1996 Phillies Team Issue

I updated this post here in October 2020 and this original post is now outdated.

 
Number of Cards:  36
Card Size:  4" x 6"
Description:  The Phillies got wild and crazy with the design of their 1996 set, doing away with the red band and white lettering used since 1989 and instead using "scruffy" white lettering as described by the set's entry in the 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards.  The card backs feature biographical information along with complete career statistics, and the 1996 All-Star Game logo.

How Distributed:  The original 36-card set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium throughout the season.  The Catalog notes that the set was sold for $9, which seems high given that the 2014 set sold for $5.  For the second year in a row, there was no update set issued.

Complete Standard Checklist:  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

2 - Larry Bowa CO 3 - John Vukovich CO 4 - Lenny Dykstra 5 - Mike Benjamin 8 - Jim Eisenreich 9 - Pete Incaviglia 10 - Darren Daulton 11 - Jim Fregosi MG 12 - Mickey Morandini 14 - Denis Menke CO 18 - Benito Santiago 19 - Kevin Stocker 22 - Mark Whiten 23 - Kevin Jordan 24 - Mike Lieberthal 25 - Gregg Jefferies 26 - Lee Tinsley 27 - Todd Zeile

28 - Tyler Green 30 - Dave Cash CO 33 - Russ Springer 34 - Howard Battle 37 - Steve Frey 41 - Mike Williams 42 - Toby Borland 43 - Dave Leiper 44 - Mike Grace 45 - Terry Mulholland 46 - Johnny Podres CO 47 - Michael Mimbs 50 - Sid Fernandez 51 - Ken Ryan 52 - Ricky Bottalico 54 - Carlos Crawford 59 - Joe Rigoli CO Phillie Phanatic

One and Done (4):  Benjamin, Crawford, Frey, Leiper
First Appearances (10):  Battle, Fernandez, Grace, Jordan, Ryan, Santiago, Springer, Tinsley, Whiten, Zeile
Returning Players (14):  Borland, Bottalico, Daulton, Dykstra, Eisenreich, Green, Incaviglia, Jefferies, Lieberthal, Mimbs, Morandini, Mulholland, Stocker, Williams

This is the only place to find Phillies cards for short-timers Benjamin, Crawford, Frey and Leiper.  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, Cash, Menke, Podres, Rigoli, Vukovich
Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic returns to the set after a one year absence.
Broadcasters (0)
Commemorative Cards (0)

Variations/Rarities:  I'm not aware of any variations or rarities to be found connected to this set.  However . . . the Tinsley card has somehow eluded my collection for almost twenty years.  I'm convinced that the original set I purchased at the Vet was missing the Tinsley card, as I can't imagine somehow, for some strange reason, misplacing the card.

As an update to my Tinsley situation, please see Rick's comments to this post.  The Tinsley card was actually a card for fellow outfielder Glenn Murray, featuring his photo.  I'm wondering now if the Phillies pulled the card upon noticing the error, which would explain why the set I purchased didn't include the card.

The card was reissued later in the year with the same photo but correctly containing Murray's name.  Rick points out that the following cards were available at either the ALS fund raising event or they were made available to players to honor autograph requests.  Scott Rolen's number when he was first recalled was #6.

6 - Scott Rolen 15 - Ricky Otero 17 - Desi Relaford 35 - Bobby Munoz

39 - Rich Hunter 56 - Glenn Murray 58 - Jim Wright CO

Also See:  1996 Phillies - The Missing Links; 1996 Topps Phillies, includes recollections from the 1996 All-Star Game at the Vet.
Trivia:  The Beckett database lists the entire 36-card set.
Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

1995 Phillies Team Issue

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

 
Number of Cards:  36
Card Size:  4" x 6"
Description:  For the seventh and final year, 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.  At the time, I considered it a major step forward that the set's designer had actually modified the appearance of the backs of the cards.
How Distributed:  The original 36-card set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium throughout the season.  Unless I've completely missed it, there was no update set issued, marking the first time since 1986 that no new cards were issued later in the season.

Complete Standard Checklist:  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

2 - Larry Bowa CO 4 - Lenny Dykstra 5 - Gary Varsho 7 - Mariano Duncan 8 - Jim Eisenreich 9 - Mike Ryan CO 10 - Darren Daulton 11 - Jim Fregosi MG 12 - Mickey Morandini 13 - Charlie Hayes 14 - Denis Menke CO 15 - Dave Hollins 16 - Tony Longmire 17 - Dave Gallagher 18 - John Vukovich CO 19 - Kevin Stocker 23 - Randy Ready 25 - Gregg Jefferies

26 - Mel Roberts CO 27 - Lenny Webster 28 - Tyler Green 33 - Gene Harris 35 - Bobby Munoz 37 - Norm Charlton 38 - Curt Schilling 39 - Kyle Abbott 40 - David West 42 - Toby Borland 45 - Michael Mimbs 46 - Johnny Podres CO 48 - Paul Quantrill 51 - Heathcliff Slocumb 52 - Ricky Bottalico 1 - Richie Ashburn HOF 20 - Mike Schmidt HOF Phillies Team

One and Done (0)
First Appearances (7):  Bottalico, Gallagher, Harris, Jefferies, Mimbs, Varsho, Webster
Returning Players (19):  Abbott, Borland, Charlton, Daulton, Duncan, Dykstra, Eisenreich, Green, Hayes, Hollins, Longmire, Morandini, Munoz, Quantrill, Ready, Schilling, Slocumb, Stocker, West

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 (0)
Broadcasters (0)
Commemorative Cards (2):  Ashburn, Schmidt
Other Cards (1):  Team card

Ashburn and Schmidt were both inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 30th.  The backs of their cards indicate their Hall of Famer status and list career highlights.

