1978 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  35
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.  The backs of the photo cards are blank and there's no indication on the cards themselves that they're from 1978.  Some of the cards contain blue facsimile autographs, as noted on the checklist below.  Tug McGraw's card features a rare horizontal format to fit his post wind-up photo.

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.  The set's checklist is comprised of the manager, five coaches, the entire 25-man opening day roster and two players acquired via trades in mid-June - Rawly Eastwick and Dick Ruthven.  As fellow collector Rick pointed out in a comment to this set's original post, there are action and portrait variations for the Tim McCarver and McGraw cards.  I'm not sure which versions are more prevalent, so I've included both in the standard checklist below.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically): 

1. Carroll Beringer CO         2. Bob Boone (action, auto) 3. Larry Bowa (auto) 4. Warren Brusstar (action) 5. Jose Cardenal (auto) 6. Steve Carlton (action, auto)       7. Larry Christenson 8. Billy DeMars CO 9. Rawly Eastwick (action) 10. Barry Foote (action) 11. Gene Garber (action) 12. Bud Harrelson (action)

13. Richie Hebner (auto) 14. Dave Johnson (auto) 15. Jay Johnstone (action, auto) 16. Jim Kaat (auto) 17. Randy Lerch (action) 18. Jim Lonborg (action) 19. Greg Luzinski (auto) 20. Garry Maddox (action, auto) 21. Jerry Martin (action) 22. Bake McBride (action, auto)       23. Tim McCarver (portrait)         24. Tim McCarver (action)

25. Tug McGraw (portrait) 26. Tug McGraw (action) 27. Jim Morrison 28. Danny Ozark MG (auto) 29. Ron Reed (action) 30. Ray Rippelmeyer CO 31. Dick Ruthven (action) 32. Mike Schmidt 33. Ted Sizemore (action, auto) 34. Tony Taylor CO (auto) 35. Bobby Wine CO (auto)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (0)

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (4):  Cardenal, Eastwick, Harrelson, Morrison
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (25):  Boone, Bowa, Brusstar, Carlton, Christenson, Foote, Garber, Hebner, Johnson, Johnstone, Kaat, Lerch, Lonborg, Luzinski, Maddox, Martin, McBride, McCarver (2), McGraw (2), Reed, Ruthven, Schmidt, Sizemore

Manager (1):  Ozark
Coach (5):  Beringer, DeMars, Rippelmeyer, Taylor, Wine

Surprises:  The Phillies made two fairly significant trades on back-to-back days on June 14th and June 15th.  First, Jay Johnstone and Bobby Brown were traded to the Yankees for Eastwick.  A day later, Gene Garber was sent to the Braves for Ruthven.  Both Eastwick and Ruthven are featured in action photos for their cards, meaning these update cards were issued as early as late June.

Bob Boone's card uses the same photo as his 1977 photo card, but with a slightly different autograph placement.

Omissions:  The Phillies teams of the late 1970s were mostly very good teams, which correlates to little to no roster turnover.  There were 10 players who appeared with the 1978 Phillies who did not appear in this photo card set, and all with good reason.  Of the 10, only Orlando Gonzalez made his season debut before September and he only appeared in 26 games.  Pete Mackanin, Horacio Pina and Dan Larson all joined the organization in September.  Three September call-ups saw action early that month - Lonnie  Smith, Todd Cruz and Kerry Dineen - while three other prospects made their season debuts on the final day of the season, October 1st - Keith Moreland, Kevin Saucier and Dan Boitano.

Variations/Rarities:  Rick also confirmed the existence of a Mike Schmidt variation, with a blue facsimile autograph.

Signature Variation 1. Mike Schmidt (auto)

Harrison/Erickson 1. Phillie Phanatic

And while not part of the team issued set, there is a 1978 color postcard of the Phillie Phanatic issued by the Phanatic's creators Harrison/Erickson.  Perhaps this could be considered the Phanatic's rookie card?  Finally, I added a photo card of coach Carroll Beringer to my collection over the past few years that is slightly larger than the standard 3 1/4" x 5 1/2" photo cards.  I don't know what year this would have been issued, but I've included it below for reference.  Beringer was the team's bullpen coach between 1973 and 1978.

