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I updated this post here in July 2023 and this original post is now outdated.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

1989 Tastykake Phillies

I updated this post here in June 2023 and this original post is now outdated.

Number of Cards:  46
Card Size:  4 1/8" x 6"
Description:  The Phillies came up with this card design . . . and then took the next six years off.  The 1989 to 1995 team issued sets are all identical in design, containing 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.  This set is notable as it's the last set (to date) to be sponsored by Tastykake.

How Distributed:  A 32-card set was given away to all fans on May 13, 1989 at Veterans Stadium and a 37-card set was available for sale at the ballpark throughout the season.  Both sets contain identical photos, but the 32-card giveaway set cards feature a darker tint and are not as vibrant as their 37-card counterparts.  The 32-card sets can be found in uncut sheets and thanks to fellow collector Rick, I recently added these cards to my collection via an eBay auction.  As (I believe) the 37-card set is more prevalent, I've listed the stadium giveaway 32-card set (and its variations) under the Variations/Rarities section below.

Given the ton of roster moves made by the club in the first half of the season, a nine-card update set was issued and available for purchase at souvenir stands throughout the Vet.  This was the second year in a row that a nine-card update set was released.

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

Header/Sponsor Card 2 - Larry Bowa CO 3 - Darold Knowles CO 4 - Denis Menke CO 5 - Mike Ryan CO 6 - Dwayne Murphy 7 - John Vukovich CO 8 - Juan Samuel 9 - Von Hayes 10 - Darren Daulton 12 - Tony Taylor CO 15 - Floyd Youmans 16 - Nick Leyva MG 17 - Ricky Jordan 19 - Tom Nieto 20 - Mike Schmidt 21 - Dickie Thon 22 - Bob Dernier 24 - Curt Ford

25 - Steve Lake 26 - Chris James 26 - Ron Jones 27 - Randy O'Neal 28 - Tom Herr 30 - Steve Jeltz 31 - Mark Ryal 33 - Greg Harris 34 - Alex Madrid 40 - Steve Bedrosian 41 - Steve Ontiveros 42 - Don Carman 43 - Ken Howell 44 - Mike Maddux 46 - Larry McWilliams 47 - Bruce Ruffin 49 - Jeff Parrett 52 - Todd Frohwirth

Complete Update Checklist (9):

4 - Lenny Dykstra 8 - Charlie Hayes 11 - John Kruk 13 - Roger McDowell 18 - Jim Adduci

23 - Randy Ready 35 - Eric Bullock 39 - Dennis Cook 45 - Terry Mulholland

One and Done (5): Adduci, Bullock, Nieto, O'Neal, Ryal
First Appearances (18):  Cook, Dykstra, Ford, C. Hayes, Herr, Howell, Kruk, Lake, Madrid, McDowell, McWilliams, Mulholland, Murphy, Ontiveros, Parrett, Ready, Thon, Youmans
Returning Players (15):  Bedrosian, Carman, Daulton, Dernier, Frohwirth, Harris, V. Hayes, James, Jeltz, Jones, Jordan, Maddux, Ruffin, Samuel, Schmidt

This is the only set featuring Phillies baseball cards of the five players listed in the One and Done category.  The First Appearance designation is for players who have never before appeared on a Phillies team issued set.  These players may have already appeared on other Phillies baseball cards.

Manager (1):  Leyva
Coaches (6):  Bowa, Knowles, Menke, Ryan, Taylor, Vukovich
Phillie Phanatic (0)
Broadcasters (0)
Commemorative Cards (0)
Other Cards (1):  Header/sponsor card

Variations/Rarities:  The 32-card stadium giveaway set omitted the following five cards - Header/sponsor card, Nieto, Jones, O'Neal and Madrid.  In addition to these omissions, this set contains the following name placement variations:

• 5 - Mike Ryan CO, name is top center (instead of top left)
• 15 - Floyd Youmans, name is bottom right (instead of bottom left)
• 41 - Steve Ontiveros, name is top center (instead of top right)
• 42 - Don Carman, name is bottom center (instead of bottom left)
• 43 - Ken Howell, name is bottom center (instead of bottom left)
• 47 - Bruce Ruffin, name is top center (instead of bottom left)

Unless you're a Phillies team issued set or Bruce Ruffin super collector (and why wouldn't you be?) there's really no need to add these cards to your collection.