Variations/Rarities:  I'm not aware of any variations or rarities to be found connected to this set.  As confirmed by Rick's comment, no other variations exist other than the issuance of a few of the cards containing facsimile autographs.

Update (1/25/20):  Rick added a Larry Andersen photo card to his collection with a 1995 copyright date, the same photo as Andersen's 1994 photo card and this quote on the back:  "You're only young once, but you can be immature forever."  Andersen spent the 1995 season as the pitching coach for the Reading Phillies.

Also See:  1995 Topps Phillies - featuring a list of the 92 players (including replacement players) in camp with the Phillies during spring training 1995.  Similar to what they did in 1994, Mellon PSFS (a local Philadelphia based bank) sponsored a 25 card set handed out to all kids 14 and under at the June 17th 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.com database doesn't list this set at all.  The 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards lists this set, and the listing contains the same 36 cards as in the checklist above.  The same photo of coach Mike Ryan is used in the 1994 and 1995 team issued sets.

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

42 - Toby Borland 48 - Paul Quantrill 50 - Andy Carter Phillie Phanatic 1994 Phillies All-Stars

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)

Cards on Cards Delivers Mystery Card

I'm still amazed whenever a Phillies (or Phillies-related) baseball card appears that I didn't realize ever existed.  If you've been following along over the past few weeks, I'm slowly working my way through the Phillies team issued sets from the past 50-plus years, in an attempt to once and for all catalog the cards, rarities and variations that are available from these sets.  I've been getting almost daily e-mails and receiving comments from faithful collectors such as Rick and Steve F., and I genuinely get excited when they inform me of cards I had no idea existed.

This past week, I added another new card to my collection from the heretofore unknown-to-me 1995 Comic Images set, which was released with Phil Rizzuto's name attached to it.  I recently won a contest held by Cards on Cards, and I requested that my winnings be sent addressed to my oldest son Doug.  The cards arrived yesterday with a few extras, including this Shibe Park card.  I negotiated with Doug to let me add that card to my collection, and he graciously agreed.

According to the Beckett database, the 1995 Comic Images set contained "nostalgic images of players, teams, stadiums and memorabilia from the turn of the century until the present day."  I completely missed this set upon its initial release almost twenty years ago, and its hard to tell from reviewing the checklist if there are any other Phillies-related cards in the set.

So thanks again to Cards on Cards for sending this card our way.  After all these years of collecting, it's always cool to discover a "new" card.

1980 to 1989 Phillies Team Issued Sets Want List

This want list is no longer being updated, and a new want list can be found here.

 

1982 Tastykake Phillies Rose

1980 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards

1. Luis Aguayo 2. Ruben Amaro CO 3. Ramon Aviles (capitals) 4. Bob Boone 5. Larry Bowa 6. Warren Brusstar 7. Steve Carlton 8. Larry Christenson 9. Billy DeMars CO (auto) 10. Lee Elia CO (auto)

11. Nino Espinosa 12. Dallas Green MG (auto) 13. Greg Gross 14. Lerrin LaGrow 15. Dan Larson (capitals) 16. Randy Lerch 17. Greg Luzinski 18. Garry Maddox (auto) 19. Bake McBride  20. Tug McGraw (auto)

21. Keith Moreland 22. Scott Munninghoff 23. Dickie Noles 24. Ron Reed 25. Pete Rose (batting, auto) 26. Pete Rose (portrait, auto, capitals) 27. Dick Ruthven (auto) 28. Mike Ryan CO 29. Kevin Saucier 30. Mike Schmidt

31. Lonnie Smith (auto) 32. Herm Starrette CO (auto) 33. Manny Trillo 34. Del Unser 35. George Vukovich 36. John Vukovich 37. Bob Walk (capitals) 38. Bobby Wine CO

1981 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards

1. Luis Aguayo 2. Ruben Amaro CO 3. Ramon Aviles (auto) 4. Bob Boone (horizontal) 5. Larry Bowa 6. Marty Bystrom (auto) 7. Steve Carlton (horizontal) 8. Larry Christenson 9. Dick Davis (auto)

10. Billy DeMars CO (auto) 11. Lee Elia CO 12. Nino Espinosa (auto) 13. Dallas Green MG (auto) 14. Greg Gross 15. Sparky Lyle 16. Garry Maddox (auto) 17. Gary Matthews

18. Bake McBride (auto) 19. Tug McGraw 20. Keith Moreland (horizontal) 21. Mike Proly (auto) 22. Ron Reed 23. Pete Rose (auto) 24. Dick Ruthven (auto) 25. Mike Ryan CO (auto)