Also See:  1978 Phillies Spring Training and 1978 SSPC Baseball the Phillies Way - Part One and Part Two.

Resources:  The Trading Card Database; Phillies collectors Steve F. and Rick G.

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.

 

1977 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards / 1979 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards

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

Series Preview - Reds at Phillies: April 9th to April 11th

1978 Topps #20

2018 Chachi 1978 Topps Missing Links #4

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

Reds 2-6, 5th place in the N.L. Central, 4 1/2 games behind the Pirates
Phillies 3-5, 4th place in the N.L. East, 4 games behind the Mets

Reds Probables:  Cody Reed (0-0, 0.00), Homer Bailey (0-2, 4.22), Luis Castillo (0-2, 9.00)
Phillies Probables:  Ben Lively (0-1, 3.18), Aaron Nola (0-0, 2.61), Nick Pivetta (1-0, 2.79)

At the Ballpark:  Tuesday night will be the first Dollar Dog night of the season at the ballpark.

Reds Leaders
Average:  Eugenio Suarez - .296
Runs:  Eugenio Suarez - 5
Home Runs:  Adam Duvall and Eugenio Suarez - 2
RBIs:  Eugenio Suarez - 7
Stolen Bases:  Billy Hamilton and Scott Schebler - 1

Wins:  Tyler Mahle and Wandy Peralta - 1
ERA:  Homer Bailey and Tyler Mahle - 4.22
Strikeouts:  Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle - 9
Saves:  Raisel Iglesias - 2

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Rhys Hoskins - .440
Runs:  Three tied with - 6
Home Runs:  Maikel Franco and Carlos Santana - 2
RBIs:  Maikel Franco - 11
Stolen Bases:  Cesar Hernandez and Rhys Hoskins - 2

Wins:  Three tied with - 1
ERA:  Aaron Nola - 2.61
Strikeouts:  Nick Pivetta - 12
Saves:  Jake Thompson - 1

1978 Topps Appreciation:  Rawly Eastwick and Pete Rose were first teammates on the 1974-1977 Reds teams that won World Series titles in 1975 and 1976.  They briefly reunited with the Phillies  during the 1979 season.  Eastwick's card in the 1978 Topps set features him with the Cardinals although he'd spent that season splitting time with the Yankees and Phillies.

I created a few custom cards, including this card of Eastwick, for players who spent time with the club in 1978 but didn't appear with the Phillies within the 1978 Topps set.

Phillies Missing Links of the 1980s - #7 Jim Kern

#37
James Lester Kern
Relief Pitcher

Over 30 years ago when I read in the transaction column of our newspaper that the Phillies hadJim Kern, I knew exactly what Kern looked like thanks to his many fantastic baseball cards. Kern had been a three-time All-Star with the Indians and Rangers in the late 1970s, and I had long admired his colorful baseball cards, some featuring him with a semi-maniacal grin.

signed pitcher

Kern was signed by the Phillies on June 3rd, the day after they placed Tug McGraw on the 21-day disabled list with shoulder soreness.  The hirsute righty reliever had been unemployed since being released by the White Sox on March 1st.

With the Phillies, Kern appeared in eight games, allowing 15 earned runs on 20 hits and 11 walks in 13 1/3 innings for a 10.13 ERA.  If you remove his dreadful first appearance (see box score), his Phillies stats become slightly more respectable - 6.57 ERA, 13 hits and 9 runs in 12 1/3 innings.  When McGraw was activated from the disabled list on July 27th, the Phis released Kern.