Also See:  1989 Phillies - The Missing Links, 1989 Topps Phillies
Trivia:  Beckett's online database omits the header card.  The Beckett database also lists the James card as an uncorrected error card, given that James wore #18 in 1989, but the back of his card lists #26.  James had switched from #26 mid-way through the 1988 season.  Kudos to Beckett for even noticing this in the first place.
Resources:  14,000 Phillies; Phillies SGA; Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

Pitchers and Catchers Report in 112 Days

2015 Chachi Preview #4

1988 Tastykake Phillies

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

 
Number of Cards:  39
Card Size:  4 7/8" x 6 1/4"
Description:  The Phillies broke the mold for their 1988 set and went with a set of supersized cards.  The fronts of the cards feature full color action photos while the backs contain biographical information and complete minor and Major League statistics.  The cards found in the update set have blank backs.  I've always thought this was one of the more impressive team issued sets released by the Phillies, but I guess the larger size may have indirectly led to less cards in the set.
How Distributed:  The 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards states that these cards weren't available in set form, but I'm deferring to the Phillies SGA database which shows the set being given away on the April 9th home game at Veterans Stadium.  The set given away to fans included 30 cards and another nine cards were issued later in the season as an update set.

For what it's worth, and I believe it's wrong, the checklist for the set currently found at Beckett.com lists three different Elia cards.

Complete Standard Checklist (30):  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

4 - Lee Elia MG (vertical) 8 - Juan Samuel 9 - Von Hayes 10 - Darren Daulton 13 - Lance Parrish 15 - Bill Almon 16 - Luis Aguayo 18 - Chris James 19 - Mike Young 20 - Mike Schmidt 21 - Greg Gross 22 - Bob Dernier 24 - Milt Thompson 27 - Kent Tekulve 28 - Shane Rawley

29 - Phil Bradley 30 - Steve Jeltz 31 - Jeff Calhoun 38 - Wally Ritchie 40 - Steve Bedrosian 42 - Don Carman 44 - Mike Maddux 45 - David Palmer 46 - Kevin Gross 47 - Bruce Ruffin 52 - Todd Frohwirth Phillies Coaches Phillies Prospects Team Card Phillie Phanatic

Complete Update Checklist (9):

4 - Lee Elia MG (horizontal) 6 - John Russell 7 - John Vukovich CO 11 - Keith Miller 15 - Jackie Gutierrez

16 - Larry Bowa CO 17 - Ricky Jordan 33 - Greg Harris Broadcasters

One and Done (1):  Almon
First Appearances (7):  Bradley, Gutierrez, Harris, Jordan, Miller, Palmer, Young
Returning Players (22):  Aguayo, Bedrosian, Calhoun, Carman, Daulton, Dernier, Frohwirth, G. Gross, K. Gross, Hayes, James, Jeltz, Maddux, Parrish, Rawley, Ritchie, Ruffin, Russell, Samuel, Schmidt,  Tekulve, Thompson

Veteran infielder Almon played his final 20 games with the Phillies before getting released in mid-June.  The card in this set is his sole Phillies card.  Miller appears on the eight-player prospect card in the base set and on a solo 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 (2):  Elia - both versions
Coaches (3):  The coaches card in the base set includes Dave Bristol, Claude Osteen, Mike Ryan, Tony Taylor, Del Unser and John Vukovich.  Bowa and Vukovich get solo cards in the update set.
Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is once again pictured atop his ATV.
Broadcasters (1):  Features Richie Ashburn, Harry Kalas, Garry Maddox, Andy Musser and Chris Wheeler
Phillies Prospects (1):  Features eight prospects on one card - Tom Barrett, Brad Brink, Steve DeAngelis, Ron Jones, Keith Miller, Brad Moore, Howard Nichols and Shane Turner.  DeAngelis and Nichols never played for the Phillies.
Other Cards (1):  Team card

Variations/Rarities:  I'd personally consider the update set to be rare, as I've never come across a set for sale on eBay.  As collector Rick e-mailed me, there's also a regular-sized Schmidt card available, featuring the same photo as his regular 1988 Tastykake card, but on a smaller scale.