26. Mike Schmidt (horizontal) 27. Lonnie Smith (horizontal) 28. Herm Starrette CO 29. Manny Trillo (horizontal) 30. Del Unser 31. John Vukovich 32. Bobby Wine CO (auto) Tim McCarver (broadcaster)

1982 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards

1. Luis Aguayo 2. Porfi Altamirano 3. Dave Bristol CO 4. Warren Brusstar 5. Marty Bystrom 6. Steve Carlton 7. Larry Christenson 8. Pat Corrales MG 9. Dick Davis 10. Mark Davis

11. Ivan DeJesus 12. Bob Dernier 13. Bo Diaz (action) 14. Ed Farmer 15. Greg Gross 16. Deron Johnson CO 17. Mike Krukow 18. Sparky Lyle 19. Garry Maddox 20. Gary Matthews

21. Len Matuszek 22. Tug McGraw 23. Sid Monge 24. Claude Osteen CO 25. Ron Reed 26. Dave Roberts 27. Pete Rose 28. Dick Ruthven 29. Mike Ryan CO

30. Mike Schmidt 31. Manny Trillo (without hat) 32. Del Unser 33. Ozzie Virgil 34. George Vukovich 35. Bobby Wine CO Bo Diaz (portrait) Bill Robinson (no Tastykake logo) Manny Trillo (with hat)

1983 Tastykake Phillies

Phillie Phanatic (variation - not on ATV)

1987 Tastykake Phillies Variation

• Phillie Phanatic (on ATV)

1988 Tastykake Phillies Rarities

• 20 - Mike Schmidt - smaller sized card

1973 Phillies Photocards

I updated this post here in November 2020 and this original post is now outdated.

 

Number of Cards:  41
Card Size:  3 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Description:  As was the case with all Phillies photocards issued throughout the 1970s, these cards feature a black and white photo with the players' name below.  The backs of the cards are blank and there's no indication on the cards themselves that they're from 1973.  Most of the cards (excluding the Essian card) have blue facsimile autographs on the fronts.  A lot of the photos used for this set also appear in the 1973 Phillies Yearbook.
How Distributed:  The cards were handed out to fans individually and supplied to the players in order to reply to fan mail or to honor autograph requests.  I could be wrong, but I don't believe the cards were ever originally available in complete set form.

Complete Standard Checklist:

Mike Anderson Carroll Berringer CO Bob Boone Larry Bowa Darrell Brandon Ken Brett Steve Carlton Larry Christenson George Culver Billy DeMars CO Ron Diorio Denny Doyle Jim Essian Billy Grabarkewitz Terry Harmon Tom Hutton Deron Johnson Barry Lersch Jim Lonborg Greg Luzinski Willie Montanez

Danny Ozark MG Jose Pagan Ray Rippelmeyer CO Bill Robinson (portrait, not smiling) Bill Robinson (shoulder visible, smiling) Craig Robinson Mike Rogodzinski Dick Ruthven Mike Ryan Mac Scarce Mike Schmidt Dick Selma Cesar Tovar Cesar Tovar (closer cropped, less hair) Wayne Twitchell (smiling) Wayne Twitchell (not smiling) Del Unser Mike Wallace Billy Wilson Bobby Wine CO

Carlton's page from the 1973 Phillies Yearbook

One and Done (0)
First Appearances (15):  Brett, Christenson, Culver, Diorio, Essian, Grabarkewitz, Lonborg, Pagan, C. Robinson, Rogodzinski, Ruthven, Tovar (two versions), Unser, Wallace
Returning Players (21):  Anderson, Boone, Bowa, Brandon, Carlton, Doyle, Harmon, Hutton, Johnson, Lersch, Luzinski, Montanez, B. Robinson (two versions), Ryan, Scarce, Schmidt, Selma, Twitchell (two versions), Wilson

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):  Ozark
Coaches (4):  Berringer, DeMars, Rippelmeyer, Wine
Phillie Phanatic (0)
Broadcasters (0)
Commemorative Cards (0)

Variations/Rarities:  Based on the checklist found at The Trading Card Database, there are signature variations for the Boone and Schmidt cards.  The cards contain the same photos, but the signature placement differs slightly on both cards.

• Bob Boone - signature variation
• Mike Schmidt - signature variation

There are also three players (Robinson, Tovar and Twitchell) who have two versions of their cards available featuring different photos.  I'm not sure which variation is more prevalent than the others, so I've listed these variations as part of the main checklist above.

Also See:  The Mike Schmidt Rookie Card
Trivia:  I found the Carlton card featured here through an eBay search for "Phillies Photocards."  It was only through the awesome photos provided at The Trading Card Database for this set that I was able to identify this card as being from 1973.  (The eBay auction for this card advertised the Carlton card as being from 1978.)  Collector Dave Sosidka uploaded the checklist and scans of all cards to the databse back in 2011.

The Beckett database entry for this set lists the set as "1973 Phillies Team Issue" and contains only 29 cards.
Resources:  The Trading Card Database; Beckett.com

1993 Medford Phillies

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

 
Number of Cards:  45
Card Size:  4" x 6"
Description:  For the fifth 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.  Medford Food Company was in the third year of its sponsorship of the set.  Size-wise, the cards lost an eighth of an inch with this set, settling into the 4" x 6" size that has been used for each team issued set as of this writing.

