Philly Baseball Card Show Report - Rainy, Quick Trip

We weren't supposed to attend this show, as Doug had a travel baseball tournament scheduled for the weekend in the Toms River area.  The torrential downpour that started on Friday night scuttled those plans, so we pivoted and made the hour-plus drive to Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest Philadelphia Sports Collector Show, better known as The Philly Show.

Our goals were simple.  Doug wanted to add a Michael Lorenzen signature to the recently released Phillies scorecard celebrating the pitcher's August no-hitter.  Lorenzen may not return in 2024, and this could have easily been the only chance to get his autograph before he moves on.  I wanted to add at least one Diamond Stars card and hopefully a few 1969 Topps star cards.  My massive 1969 Topps haul from March is still mostly sitting on my project table, as life and work have forced me to step away from my 1969 Topps blog for a little bit.  (I hope to return to it in October.)

We drove through a hard, steady rain, navigated our way through the confusing admission lines, found the not-well-marked autograph pavilion, stood in line again, purchased our autograph tickets and waited our turn.  I made an impulse Jim Thome autograph ticket purchase, as I wanted to have the Hall of Famer sign his Phillies Alumni photo card.

For the first time ever, I spent all my allotted money at one table and one table only.  Technically, it was two tables, but the two dealers from the Buffalo area were working together and even provided me with a joint business card.  From the Ed Hans side of the table, I found a Paul Waner card needed for my 1934-36 Diamond Stars set build, which is steadily plugging along.  From the Gary Nuchereno side of the table, I first settled on four star cards needed for our 1969 Topps set - all in good shape and very reasonably priced.  After we secured Thome's and Lorenzen's autographs, I went back and found 11 needed commons and semistars from the same dealer's 1969 Topps binder.

Doug spent his money on Ultra Pro supplies with nary a new baseball card purchased.  We were on our way out in less than two hours, me with 16 new cards for my two current, primary set builds and a Thome autograph, Doug with his signed Lorenzen scorecard and some much needed supplies.  We'll now rest up and get ready to likely do a little more damage at the next show in December.

Recent Memory Lane

Valley Forge 12 - December 2021 - Huge haul of 1965 Topps, Jim Thome

Valley Forge 13 - March 2022 - Easy like Sunday morning, close to completing 1965 Topps

Oaks 3 - December 2022 - 1965 Topps set completed, dent made in 1969 Topps, Schwarber, Vierling and Stott

Oaks 4 - March 2023 - Huge haul of 1969 Topps and five Diamond Stars cards added

Oaks 5 - September 2023 - Thome, Lorenzen, only 26 cards purchased from two dealers

1972 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  40
Card Size:  3 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Description:  As was the case with all Phillies photo cards issued throughout the 1970s, these cards feature a black and white photo with the players' name below.  With the exception of the card for coach Brandy Davis, all cards contain a blue facsimile autograph.  The backs of the photo cards are blank and there's no indication on the cards themselves that they're from 1972.

How Distributed:  The photo cards were handed out to fans individually and supplied to the players in order to reply to fan mail or honor autograph requests.  I could be wrong, but I don't believe the cards were ever available in complete set form.  After an original batch of 30, featuring the manager, the coaches and the 25-man opening day roster, an additional 10 cards were released throughout the season, as evidenced by the inclusion of John Bateman, Jim Nash and Gary Neibauer.  The Phillies traded Tim McCarver to the Expos on June 14th for Bateman.  Nash and Neibauer were acquired from the Braves on June 15th for Joe Hoerner and Andre Thornton.

Studying the back of a 1972 Phillies schedule that contains photos of the entire 25-man opening day roster, I've noticed what I believe to be a few discrepancies with the scans presented with the set's entry at the Trading Card Database.  I believe the photos posted online for the cards of Darrell Brandon, coach Doc Edwards and Chris Short are actually from 1971.  The photos the Phillies most likely would have used for these three photo cards are contained on the scan shown here.  I can confirm this for the Brandon card, as I have that in my collection.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically): 

1. Mike Anderson 2. John Bateman 3. Bob Boone 4. Larry Bowa 5. Darrell Brandon 6. Byron Browne 7. Steve Carlton      8. Bill Champion 9. Brandy Davis CO 10. Billy DeMars CO            11. Denny Doyle 12. Doc Edwards CO 13. Roger Freed 14. Woodie Fryman

15. Oscar Gamble 16. Terry Harmon 17. Joe Hoerner 18. Tommy Hutton 19. Deron Johnson 20. Pete Koegel 21. Barry Lersch 22. Joe Lis          23. Frank Lucchesi MG 24. Greg Luzinski 25. Tim McCarver 26. Don Money 27. Willie Montanez 28. George Myatt CO

29. Jim Nash 30. Gary Neibauer 31. Ken Reynolds 32. Ray Rippelmeyer CO 33. Bill Robinson 34. Mike Ryan 35. Mac Scarce 36. Dick Selma 37. Mike Schmidt 38. Chris Short 39. Ron Stone 40. Wayne Twitchell

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (2):  Bateman, Neibauer

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (9):  Anderson, Boone, Carlton, Hutton, Nash, Robinson, Scarce, Schmidt, Twitchell
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (23):  Bowa, Brandon, Browne, Champion, Doyle, Freed, Fryman, Gamble, Harmon, Hoerner, Johnson, Koegel, Lersch, Lis, Luzinski, McCarver, Money, Montanez, Reynolds, Ryan, Selma, Short, Stone

Manager (1):  Lucchesi
Coach (5):  Davis, DeMars, Edwards, Myatt, Rippelmeyer

Surprises:  The biggest surprise is the inclusion of top prospect Mike Schmidt, who made his Major League debut on September 12th.  The 10 photo cards added for players (and one coach) not on the opening day roster were (in order of their season debut) - coach Davis, Oscar Gamble, Bateman, Neibauer, Nash, Joe Lis, Bill Robinson, Mac Scarce, Bob Boone and Schmidt.  The future Hall of Fame third baseman appeared within two sets in 1972, the year before his iconic rookie card appeared with the 1973 Topps set - this set and the Puerto Rico Stickers set, both of which are extremely difficult to find.  This set is also notable for containing the first Phillies cards of both Boone and Steve Carlton.