Also See:  1988 Topps Phillies - Missing Links
Trivia:  The Phillies fired third base coach Bristol and hitting coach Unser on July 15th.  Vukovich, who had been serving as Elia's bench coach, moved over to third for a few games before the Phillies hired old friend Bowa who had recently been let go as the Padres manager.  Vukovich would switch jobs again on September 23rd, taking over as interim manager when Elia was fired.  Bowa apparently wore #16 in his first stint as a Phillies coach, before assuming #2 at the start of the 1989 season.
Resources:  Phillies SGA 1988; Beckett.com; Philly.com - Bristol and Unser Are Fired

1987 Tastykake Phillies

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

 
Number of Cards:  51
Card Size:  3 1/2" x 5 1/4"
Description:  With the exception of the copyright date on the bottom right, these cards are identical in design to the sets issued in 1985 and 1986.  Fronts feature a full color picture and the backs include brief biographical notes on each player.
How Distributed:  All fans attending the April 12, 1987 Phillies game at Veterans Stadium received the 47-card set.  The four blank-backed update cards (I believe) were sold separately at the stadium late in the season.  I have a very vague recollection of purchasing the four-card update set for $1 at a game during the '87 season.

Complete Standard Checklist (47):  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

6 - John Russell 7 - John Felske MG 8 - Juan Samuel 9 - Von Hayes 10 - Darren Daulton 11 - Greg Legg 12 - Glenn Wilson 13 - Lance Parrish 14 - Jeff Stone 15 - Rick Schu 16 - Luis Aguayo 17 - Ron Roenicke 18 - Chris James 20 - Mike Schmidt 21 - Greg Gross 23 - Joe Cipolloni 24 - Milt Thompson 27 - Kent Tekulve 28 - Shane Rawley 29 - Ronn Reynolds 30 - Steve Jeltz 33 - Mike Jackson 34 - Mike Easler 35 - Dan Schatzeder

37 - Ken Dowell 38 - Jim Olander 39 - Joe Cowley 39 - Bob Scanlan 40 - Steve Bedrosian 41 - Tom Hume 42 - Don Carman 43 - Freddie Toliver 44 - Mike Maddux 45 - Greg Jelks 46 - Kevin Gross 47 - Bruce Ruffin 48 - Marvin Freeman 49 - Len Watts 50 - Tom Newell 51 - Ken Jackson 52 - Todd Frohwirth 58 - Doug Bair Phillies Coaches Jeff Kaye/Darren Loy Shawn Barton/Rick Lundblade Phillies Team Card Phillie Phanatic

Complete Update Checklist (4):

4 - Lee Elia MG 19 - Keith Hughes

31 - Jeff Calhoun 38 - Wally Ritchie

Elia was named manager on June 18th following the firing of Felske.  The others featured in the update set made their Phillies debuts in May or June, as follows:  Ritchie - May 1st, Hughes - May 19th and Calhoun - June 16th.

One and Done (7):  Bair, Cowley, Jelks, Legg, Olander, Scanlan, Watts
First Appearances (12):  Calhoun, Dowell, Easler, Freeman, Frohwirth, Hughes, M. Jackson, Newell, Parrish, Ritchie, Roenicke, Schatzeder
Returning Players (25):  Aguayo, Bedrosian, Carman, Cipolloni, Daulton, G. Gross, K. Gross, Hayes, Hume, K. Jackson, James, Jeltz, Maddux, Rawley, Reynolds, Ruffin, Russell, Samuel, Schmidt, Schu, Stone, Tekulve, Thompson, Toliver, Wilson

As originally documented in this 1987 Phillies Missing Links post, this set is the only place to find Phillies baseball cards for Bair, Cowley, Jelks and Legg.  (I have a little more on the other three guys below.)  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.