I always thought this was one of the weakest of the team issued sets from the 1990s, and it's a shame since the 1993 squad is really the only team from the 1990s worth remembering.  Some of the cards suffer from strange cropping, too dark backgrounds and/or blurry photos.

How Distributed:  As originally detailed in this post, the original 35-card set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium through at least early August.  A five-card update set was available for sale at some point during the second half of the season.  A second 36-card set was sold at the ballpark late in the season which included a Bobby Thigpen card and four photo variations of players included within the original 35-card set.  This second set would have been sold at The Vet at some point after Thigpen's acquisition from the White Sox on August 10th.

Complete Standard Checklist (35):  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

2 - Larry Bowa CO 4 - Lenny Dykstra 5 - Kim Batiste 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 17 - Ricky Jordan 18 - John Vukovich CO 22 - Pete Incaviglia 23 - Todd Pratt 24 - Juan Bell 25 - Milt Thompson 26 - Mel Roberts CO

27 - Danny Jackson 28 - Tyler Green 29 - John Kruk 33 - Ruben Amaro 34 - Ben Rivera 37 - Kyle Abbott 38 - Curt Schilling 40 - David West 44 - Wes Chamberlain 45 - Terry Mulholland 46 - Johnny Podres CO 47 - Larry Andersen 49 - Tommy Greene 50 - Jose DeLeon 53 - Bob Ayrault 99 - Mitch Williams Phillie Phanatic

Complete First Update Checklist (5):

19 - Kevin Stocker 30 - Jeff Manto 41 - Mike Williams

48 - Roger Mason 1993 Phillies All-Stars

Complete Second Update Checklist (5):

10 - Darren Daulton (dugout background) 12 - Mickey Morandini (dugout background) 37 - Bobby Thigpen

49 - Tommy Greene (dugout background) 99 - Mitch Williams (bright background)

As mentioned above, these five cards were variations found within a late season 36-card set.

One and Done (0)
First Appearances (13):  Bell, DeLeon, Eisenreich, Green, Incaviglia, Jackson, Manto, Mason, Pratt, Stocker, Thigpen, West, Mike Williams
Returning Players (23):  Abbott, Amaro, Andersen, Ayrault, Batiste, Chamberlain, Daulton (x 2), Duncan, Dykstra, Greene (x 2), Hollins, Jordan, Kruk, Morandini (x 2), Mulholland, Rivera, Schilling, Thompson, Mitch Williams (x 2)

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 walking on the field with the green and black Veterans Stadium outfield wall behind him.
Broadcasters (0)
Commemorative Cards (1):  1993 Phillies All-Stars, featuring Mulholland, Daulton, Fregosi, Kruk and Hollins.

Variations/Rarities:  In addition to the multiple updates available at the Vet throughout the season, it appears as if other cards may have been available either at the annual ALS fund-raising event, or individually to players to honor autograph requests.  Based on a comment to this post, collector Bill W. points out the following 1993 variations in his collection.  Murphy was released prior to the start of the 1993 season and both Davis and Mauser pitched for the Phillies early on in the season.  Per Rick's comment below (and the scans he e-mailed to me) there was also a Schmidt card issued.

3 - Dale Murphy 19 - Kevin Stocker (running) 20 - Mike Schmidt

48 - Mark Davis 52 - Tim Mauser

Also See:  1993 Topps Phillies
Trivia:  The Beckett database makes no mention of any of the update cards, listing only a 35-card set.
Resources:  Beckett.com; 14,000 Phillies; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

Moving On - Seven More Exit Phillies

2014 Chachi #69

The former Phillies club added seven members since my last off-season update in mid-October.  Mike Adams, Kyle Kendrick, Wil Nieves, A.J. Burnett, Koyie Hill and Brad Lincoln are now all officially free agents, and they'll be playing elsewhere in 2015.  On Monday night, Burnett declined his side of an option for 2015 which would have resulted in him earning $12.75 to pitch for a rebuilding Phillies club.  Rather than take the money and play for a team in flux, Burnett decided to try to sign with a contender.

Andres Blanco did not accept his assignment to Lehigh Valley, making him a free agent as well.

Moving On
Reid Brignac (10/2/14) - Elected free agency.
Jeremy Horst (10/2/14) - Elected free agency.
Jeff Manship (10/2/14) - Elected free agency.
Sean O'Sullivan (10/6/14) - Outrighted off the 40-man roster and released.
Tony Gwynn, Jr. (10/10/14) - Outrighted off the 40-man roster and elected free agency.
Mike Adams (10/30/14) - Team option declined, making him a free agent.
Kyle Kendrick (10/30/14) - Elected free agency.
Wil Nieves (10/30/14) - Elected free agency.
Andres Blanco (11/1/14) - Outrighted off the 40-man roster and elected free agency.
A.J. Burnett (11/3/14) - Declined option for 2015, elected free agency.
Koyie Hill (11/4/14) - Elected free agency.
Brad Lincoln (11/4/14) - Elected free agency.

2014 Topps Update #US-77

Catcher Koyie Hill and pitcher Brad Lincoln became free agents yesterday.  Both were in the IronPigs team set and Lincoln had his sole Phillies card in the first team issued set, released in early April.