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'5"  Weight:  185
Born:  March 15, 1949, Gladwin, MI
Signed:  Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent, September 4, 1967
Major League Teams:  Clevelad Indians 1974-1978, Texas Rangers 1979-1981, Cincinnati Reds 1982, Chicago White Sox 1982-1983, Phillies 1984, Milwaukee Brewers 1984-1985, Cleveland Indians 1986
Professional Affiliations:  Clevelad Indians 1968-1978, Texas Rangers 1979-1981, Cincinnati Reds 1982, Chicago White Sox 1982-1983, Phillies 1984, Milwaukee Brewers 1984-1985, Cleveland Indians 1986

Phillies Career
8 games, 0-1, 10.13 ERA in 13 1/3 innings
Acquired:  Signed as a free agent formerly with the Chicago White Sox, June 3, 1984
Debut:  June 10, 1984 - Entered in the 12th inning of a 5-5 game against the Pirates and allowed 7 runs on 7 hits in the loss
Final Game:  July 20, 1984
Departed:  Released, July 27, 1984, and signed with the Milwaukee Brewers on August 8, 1984

1975 Topps #621

1979 Topps #573

1983 Donruss #355

1983 Fleer #240

0 Kern Baseball Cards in My Collection
First Card:  N/A
Last Card:  N/A

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1975 Topps #621 (with John Denny, Rawley Eastwick and Juan Veintidos)
First Topps Base Card:  1975 Topps #621
Last Mainstream Card:  1983 Topps #772
Other Notable Cards:  1979 Topps #573, 1981 Topps #197, 1982 Donruss #89, 1982 Topps #463

Sources:  Thanks to Friend O' the Blog Steve F. for the photo of Kern from a 1984 Phillies program! Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

This is a continuing series looking at those players who spent time with the Phillies but possess no baseball card proof of their time in Philadelphia.  I will make my way through the decade of the 1980s first and then work my way forward.  In some cases, the First and Last Mainstream cards listed above have been subjectively chosen if multiple cards were released in that year.

Phillies at Reds: September 3rd to September 5th

Great American Ball Park - Cincinnati, OH
Monday 1:10, Tuesday 7:10, Wednesday 12:35

Phillies 64-70, Tied for 3rd Place in the N.L. East, 17 1/2 games behind the Nationals
Reds 82-53, 1st Place in the N.L. Centeral, 9 1/2 games ahead of the Cardinals

Phillies Probables:  Tyler Cloyd (0-1, 4.50), Kyle Kendrick (8-9, 4.01), Roy Halladay (8-7, 4.02)
Reds Probables:  Cueto (17-6, 2.48), Mat Latos (11-4, 3.79), Mike Leake (7-8, 4.45)

At the Ballpark:  There are no give-aways scheduled while the Phillies are visiting Cincinnati, although two afternoon ballgames in three days is pretty exciting in and of itself.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Jimmy Rollins - .248^

Runs:  Jimmy Rollins - 79

Home Runs:  Jimmy Rollins - 16*

RBIs:  Carlos Ruiz - 58*

Stolen Bases:  Juan Pierre - 32

Wins:  Cole Hamels - 14

ERA:  Cole Hamels - 3.04

Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 178

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 31

^Hunter Pence, now with the Giants (.271) and Shane Victorino, now with the Dodgers (.261) have the overall team lead among players with enough qualifying plate appearances.

*Hunter Pence has the overall lead with 17 home runs and 59 RBIs.

1979 Topps #271, #20, #126 and #301

1979 Topps Flashback:  It's another smorgasbord of ex- and future-Phillies for today's flashback as the Phils and Reds match up for the second and final time of 2012.

Rawley Eastwick and Joe Morgan were both members of the Big Red Machine, winning the World Championship in 1975 and 1976.  Eastwick came to the Phillies in June 1978 when the Phillies shipped Jay Johnstone to the Yankees.  In a year and a half with the Phils, Eastwick appeared in 73 games out of the bullpen, pitching to a 4.61 ERA.  He was released by the Phillies just prior to the 1980 season.

Morgan was the N.L. MVP in '75 and '76.  He joined his former Reds teammates Pete Rose and Tony Perez on the Phillies in 1983, where he helped the Phillies advance to the postseason.  He had an awful N.L.C.S. against the Dodgers (1 for 17, .067), but a decent World Series against the Orioles (5 for 19, .263).

Doug Bair and Tom Hume spent time in Philly at the end of their careers.  Bair appeared in 11 games for the 1987 club, going 2-0 with a 5.93 ERA.  Hume appeared in 86 games with the Phils in 1986 and 1987.  He was one of the team's most effective relievers in 1986, tallying a 4-1 record with four saves and a 2.77 ERA in 94 1/3 innings.