Managers (2):  Felske, Elia
Coaches (1):  Jim Davenport, Lee Elia, Claude Osteen, Mike Ryan and Del Unser are all featured on a card together.
Phillie Phanatic (1):  I believe the photo used was taken as the Phanatic was atop the Phillies dugout in Clearwater.
Broadcasters (0)
Multi-Player Prospect Cards (2):  Kaye/Loy, Barton/Lundblade
Other Cards (1):  Team card

Variations/Rarities:  Steve was kind enough to send me the scan below of the Phanatic variation available in 1987.  The more prevalent version is the card on the right, while the rarer version is the card on the left featuring the Phanatic on his ATV.

• Phanatic on ATV

Based on Rick's comment below, it appears as if there's an additional variation of the Phanatic card featuring different writing on the back.

Update (11/15/18) - Fellow collector Bill e-mailed me the photo below of a black and white Don Carman card, bearing a 1987 copyright date.  Bill obtained the card at a baseball card show in Pennsylvania where Carman was an autograph guest.

Also See:  One of the more desirable (in my opinion) and difficult to find team issued sets is the 1987 Phillies Great Performers of 1986 set, issued to season ticket holders who renewed their 1987 season tickets early.  14,000 Phillies created an entry for this set as part of his Phillies Database Project.

Trivia:  There are a couple of things with this set that only a few of us would find interesting . . . As far as I can tell, this is the first team-issued set featuring solo cards of players that never actually played for the Phillies.  Cipolloni, Olander, Scanlan and Watts never got the call to the big leagues with the Phils, nor did the four prospects featured on the multi-player cards for that matter.

There are two #39's in the original set - Scanlan and Cowley.  I'm assuming Scanlan started the spring with #39 and Cowley requested the number upon his arrival from the White Sox late in the spring on March 26th.  Cowley had worn #40 with the White Sox, but that number already belonged to Bedrosian.
Resources:  Phillies SGA 1987; Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils) and Steve F.

2014 Topps Update #US-33 Grady Sizemore

I wanted to take a quick break from my look back at the Phillies team-issued sets to catch up with a few early offseason notes.

Last Saturday, October 18th - The Phillies outrighted infielder Andres Blanco off their 40-man roster.  As of this writing, they're down to 39 players on their 40-man roster, with more subtractions coming following the World Series.  It doesn't look as if Blanco elected free agency (yet) so he technically remains property of the Phillies.  Blanco's 25 games with the Phils in 2014 hasn't earned him a Phillies baseball card yet, but he has appeared on three cards with the IronPigs.

Wednesday, October 22nd - Jerome Williams will be joining pitchers and catchers in Clearwater after the Phillies signed him to a one-year deal for $2.5 million.  Williams went 4-2 with a 2.83 ERA in nine starts for the Phillies and he'll be in the mix for one of the spots currently open in the team's 2015 starting pitching rotation.  No Phillies baseball cards yet for Williams, but I did recently pull his Target red parallel card from a pack of 2014 Topps Update, featuring him with the Rangers.

2014 Topps Update Red #US-236

Thursday, October 23rd - Saying what everyone is already thinking, interim CEO Pat Gillick told Philadelphia media that the team most likely won't contend until 2017.

Also on Thursday, the Phillies re-signed outfielder Grady Sizemore to a one-year deal worth $2 million.  I'm honestly not sure where Sizemore fits in with the club and perhaps the team hopes to trade away one of their existing outfielders to allow more playing time for Sizemore.  At long last, Sizemore's first Phillies card appears in the Topps Update set.

Reliever Cesar Jimenez was also brought back on a one-year deal.  Like Blanco and Williams, Jimenez is still waiting for his first Phillies baseball card.

Friday, October 24th - Finally, congratulations to shortstop Jimmy Rollins, the co-winner (with Paul Konerko) of this year's Roberto Clemente Award for his outstanding community service.  Congrats J-Roll!

We now return you to semi-regular posts on the Phillies team issued sets from the 1980s . . .

1986 Tastykake Phillies

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

  Number of Cards:  49
Card Size:  3 1/2" x 5 1/4"
Description:  With the exception of the copyright date on the bottom right, these cards are identical in design to the set issued in 1985.  Fronts feature a full color picture and the backs include brief biographical notes on each player, coach or manager.  The multi-player Future Phillies cards return for a second year in a row and each of the four National League pennant winning teams from the franchise's past get their own team cards.  I'm not sure why the set's designer felt the need to commemorate each of these four teams in 1986, but the cards are cool nevertheless.