I have six Phillies baseball cards in my collection for Adams, four of which come from the two team issued sets from 2013 and 2014.  Adams also appears in both the 2013 and 2014 Topps Update sets.  Nieves is in the 2014 Topps Update set as well, and he was in both team issued sets from this past season.

I have five Burnett cards in my 2014 Phillies collection, although three of those cards (Donruss Jersey Kings, Panini Prizm and Topps) feature him wearing a Pirates uniform made to look like a Phillies uniform.  To date, the only cards featuring Burnett in an actual Phillies uniform are from the two team issued sets.

Finally, Kendrick's time with the team comes to an end after a topsy turvy tenure.  Including minor league cards, I have 51 Kendrick cards in my collection dating back to his 2004 card from the Batavia Muckdogs team set.  Unless he appears in a few early 2015 releases with the Phillies, his final Phillies card can be found within the second series of Topps' 2014 flagship set.

1992 Medford Phillies

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

 
Number of Cards:  46
Card Size:  4 1/8" x 6"
Description:  For the fourth 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.  Medford Food Company was in the second year of its sponsorship of the set.

In the spring of 1992, the new Phillies uniform were kept top secret and they didn't make their public debut until opening day.  The cards in this set feature portraits of all players, coaches and the manager in their new uniforms, and (in my opinion) this is one of the nicer team issued sets released by the Phillies.

How Distributed:  The original 36-card base set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium throughout the 1992 season.  The ten card update set was available for sale late in the season.

Complete Standard Checklist (36):  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

2 - Larry Bowa CO 3 - Dale Murphy 4 - Lenny Dykstra 5 - Kim Batiste 6 - Wally Backman 7 - Mariano Duncan 8 - Dale Sveum 10 - Darren Daulton 11 - Jim Fregosi MG 12 - Mickey Morandini 14 - Denis Menke CO 15 - Dave Hollins 18 - John Vukovich CO 19 - Jim Lindeman 24 - Steve Searcy 25 - Mike Ryan CO 26 - Mel Roberts CO 28 - Mitch Williams

29 - John Kruk 30 - Steve Lake 33 - Ruben Amaro 34 - Danny Cox 38 - Curt Schilling 39 - Wally Ritchie 40 - Andy Ashby 44 - Wes Chamberlain 45 - Terry Mulholland 46 - Johnny Podres CO 47 - Kyle Abbott 49 - Tommy Greene 50 - Barry Jones 51 - Cliff Brantley Phillie Phanatic Phillies Team Veterans Stadium Uniforms Through the Years

Complete Update Checklist (10):

9 - Tom Marsh 17 - Ricky Jordan 21 - Pat Combs 23 - Brad Brink 34 - Ben Rivera

35 - Don Robinson 42 - Mike Hartley 45 - Terry Mulholland 48 - Jeff Grotewold 55 - Bob Ayrault

One and Done (1):  Robinson
First Appearances (13):  Abbott, Amaro, Ayrault, Batiste, Brantley, Duncan, Grotewold, Hartley, Jones, Marsh, Rivera, Schilling, Sveum
Returning Players (21):  Ashby, Backman, Brink, Chamberlain, Combs, Cox, Daulton, Dykstra, Greene, Hollins, Jordan, Kruk, Lake, Lindeman, Morandini, Mulholland (two versions), Murphy, Ritchie, Searcy, Williams

Don Robinson's eight game stint with the Phillies to wrap up his 15-year career is commemorated with his sole Phillies baseball card in 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):  Like everyone else in the set, the Phanatic is posed in a studio setting, wearing his new uniform.
Broadcasters (0)
Commemorative Cards (0):  Uniforms Through the Years
Other Cards (2):  Phillies Team, Veterans Stadium

I've shown off the Uniforms Through the Years set in past posts (see the links below), and it's by far one of the coolest cards ever produced for the team issued sets.  Veterans Stadium gets its first card since the 1984 Tastykake Phillies set.

Variations/Rarities:  As Rick points out in his comment below, the Phillies issued the following cards at the annual ALS fund raising event (Phillies Phestival) for players and former players signing autographs.  Of particular interest to me are the cards of the four members of the 1992 squad who didn't have cards in the regular or update sets - Baller, Javier, Millette and Mike Williams.

Steve also commented that Maddox, Noles and Pratt cards are in his collection with a 1992 copyright.  These cards most likely also orginated from the ALS event.

Jay Baller - 1992 Phillies Stan Javier - 1992 Phillies Joe Millette - 1992 Phillies Todd Pratt - 1992 Phillies Mike Williams - 1992 Phillies Dick Allen - Phillies Alumni Steve Bedrosian - Phillies Alumni Dave Cash - Phillies Alumni Sparky Lyle - Phillies Alumni

Garry Maddox - Phillies Alumni Tug McGraw - Phillies Alumni Dickie Noles - Phillies Alumni Bobby Shantz - Phillies Alumni Joe Coleman, Jr. - Non-Phillie Joe Coleman, Sr. - Non-Phillie Joe Torre - Non-Phillie Elmer Valo - Philadelphia A's

Also See:  Scrapbook Sunday: April 7, 1992; Uniforms Through the Years
Trivia:  Mulholland appears twice in the set - once in the original 36-card set and again in the update set.  This of course is very odd and the additional card in the update set could have been used for Stan Javier, who had been acquired from the Dodgers on July 2nd.
Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collectors Rick (@rickphils) and Steve F.

