1960-1969 Phillies

Similar to what I did after finishing up my posts on the 1951 to 1959 Topps Phillies cards, I wanted to bookend the 1960 to 1969 Topps Phillies series with one final post to summarize the tumultuous decade.

2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions #15, 2001 Fleer Greats of the Game #66,
1986 TCMA All Time Phillies #10 and 2000 Fleer Greats of the Game #103

Decade MVPs
If I was going on longevity and the decade's leaders in the main hitting and pitching statistical categories, Johnny Callison and Chris Short would be the decade MVPs for the Phillies.  However, it's hard to overlook the  contributions made by a future Hall of Fame pitcher and one of the franchise's most talented (and most frustrating) sluggers of all-time.

In his first stint with the team, Jim Bunning pitched with the Phillies between 1964 and 1967, appearing in 163 games and compiling a record of 74-46.  He struck out 992 batters while walking just 236 over 1,191 innings.  His 2.48 ERA is impressive even considering the pitcher's era in which he pitched.  In his four seasons with the Phillies, he finished in the top ten in the National League in ERA, wins, strikeouts, complete games and shutouts.  He was a two-time All-Star with the Phillies and he pitched the seventh perfect game in Major League history on Father's Day, 1964.

The enigmatic Dick Allen made his Phillies debut in September 1963 and officially wore out his welcome at the tail-end of the 1969 season.  (Like Bunning, Allen would make a return cameo in the '70s.)  In 866 games, Allen hit  an even .300 with 177 home runs and 544 RBIs.  He won the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year award and he was named to three All-Star teams.  During the decade, he finished in the top ten in the National League in home runs five times, batting average four times and RBIs twice.  His OPS led the league in both 1966 (1.027) and 1967 (.970).  Unfortunately, despite all his statistical accomplishments, it was his inability to toe the line with his managers and his scribblings in the dirt that most people remember.

2011 Topps Tribute #47, 2001Fleer Greats of the Game Retrospection #10,
1997 Fleer Million Dollar Moments #29 and 2004 Donruss Classics #160

Leaders
Games – Callison (1432), Tony Taylor (1342), Tony Gonzalez (1118), Clay Dalrymple (1006), Cookie Rojas (880)
Average* – Allen (.300), Gonzalez (.295), Wes Covington (.284), Callison (.271), Rojas (.262)
Home Runs – Callison (185), Allen (177), Gonzalez (77), Don Demeter (71), Covington (61)
RBIs – Callison (666), Allen (544), Gonzalez (438), Taylor (368), Demeter (312)
Stolen Bases – Taylor (155), Gonzalez (68), Allen (64), Callison (60), Rojas (27), Johnny Briggs (27)

Games – Short (370), Jack Baldschun (333), Turk Farrell (214), Dallas Green (175), Art Mahaffey (173)
Wins – Short (96), Bunning (74), Mahaffey (58), Rick Wise (45), Ray Culp (43)
ERA** – Bunning (2.48), Farrell (3.09), Baldschun (3.19), Short (3.19), Grant Jackson (3.53)
Strikeouts – Short (1329), Bunning (992), Mahaffey (620), Culp (506), Wise (449)
Saves – Baldschun (59), Farrell (38), John Boozer (15), Gary Wagner (15), Ed Roebuck (15)

*At least 5 seasons with the Phillies, completely subjective
**At least 4 seasons with the Phillies, again completely subjective

1993 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes #25

1960-1969 Topps
The Breakdown:  When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now, I may tackle the ambitious project of making a master baseball card set featuring each of the 160 players to have worn the Phillies uniform between opening day 1960 and the final game of the 1969 season.  Topps did a decent enough job during the decade, featuring 118 of those 160 players (74%) on Phillies baseball cards.

The 295 different Topps Phillies baseball cards released during the decade feature 118 different players, three of the team's five managers, three coaches and just two players who didn't suit up at all during the decade - Valmy Thomas and George "Sparky" Anderson.

Card Statistics
Most Featured:  Callison (13 cards), Allen (10 cards), Dalrymple (10 cards), Gonzalez (9 cards), Taylor (9 cards), Phillies Team Card (9 cards), Bunning (8 cards), Gene Mauch (8 cards), Rojas (7 cards), Mahaffey (7 cards)
Most Games (Batter), No Phillies Topps Card: Roberto Pena (138 games in 1968), Charley Smith (112 games in 1961), Harvey Kuenn (86 games in 1966), Gene Oliver (85 games in 1967) and Cal Neeman (78 games in 1960 and 1961)
Most Games (Pitcher), No Phillies Topps Card:  Darold Knowles (69 games in 1966), Al Raffo (45 games in 1969), Ken Lehman (41 games in 1961)

The Phillies Topps 60
Here are the next ten cards in the Phillies Topps 60, just in case Topps decides to go ahead with this insert set in a future release.  Did I miss any?  Do you agree with these choices?

11 - 1960 Topps #366 Dallas Green
12 - 1961 Topps #20 Robin Roberts
13 - 1962 Topps #77 Tony Taylor
14 - 1963 Topps #385 Art Mahaffey
15 - 1964 Topps #135 Johnny Callison
16 - 1964 Topps #243 Phillies Rookie Stars - Richie Allen/John Herrnstein
17 - 1965 Topps #20 Jim Bunning
18 - 1966 Topps #254 Phillies Rookie Stars - Ferguson Jenkins/Bill Sorrell
19 - 1967 Topps #309 Hurlers Beware - Johnny Callison/Richie Allen
20 - 1967 Topps #395 Chris Short

1993 Action Packed #146, 1994 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes #198,
2004 Fleer Greats of the Game #72 and 1986 TCMA All Time Phillies #6

Cards That Never Were Series
I came up with the first twenty cards in the series from the 1950's, and I added another thirty cards for the 1960's.  Honestly, Short should have had a Topps card for every year between 1960 and 1966, but I limited him to just two cards for this set.

Byrum Saam was a long-time and beloved Phillies announcer who was inducted into the broadcaster's wing in Cooperstown in 1990.  He called Phillies games from 1938 through 1949 and again from 1955 through 1975.  He's got a card in the series too.

21 - 1960 Topps Ruben Amaro
22 - 1960 Topps Tony Taylor
23 - 1960 Topps Tony Gonzalez
24 - 1960 Topps Cal Neeman
25 - 1961 Topps Charley Smith
26 - 1961 Topps Don Demeter
27 - 1961 Topps Wes Covington
28 - 1961 Topps Ken Lehman
29 - 1961 Topps Bob Lemon (Coach)
30 - 1962 Topps Bobby Wine
31 - 1962 Topps Dennis Bennett
32 - 1963 Topps Richie Allen
33 - 1964 Topps Chris Short
34 - 1964 Topps Vic Power
35 - 1964 Topps Bobby Shantz
36 - 1965 Topps Peanuts Lowrey (Coach)
37 - 1965 Topps By Saam (Announcer)
38 - 1966 Topps Dick Groat
39 - 1966 Topps Bob Uecker
40 - 1966 Topps Harvey Kuenn
41 - 1966 Topps Chris Short
42 - 1966 Topps Rick Wise
43 - 1966 Topps Darold Knowles
44 - 1966 Topps Ed Roebuck
45 - 1967 Topps Turk Farrell
46 - 1967 Topps Gene Oliver
47 - 1967 Topps Dallas Green
48 - 1968 Topps Roberto Pena
49 - 1969 Topps George Myatt (Manager)
50 - 1969 Topps Larry Hisle
51 - 1969 Topps Don Money
52 - 1969 Topps Al Raffo

Coming next . . . the 1970's.  Far out.