How Distributed:  The set's entry in the 2001 Standard Catalog Baseball Cards notes that the "cards were given away at the Phillies' annual baseball card promotion."  Looking over at Phillies SGA and double checking a promotional schedule found within a 1986 copy of Phillies Today - The Official Scorecard Magazine, there's no mention of a baseball card giveaway day.  My best guess is that these sets were available for sale at Veterans Stadium throughout the season.

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

2 - Jim Davenport CO 3 - Claude Osteen CO 4 - Lee Elia CO 5 - Mike Ryan CO 6 - John Russell 7 - John Felske MG 8 - Juan Samuel 9 - Von Hayes 10 - Darren Daulton 11 - Tom Foley 12 - Glenn Wilson 14 - Jeff Stone 15 - Rick Schu 16 - Luis Aguayo 20 - Mike Schmidt 21 - Greg Gross 22 - Gary Redus 23 - Joe Lefebvre 24 - Milt Thompson 25 - Del Unser CO 26 - Chris James 27 - Kent Tekulve 28 - Shane Rawley 29 - Ronn Reynolds 30 - Steve Jeltz

31 - Garry Maddox 32 - Steve Carlton 33 - David Shipanoff 35 - Randy Lerch 36 - Robin Roberts HOF 39 - Dave Rucker 40 - Steve Bedrosian 41 - Tom Hume 42 - Don Carman 43 - Fred Toliver 46 - Kevin Gross 47 - Larry Andersen 48 - Dave Stewart 49 - Charles Hudson 50 - Rocky Childress Ramon Carabello/Joe Cipolloni Arturo Gonzalez/Mike Maddux Francisco Melendez/Ricky Jordan Kevin Ward/Randy Day 1915 Phillies Team 1950 Phillies Team 1980 Phillies Team 1983 Phillies Team June 11, 1985 - A Night to Remember

One and Done (0)
First Appearances (11):  Bedrosian, Foley, Hume, Redus, Reynolds, Rucker, Shipanoff, Stewart, Tekulve, Thompson, Toliver
Returning Players (22):  Aguayo, Andersen, Carman, Carlton, Childress, Daulton, G. Gross, K. Gross, Hayes, Hudson, James, Jeltz, Lefebvre, Lerch, Maddox, Rawley, Russell, Samuel, Schmidt, Schu, Stone, Wilson

Manager (1):  Felske
Coaches (5):  Davenport, Elia, Osteen, Ryan, Unser
Phillie Phanatic (0)
Broadcasters (0)
Commemorative Cards (1):  Roberts
Future Phillies (4):  Carabello/Cipolloni, Gonzalez/Maddux, Melendez/Jordan, Ward/Day
Other Cards (5):  Four pennant winning team cards; June 11, 1985 commemorative card

Robin Roberts was presumably a guest instructor during spring training 1986, hence his inclusion in the set.  I always think it's odd seeing former Phillies wear current uniforms that they themselves didn't wear during their playing days.  Seeing Roberts in maroon pinstripes is just strange.

The "night to remember" featured on the final card commemorates the night the Phillies defeated the Mets 26-7, thanks in part to two first inning home runs from Hayes.  Hayes, Wilson, Samuel, Schmidt, Maddox and Wilson are all featured on the card in a Dick Perez painting.

Variations/Rarities:  There are no known variations or rarities to be found for this set.  Once you have the original 49-card set, you're done.

Also See:  Scrapbook Sunday: February 21, 1986
Trivia:  Long-time Phillies employee Kenny Bush is featured on the 1950, 1980 and 1983 team photo cards.  Bush was the batboy for the 1950 Whiz Kids and the clubhouse manager in 1980 and 1983.
Resources:  Phillies SGA 1986; Beckett.com

1950s to 1969 Phillies Postcards

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

 

Number of Cards:  78
Card Size: 3 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Description:  These postcards featured black and white portraits of Phillies players (and managers) to have suited up for the team between 1950 and 1969.  Most of the postcards contain black facsimile autographs on the fronts, and the backs are blank.