1991 Medford Phillies

I updated this post here in October 2020 and this original post is now outdated.

 
Number of Cards:  46
Card Size:  4 1/8" x 6"
Description:  For the third year in a row, the card fronts feature an action 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.  Medford Food Company took over sponsorship of the set in 1991, and they'd sponsor the set for the next two years.

How Distributed:  The original 35-card base set was available for sale at Veterans Stadium throughout the 1991 season.  Details vary as to how the 11-card update series was originally distributed.  The 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards describes two updates being issued.  The first update being the three card highlight set featuring white bordered cards celebrating the the team's two recent no-hitters and Dale Murphy's 2,000 career hit.

The second update, according to the Catalog, contained eight cards and featured new manager Jim Fregosi, the Phillie Phanatic and six new Phillies players.  I have no recollection of purchasing two separate update sets at the Vet during the 1991 season, but my memory is admittedly starting to get a bit foggy.

Complete Standard Checklist (35):  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

2 - Larry Bowa CO 3 - Dale Murphy 4 - Lenny Dykstra 6 - Wally Backman 8 - Charlie Hayes 9 - Von Hayes 10 - Darren Daulton 11 - Sil Campusano 12 - Mickey Morandini 13 - Roger McDowell 14 - Denis Menke CO 15 - Dave Hollins 17 - Ricky Jordan 18 - John Vukovich CO 21 - Dickie Thon 22 - Hal Lanier CO 23 - Randy Ready 24 - Darrin Fletcher

25 - Steve Lake 29 - John Kruk 30 - Joe Boever 31 - Wes Chamberlain 33 - John Morris 34 - Danny Cox 35 - Darrel Akerfelds 37 - Rod Booker 38 - Pat Combs 40 - Andy Ashby 43 - Ken Howell 45 - Terry Mulholland 46 - Johnny Podres CO 48 - Jason Grimsley 49 - Tommy Greene 52 - Tim Mauser 54 - Jose DeJesus

Complete Update Checklist (11):

Dale Murphy HL Terry Mulholland HL Tommy Greene HL 11 - Jim Fregosi MG 26 - Ron Jones 28 - Mitch Williams

39 - Wally Ritchie 47 - Bruce Ruffin 50 - Steve Searcy 55 - Jim Lindeman Phillie Phanatic

One and Done (0)
First Appearances (9):  Backman, Chamberlain, Cox, Fletcher, Lindeman, Mauser, Morris, Searcy, Williams
Returning Players (27):  Akerfelds, Ashby, Boever, Booker, Campusano, Combs, Daulton, DeJesus, Dykstra, Greene, Grimsley, C. Hayes, V. Hayes, Hollins, Howell, Jones, Jordan, Kruk, Lake, McDowell, Morandini, Mulholland, Murphy, Ready, Ritchie, Ruffin, Thon

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.  I find it strange that all the coaches received cards in the first set, but the manager at the beginning of the season (Nick Leyva) was omitted.  Leyva was fired on April 23rd, so my guess is that this set wasn't finalized until after his departure . . . or the first series originally contained 36 cards and the Leyva card was pulled after his firing.
Coaches (5):  Bowa, Lanier, Menke, Podres, Vukovich
Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is shown posing while sitting on his ATV.
Broadcasters (0)
Commemorative Cards (3):  Greene, Mulholland, Murphy

Mulholland's card celebrates his no-hitter from August 15, 1990, while Green's celebrates his no-hitter from May 23, 1991.  Murphy's card commemorates his 2,000th hit on May 29, 1991.

Variations/Rarities:  As Rick points out in his comment below, the Phillies issued the following cards at the annual ALS fund raising event (Phillies Phestival) for former Phillies signing autographs at the event.

Harry Anderson Gene Garber Maje McDonnell

Ron Reed Eddie Sawyer Curt Simmons

Also See:  Scrapbook Sunday - August 12, 1991
Trivia:  The Beckett database omits the update series and only lists the 35 cards from the base set.  Lindeman's uniform number is listed as #55, which is the number he wore during spring training.  He switched to #19 before the season started, taking the number most recently occupied before him by Kruk.
Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

1979 Phillies Photocards

I updated this post here in November 2020 and this original post is now outdated.

 

Number of Cards:  38
Card Size:  3 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Description:  As was the case with all Phillies photocards issued throughout the 1970s, these cards feature a black and white photo with the players' name below.  The backs of the cards are blank and there's no indication on the cards themselves that they're from 1979.  Some of the cards contain blue facsimile autographs, as noted on the checklist below.
How Distributed:  The 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.

It should be noted that the two cards from this set in my collection (to date) feature actual autographs from the players.  The original Brusstar and Christenson cards were distributed without autographs - facsimile or legitimate.

