  • 29 - John Kruk
  • 34 - Ben Rivera
  • 35 - Bobby Munoz
  • 37 - Norm Charlton
  • 38 - Curt Schilling
  • 40 - David West
  • 41 - Mike Williams
  • 43 - Jeff Juden
  • 44 - Wes Chamberlain
  • 46 - Johnny Podres CO
  • 47 - Larry Andersen
  • 48 - Roger Mason
  • 49 - Tommy Greene
  • 51 - Heathcliff Slocumb
Complete Update Checklist (10):
  • 3 - Billy Hatcher
  • 21 - Tom Marsh
  • 24 - Mike Lieberthal
  • 31 - Randy Ready
  • 33 - Fernando Valenzuela
One and Done (1):  Carter
First Appearances (12):  Borland, Charlton, Hatcher, Jones, Juden, Lieberthal, Longmire, Marsh, Munoz, Quantrill, Slocumb, Valenzuela
Returning Players (24):  Andersen, Batiste, Chamberlain, Daulton, Duncan, Dykstra, Eisenreich, Green, Greene, Hollins, Incaviglia, Jackson, Jordan, Kruk, Mason, Morandini, Pratt, Ready, Rivera, Schilling, Stocker, Thompson, West, Williams

The Jones card in the original 36-card set lists his date of birth of January 2, 1972.  This was corrected with a second Jones card (with an identical photo) issued with the update set.

Andy Carter's only Phillies baseball card can be found within the update set.  The First Appearance designation is for players who have never before appeared within a Phillies team issued set.  These players may have already appeared on other Phillies baseball cards.

Manager (1):  Fregosi
Coaches (6):  Bowa, Menke, Podres, Roberts, Ryan, Vukovich
Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is shown atop the Phillies dugout, wearing his blue hat which was briefly introduced at certain home games during the 1994 season.
Broadcasters (0)
Commemorative Cards (1):  1994 Phillies All-Stars, featuring Vukovich, Fregosi, Podres, Dykstra, Jones, Jackson and Duncan.

Variations/Rarities:  The update series is fairly difficult to track down.  I attended a few games at the Vet that July, adding the set to my collection.  Phillies collector Rick also points out the following variations in his comment below.
  • 15 - Dick Allen (with 1994 copyright)
  • 23 - Doug Jones (corrected birthday of 6/24/57)
Finally, Rick also adds that some of the popular players (including Kruk) had cards issued including a facsimile autograph.

Also See:  Mellon PSFS (a local Philadelphia based bank) sponsored a 25 card set handed out to all kids 14 and under at the June 26th game.  As this is also a team-issued set, I'd like to eventually put together a post for these cards as well.  (H/T to Phillies SGA for the date of the giveaway.)
Trivia:  The Beckett database lists the set as "1994 Phillies Medford" even though Medford Food Company was not the sponsor of this set.  The listing also omits the ten card update set.  The set's listing in the 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards lists the set as "1994 Phillies Photocards" and includes only the base 36 cards.
Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

4 comments:

Steve F. said...

I'm loving this series--keep 'em coming! (Cue Rick to now list the variations/rarities that the rest of us have never seen or even heard of but now desperately need.)

I was part of two groups of friends' partial season ticket plans that year, and I was at the final game before the strike (which I seem to recall lasted late into the evening, challenging the west coast games for the last baseball of the year, and which, as I recall, was ended by a walk-off hit by Ricky Jordan). However, I apparently didn't buy the update set at the time because I had to pick it up on eBay a few years ago.

One thing I remember well about that season is that if you couldn't make a game, you could trade in your season tickets for any future game. I could see where the season was going and so I traded in at least 10 tickets, if not more, for fan appreciation day, which I figured would either be wiped out by the strike or else I would be the host for a whole lot of people to attend with me. Obviously it turned out to be wiped out, and so I got a nice credit back to my CC from the Phillies that fall.

Jim said...

Thanks Steve. I'm enjoying putting these posts together and it's a nice little diversion from what will most likely be a depressing offseason.

We had a Sunday plan in 1994, and I believe we just chose to let it ride over to 1995.

@Rickphils said...

As requested: The update set included a Doug Jones card with an identical photo as the original set. However, if you look at the back on the original it lists him as 22 (Born: Jan 2, 1972) and the update his correct age as 37 (Born June 24, 1957). So Steve if you have the update and the original they aren't doubles. The Phillies sent out a number of the postcards with facsimile autographs including Kruk and other of the popular players. There is also a 1994 Dick Allen with full stat back (as opposed to the 1992 Dick Allen (Phillies insignia on back with copyright date).

Jim said...

Thanks Rick. I've updated the post for your comment.

The Jones card in my collection has the 6/24/57 birth date, so I'm guessing I bought my set towards the latter part of the season.

And how in the world did anyone ever figure out this was an available variation?!