How Distributed:  The cards were produced throughout the '50s and '60s by the Phillies as needed and as new players joined the club.  There's no way to tell which year any particular card is from, other than each player's card would have been issued during his tenure with the Phillies.  For example, the Johnny Callison card featured above could have been issued at any point, and over several different years, between 1960 and 1969, the years Callison played for the Phillies.

Vintage-wise, Dick Sisler is the earliest ex-Phillie, having left the club following the 1951 season.  Deron Johnson is the latest Phillie on the checklist, having joined the club in 1969.

Complete Standard Checklist:  This list could grow, although I suspect that any new postcard discoveries would have been made by now.  With the advent of the internet age, the mysteries surrounding these types of issuances are slowly dissipating.

Rich Allen - Glasses Rich Allen - Best Wishes Rich Allen - Look Ahead Harry Anderson Richie Ashburn Jack Baldschun Dennis Bennett Ed Bouchee Johnny Briggs Jim Bunning John Buzhardt Smokey Burgess Johnny Callison Doug Clemens Jim Coker Gene Conley Wes Covington Ray Culp

Tony Curry Clay Dalrymple - Glove Clay Dalrymple - Portrait Jacke Davis Don Demeter Dick Ellsworth Del Ennis Dick Farrell 1 Dick Farrell 2 Chico Fernandez Woodie Fryman Tony Gonzalez - Phillies Tony Gonzalez - Part of Phillies Dallas Green Dick Groat Granny Hamner John Herrnstein Larry Hisle Grant Jackson Larry Jackson - Cropped Larry Jackson - Phillie

Deron Johnson Jerry Johnson Willie Jones Jim Konstanty Stan Lopata Art Mahaffey Gene Mauch MG Jack Meyer Don Money Bobby Morgan Wally Post Robin Roberts Cookie Rojas Mike Ryan Ted Savage Ed Sawyer MG - Fac. Auto Ed Sawyer MG - No Auto Andy Seminick Ray Semproch Chris Short - Phillies Chris Short - Hill

Roy Sievers Curt Simmons Dick Sisler Bob Skinner MG - Stands Bob Skinner MG - No Stands Bobby G. Smith Charley Smith Frank Sullivan Gary Sutherland Tony Taylor - Antonio Tony Taylor - No Auto Earl Torgeson Gary Wagner Bobby Wine - Phillies Showing Bobby Wine - Partial Phillies Rick Wise Bill White - Portrait Bill White - with Bat

One and Done (1):  Going through my collection and double checking the Beckett database, I believe these postcards mark the only Phillies baseball card appearance of Charley Smith (112 games in 1961).
First Appearances (62):  There are 63 known players to have appeared in these postcard sets.  C. Smith and 61 other players who appeared elsewhere on Phillies baseball cards throughout the years.  (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.)

Managers (3):  Sawyer, Mauch, Skinner
Coaches (0)
Phillie Phanatic (0):  The Phanatic was still just a mere twinkle in Bill Giles' eye when these postcards were originally released.
Broadcasters (0)
Commemorative Cards (0)
Other Cards (0)

Variations/Rarities (12):  I've listed in the standard checklist above the variations to be found for Allen, Dalrymple, Farrell, Gonzalez, L. Jackson, Sawyer, Short, Skinner, Taylor, Wine and White.

I've found Dalrymple actually has three different cards - a portrait version, a portrait version more closely cropped and a photo with the catcher holding a glove.

Trivia:  The players with the most games with the Phillies in the 1950s without a team issued postcard are - Eddie Waitkus (559 games), Ted Kazanski (417 games) and Johnny Wyrostek (315 games).  From the 1960s, the top three players by games played but not appearing on a Phillies postcard are - Ruben Amaro (668 games), Pancho Herrera (271 games) and Don Lock (215 games).
Resources:  Fellow Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils) provided the scans below.  The checklists were originally compiled by collector Dan E. and Rick has made notations on the lists throughout the years based on his discoveries of new variations.  Thanks again to Rick for sharing these lists and the scans!  (Click on each to enlarge.)

Go Royals!

2003 Topps Heritage #91

I'm predicting Royals in 6 with at least one dramatic contribution from Raul Ibanez or Erik Kratz.