Complete Standard Checklist:

Ramon Aviles Doug Bird Bob Boone (auto) Larry Bowa (auto) Warren Brusstar Jose Cardenal Steve Carlton (auto) Larry Christenson Rawly Eastwick (auto) Nino Espinosa (auto) Greg Gross Bud Harrelson Jim Kaat (auto) Randy Lerch Jim Lonborg Greg Luzinski (auto) Pete Mackanin (auto) Garry Maddox (auto) Bake McBride (auto)

Tim McCarver Tug McGraw (auto) Rudy Meoli (auto) Dickie Noles Danny Ozark MG (auto) Dave Rader Ron Reed (auto) Pete Rose (auto) Dick Ruthven (auto) Kevin Saucier Mike Schmidt Lonnie Smith (auto) Herm Starrette CO (auto) Tony Taylor CO (auto) Bobby Tiefenauer CO (auto) Manny Trillo (portrait) Manny Trillo (action) Del Unser Bobby Wine CO (auto)

One and Done (1):  Meoli
First Appearances (11):  Aviles, Bird, Espinosa, Gross, Mackanin, Noles, Rader, Rose, Saucier, Smith, Trillo (2 versions)
Returning Players (20):  Boone, Bowa, Brusstar, Cardenal, Carlton, Christenson, Eastwick, Harrelson, Kaat, Lerch, Lonborg, Luzinski, Maddox, McBride, McCarver, McGraw, Reed, Ruthven, Schmidt, Unser

This set is your only hope of ever owning a Rudy Meoli Phillies baseball card.  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):  Ozark
Coaches (4):  Starrette, Taylor, Tiefenauer, Wine
Phillie Phanatic (0)
Broadcasters (0)
Commemorative Cards (0)

The set omits hitting/third base coach Billy DeMars.

Variations/Rarities:  There are two versions of the Trillo card.  One is a hatless portrait photo and the other shows him swinging at the plate.  I'm not sure which is more prevalent than the other, so I've listed them both above as part of the main checklist.

In his comment below, Steve F. points out that the following "error" cards are also available.

• Warren Brusstar (actually depicts Randy Lerch, #47)
• Rawly Eastwick (no auto)
• Dick Ruthven (no auto)

Also See:  My First Phillies Game; 1979 Burger King Phillies #13 Pete Rose
Trivia:  I found the two cards featured here through an eBay search for "Phillies Photocards."  It was only through the awesome photos provided at The Trading Card Database for this set that I was able to identify these cards as being from 1979.  Collector Dave Sosidka uploaded the checklist and scans of all cards to the database back in 2011.  The Beckett database entry for this set lists the set as "Phillies Postcards" and omits the Starrette card.
Resources:  The Trading Card Database; Beckett.com; Phillies collector Steve F.

1952-69 Philadelphia Phillies Photocards Want List

Please see this post for a summary of this multi-year set. 

1. Rich Allen - Glasses 2. Rich Allen - No glasses, Phillies visible 3. Rich Allen - No glasses, cropped              4. Harry Anderson 5. Richie Ashburn 6. Jack Baldschun 7. Dennis Bennett 8. Ed Bouchee 9. Johnny Briggs 10. Jim Bunning       11. Smoky Burgess 12. John Buzhardt 13. Johnny Callison 14. Doug Clemens 15. Jim Coker (see below) 16. Gene Conley 17. Wes Covington 18. Ray Culp 19. Tony Curry (see below) 20. Clay Dalrymple - With glove 21. Clay Dalrymple - Portrait 22. Clay Dalrymple - Portrait, cropped 23. Jacke Davis 24. Don Demeter 25. Dick Ellsworth 26. Del Ennis 27. Dick Farrell - '50s version

28. Dick Farrell - '60s version 29. Chico Fernandez 30. Woodie Fryman 31. Tony Gonzalez - Phillies visible         32. Tony Gonzalez - Phillies partial 33. Dallas Green 34. Dick Groat 35. Granny Hamner 36. John Herrnstein  37. Larry Hisle 38. Grant Jackson 39. Larry Jackson - Phillie visible 40. Larry Jackson - Cropped 41. Deron Johnson 42. Jerry Johnson 43. Willie Jones 44. Jim Konstanty 45. Stan Lopata 46. Art Mahaffey 47. Gene Mauch MG 48. Jack Meyer (see below) 49. Don Money 50. Don Money 51. Wally Post 52. Robin Roberts 53. Cookie Rojas

54. Mike Ryan 55. Ted Savage 56. Eddie Sawyer MG - Facsimile auto 57. Eddie Sawyer MG - No auto 58. Andy Seminick 59. Ray Semproch 60. Chris Short - Phillies visible 61. Chris Short - Phillies partial 62. Roy Sievers 63. Curt Simmons 64. Dick Sisler 65. Bob Skinner MG - Stands behind 66. Bob Skinner MG - No stands 67. Bobby Gene Smith 68. Charley Smith 69. Frank Sullivan 70. Gary Sutherland (see below) 71. Tony Taylor - Facsimile auto 72. Tony Taylor - No auto (see below) 73. Earl Torgeson 74. Gary Wagner 75. Bill White - Portrait 76. Bill White - With bat (see below) 77. Bobby Wine - Phillies visible         78. Bobby Wine - Phillies partial 79. Rick Wise

Special Note:  Fellow collector Rick pointed out to me via text that some of the cards included above are not in fact true team issues.  These are either smaller in size, feature action poses or in some cases are printed on a thicker stock of cardboard.  Rick notes the cards listed above that are almost certainly not team-issued are as follows:  Jim Konstanty, Jack Meyer, Gary Sutherland, Tony Taylor (no auto) and Bill White (with bat).  Collectors should also be aware there are photo cards of similar size and paper stock featuring action shots of Jim Bunning, Chris Short and Rick Wise.  Finally, there's a Mike Ryan card available that is slightly smaller in size than the team-issued version.