Omissions:  Only 4 of the 38 players to appear with the Phillies in 1972 are not in this set.  Reliever Bill Wilson made his season debut in late July and appeared in 23 games.  The other three players - pitchers Bob Terlecki and Dave Downs along with infielder Craig Robinson - all made their season debuts in August or September.  The only notable omission is the Phillies' second manager during the season, Paul Owens.  Owens, the team's general manager, fired Lucchesi in mid-July and assumed control of a team that would go on to lose 97 games.  

Variations/Rarities:  My only source for this set is the checklist found at The Trading Card Database, and that listing appears to have incorrect photos for the Doc Edwards and Chris Short cards.  I have two versions of the Terry Harmon card in my collection - one with and one without a blue facsimile autograph.

Also See:  1972 Topps #PR1 Mike Schmidt (This is a Phillies Room tribute to what Schmidt's 1972 Topps card could have looked like.)

Resources:  The Trading Card Database

This set was originally featured in a post back in January 2015, and I'm going to slowly go through these team-issued set posts and update them with new information learned (if any) over the past six years.

 

1971 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards / 1973 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards

1970-1979 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List / Phillies Team Issued Sets Index Page

Series Preview - Phillies at Braves: July 2nd to July 4th

2019 Chachi 1971 Topps Missing Links #2

1971 Topps #507

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 7:20
SunTrust Park - Atlanta, GA

At the Ballpark:  On Tuesday night, all fans in attendance will receive a Braves All-Star poster, featuring the team's representative(s) in the upcoming 2019 All-Star Game.  A postgame fireworks show will follow Thursday night's game.  (I always find it odd when there are night games on a holiday.)

1971 Topps Missing Links:  Acquired from the White Sox on January 12th for Rick Joseph, Bucky Brandon spent the entire season in the Phillies bullpen and led the team in appearances with 52.  He appeared in the team's 1971 Photocard set, but he'd have to wait until 1972 to receive his first Topps card with the Phillies.  In three seasons with the club from 1971 to 1973, Brandon compiled a 15-17 record with a 4.06 ERA over 130 games.

The Phillies Room is taking a short summer break, and semi-regular posting will resume shortly.

Red Sox at Phillies: May 29th to May 30th

Wednesday and Thursday 7:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Red Sox 32-21, 1st Place in the A.L. East, 1 game ahead of the Yankees
Phillies 25-27, 3rd Place in the N.L. East, 6 1/2 games behind the Braves

Red Sox Probables:  John Lackey (3-4, 2.72), Jon Lester (6-1, 3.34)
Phillies Probables:  Kyle Kendrick (4-3, 3.29), Jonathan Pettibone (3-0, 3.21)

At the Ballpark:  All kids will receive a W.B. Mason collectible Phillies truck at tonight's ballgame.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Chase Utley - .272

Runs:  Domonic Brown and Chase Utley - 21

Home Runs:  Domonic Brown - 11

RBIs:  Domonic Brown - 30

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 9

Wins:  Cliff Lee - 6

ERA:  Cliff Lee - 2.34

Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee - 63

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 10

1973 Topps #317, #326, #467 and #424

1973 Topps Flashback:  It's a hodge podge for today's flashback, as I have four players from the 1973 Topps set with connections to both the Phillies and the Red Sox.

Danny Cater began his 12-year Major League career by playing in 60 games with the 1964 Phillies.  He played for four other American League teams between 1965 and 1971 before landing in Boston in 1972.  As a back-up to first baseman Carl Yastrzemski, Cater appeared in 211 games over three seasons with the Red Sox, hitting .262.

Darrell "Bucky" Brandon began his career with parts of three seasons with the Red Sox (1966-1968) and ended his career with three seasons as a middle reliever for the Phillies (1971-1973).  He was actually one of the more dependable relievers for the 1972 team, going 7-7 with a 3.45 ERA.  His seven wins that season were good enough for second place on the team, behind Steve Carlton's 27.

Save for 15 games with the 1974 Pirates, Irish Mike Ryan spent his entire 11-year playing career with the Red Sox (1964-1967) and Phillies (1968-1974).  Known more for his defense, Ryan finished just south of the Mendoza Line with a .193 career average.  Following his playing days, Ryan coached with the Phillies from 1980 until 1995.

Denny Doyle is perhaps best remembered for his role on the 1975 Red Sox squad that eventually lost the World Series to the Reds in seven games.  Doyle came to the Red Sox in a June 1975 trade with the Angels, and he'd hit .310 in 89 games while playing solid defense at second base.  He had a hit in all seven 1975 World Series games.  Doyle began his career with four seasons with the Phillies (1970-1973).