Your Source for Information on Phillies Team Issued Sets (Eventually)

1983 Tastykake Phillies

If detailed posts on Phillies team issued baseball card sets aren't your thing, fear not.  I'll still be posting about the team's off-season moves throughout the coming months.  I also have the unfortunate task of looking back at the 2014 Phillies statistical leaders through the final cards in the 2014 Chachi set.

I've gone on a bit of a binge over this past week with posts looking at the Tastykake Phillies sets issued between 1982 and 1985.  My goal is to eventually cover all the team issued sets through the years, and I've set aside a page to serve as a portal to all these posts.  You can find bits and pieces on the Phillies team issues sets from the 1950s through today on various websites and in the older Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards editions, but there's nowhere (that I could find) where all of this information is brought together in one place.  I hope to do that.

I seriously doubt I can keep up the pace of a set a day, but look for more posts throughout the World Series (Go Royals!) as I need something to take my mind off the troublesome state of the current Phillies.

If you have any information to add to any of these posts where you think revisions are needed, please don't hesitate to contact me or leave a comment.  My goal is to present the most accurate and complete information possible on the baseball card sets issued by the Phillies over the past fifty-plus years.  Special thanks goes out to fellow Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils) who has e-mailed to me a ton of great information on these sets in the past few weeks.

1985 Tastykake Phillies

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

 
Number of Cards:  47
Card Size:  3 1/2" x 5 1/4"
Description:  Beginning in 1985, the team used the exact same card design for three straight years.  The only things differentiating the cards are the photos used and the copyright line on the bottom right of the cards' fronts.  The design removes the Phillies script logo found on the 1984 cards and adds the player's uniform number and position.
How Distributed:  All fans attending the Phillies game at Veterans Stadium on April 21, 1985, received a complete shrink-wrapped set with a header/checklist card on the top.  The back of the header/checklist card advertised that additional sets could be purchased from the Phillies via mail order for $3.50.  The Phillies raised the price of a complete set by fifty cents over the previous year.

Complete Standard Checklist:  The cards themselves aren't numbered, but I'm presenting the checklist below based on the numbered checklist found on the back of the header card.

Header Card/Checklist John Felske MG Dave Bristol CO Lee Elia CO Claude Osteen CO Mike Ryan CO Del Unser CO Manager and Coaches Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Larry Andersen Steve Carlton Dan Carman John Denny Tony Ghelfi Kevin Gross Al Holland Charles Hudson Jerry Koosman Shane Rawley Pat Zachry Darren Daulton

Bo Diaz Ozzie Virgil John Wockenfuss Luis Aguayo Kiko Garcia Steve Jeltz John Russell Juan Samuel Mike Schmidt Tim Corcoran Greg Gross Von Hayes Joe Lefebvre Garry Maddox Jeff Stone Glenn Wilson Ramon Caraballo/Mike Diaz Mike Maddux/Rodger Cole Rick Schu/Chris James Francisco Melendez/Ken Jackson Randy Salava/Rocky Childress Rich Surhoff/Ralph Citarella Team Photo

One and Done (1):  Zachry
First Appearances (1):  Rawley
Returning Players (26):  Aguayo, Andersen, Carlton, Carman, Corcoran, Daulton, Denny, Diaz, Garcia, Ghelfi, G. Gross, K. Gross, Hayes, Holland, Hudson, Jeltz, Koosman, Lefebvre, Maddox, Russell, Samuel, Schmidt, Stone, Virgil, Wilson, Wockenfuss

This tells me there was very little roster turnover between the end of the 1984 season and spring training 1985, as Rawley and Zachry are the only two new additions to the set.  Along with Zachry's one and done Phillies card, this set includes the only Phillies baseball card of Rich Surhoff.

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.  (In fact, Rawley made his Phillies cardboard debut within the 1984 Fleer Update set.)