1970 to 1979 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List

1990 Phillies Team Issue

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

 
Number of Cards:  45
Card Size:  4 1/8" x 6"
Description:  For the second year in a row, the card fronts feature an action 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 set is sponsor-less, as Tastykake sponsored its final set in 1989 and the Medford Food Company wouldn't come along as the new sponsor until 1991.

How Distributed:  It took me years to track down this set, and I finally found one in late September at The Philly Show.  The dealer I bought the set from told me these cards were never sold in complete set form and that he had hand-collated the entire 1990 set.  According to him, the cards were distributed four or five at a time throughout the season at Veterans Stadium.  An eight-card update set was produced very late in the season, featuring what was most likely Dale Murphy's first Phillies baseball card.  Murphy was acquired from the Braves on August 3rd.

Complete Standard Checklist (37):  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

4 - Lenny Dykstra 6 - Sil Campusano 8 - Charlie Hayes 9 - Von Hayes 10 - Darren Daulton 11 - John Kruk 13 - Roger McDowell 15 - Dave Hollins 16 - Nick Leyva MG 17 - Ricky Jordan 21 - Dickie Thon 23 - Randy Ready 24 - Carmelo Martinez 25 - Steve Lake 26 - Ron Jones 27 - Curt Ford 28 - Tom Herr 31 - Jim Vatcher 35 - Darrel Akerfelds

37 - Rod Booker 38 - Pat Combs 39 - Dennis Cook 42 - Don Carman 43 - Ken Howell 45 - Terry Mulholland 47 - Bruce Ruffin 49 - Jeff Parrett 51 - Chuck McElroy 54 - Jason Grimsley 1 - Richie Ashburn RET 20 - Mike Schmidt RET 32 - Steve Carlton RET 36 - Robin Roberts RET Phillie Phanatic Phillies Coaches Phillies Broadcasters PRISM Broadcasters

Complete Update Checklist (8):

3 - Dale Murphy 30 - Joe Boever 34 - Dickie Noles 46 - Brad Moore

48 - Marvin Freeman 49 - Tommy Greene 53 - Chuck Malone 54 - Jose DeJesus

One and Done (0)
First Appearances (15):  Akerfelds, Boever, Booker, Campusano, Combs, DeJesus, Freeman, Greene, Grimsley, Hollins, Malone, Martinez, McElroy, Murphy, Vatcher
Returning Players (21):  Carman, Cook, Daulton, Dykstra, Ford, C. Hayes, V. Hayes, Herr, Howell, Jones, Jordan, Kruk, Lake, McDowell, Moore, Mulholland, Noles, Parrett, Ready, Ruffin, Thon

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):  Leyva
Coaches (1):  The coach's card features Larry Bowa, Darold Knowles, Hal Lanier, Denis Menke, Mike Ryan and John Vukovich.
Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic returns after a one year absence.  The photo used pictures him atop the Phillies dugout.
Broadcasters (2):  The core TV/radio broadcast team of Richie Ashburn, Harry Kalas, Andy Musser and Chris Wheeler are featured on a card.  The PRISM broadcast team of Jim Barniak, Garry Maddox and Mike Schmidt are featured on another.
Commemorative Cards (4):  Ashburn, Carlton, Roberts and Schmidt

Schmidt's #20 was retired in a pre-game ceremony on May 26th, and cards of the four players to have their numbers retired - Ashburn, Roberts, Carlton and Schmidt - are included in the set.  Also of interest is Schmidt's first card as a broadcaster, featuring him with his fellow PRISM broadcasters.  Schmidt's first stint as a broadcaster lasted just the one season.

For those of you not in the Philadelphia area, PRISM was the Philadelphia-based HBO equivalent that broadcast a handful of Phillies games every year between 1976 and 1997.

Variations/Rarities:  Fellow collector Rick left a few comments on this post and sent me an e-mail with scans showing cards made available at the 1990 ALS fund raising event (now the Phillies Phestival) at Veterans Stadium.  The Phillies issued cards celebrating the ten year anniversary of the 1980 World Champions, issuing the ten cards listed below.  Solo cards were also issued for coaches Bowa and Lanier.

2 - Larry Bowa CO 22 - Hal Lanier CO Larry Bowa Dallas Green MG Greg Gross Greg Luzinski

Garry Maddox Bake McBride Tug McGraw Paul Owens Manny Trillo Del Unser

Also See:  The Mysterious Jim Vatcher Card
Trivia:  The Beckett database incorrectly lists the set as "1990 Phillies Tastykake" even through the Tastykake logo or name is nowhere to be found on the set.  The Beckett database also omits the eight update cards.  The 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards lists the set at "1990 Phillies Photocards," and omits the Vatcher card from the main set.  For years, my want list for this set included only 44 cards as most published checklists for the set omit the Vatcher card.
Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)