Manager (1):  Felske
Coaches (5):  Bristol, Elia, Osteen, Ryan, Unser
Phillie Phanatic (0)
Broadcasters (0)
Group Photos (5):  Manager and Coaches, Pitchers, Catchers, Infielders, Outfielders
Future Phillies (6):  Caraballo/Diaz, Maddux/Cole, Schu/James, Melendez/Jackson, Salava/Childress
Other Cards (2):  Header/checklist card, team photo

The set's designer's decided to try something different with group photos of coaches and players by position.  Batting practice pitcher Hank King is featured on the coach's card, making this (I believe) his sole Phillies baseball card.  Bill Campbell is featured on the pitcher's card and Ivan DeJesus is featured on the infielder's card, but both are omitted from the regular set.  As the regular season was about to begin, Campbell and DeJesus were traded to the Cardinals for pitcher Dave Rucker.

Of the players receiving solo cards in the regular set, Ghelfi was left off the pitcher's card, Wockenfuss was (sadly) left off the catcher's card, Garcia was left off the infielder's card and Lefebvre and Maddox were not on the outfielder's card.

Variations/Rarities:  Thanks again to Rick, who passed along the scan below and information on two additional cards that I would definitely consider "rarities."  I've not seen either of these cards listed on any checklists for this set, nor have I come across either card in my travels.

• Tug McGraw - Former Phillies Great
• Broadcasters - Richie Ashburn, Harry Kalas, Andy Musser and Chris Wheeler

McGraw announced his retirement following the 1984 season and this card seems to be a final tribute to the popular lefty reliever.

Also See:  Scrapbook Sunday: September 1, 1985
Trivia:  The 1985 Tastykake Phillies set seems to be the most ubiquitous of all the team issued sets from the 1980s.  The sets can be readily found on eBay and at Citizens Bank Park.  The Memorabilia Store from Hunt Auctions located behind Section 126 had several of these sets for sale this past season.
Resources:  Phillies SGA 1985; Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

1982 Tastykake Phillies

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

 

Number of Cards:  35
Card Size:  3 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Description:  This is the first of eight years during which Tastykake sponsored the Phillies team issued set.  The cards feature black and white pictures, with a mix of action shots and portraits.  Some of the cards include blue facsimile autographs on the fronts, and the backs of all cards are blank.
How Distributed:  My best guess is that these cards weren't ever distributed in set form, although I could be wrong.  I've only been actively searching for these cards for a few years now, but I've only ever come across single card auctions from the set.  The cards were most likely handed out to fans individually and supplied to the players in order to reply to fan mail or honor autograph requests.  (See below under Variations/Rarities for more on the distribution of this set.)

The one card from the set in my collection (as of this writing) is the McGraw card featured above.  The blue facsimile autograph looks surprisingly genuine.

Complete Standard Checklist:

Luis Aguayo Porfi Altamirano Dave Bristol CO Warren Brusstar Marty Bystrom Steve Carlton Larry Christenson Pat Corrales MG Dick Davis Mark Davis Ivan DeJesus Bob Dernier Bo Diaz (action) Ed Farmer Greg Gross Deron Johnson CO Mike Krukow Sparky Lyle

Garry Maddox Gary Matthews Len Matuszek Tug McGraw Sid Monge Claude Osteen CO Ron Reed Dave Roberts Pete Rose Dick Ruthven Mike Ryan CO Mike Schmidt Manny Trillo (without hat) Del Unser Ozzie Virgil George Vukovich Bobby Wine CO

Image is from an old
eBay auction

The checklist found at The Trading Card Database lists only 28 cards in the set, omitting seven cards included on the checklist found within the 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards - Bystrom, M. Davis, Gross, Johnson, Maddox, Ruthven and Vukovich.  I'm including these cards on the checklist above as a Google Images search yielded images for the Maddox and Vukovich cards.  If those exist, there's a really good chance the other five exist and the entry at The Trading Card Database is simply missing these seven cards.

One and Done (0)
First Appearances (11):  Altamirano, M. Davis, DeJesus, Dernier, Diaz, Farmer, Krukow, Matuszek, Monge, Roberts, Virgil
Returning Players (18):  Aguayo, Brusstar, Bystrom, Carlton, Christenson, D. Davis, Gross, Lyle, Maddox, Matthews, McGraw, Reed, Rose, Ruthven, Schmidt, Trillo, Unser, Vukovich

Manager (1):  Corrales
Coaches (5):  Bristol, Johnson, Osteen, Ryan, Wine
Phillie Phanatic (0)
Broadcasters (0)
Commemorative Cards (0)
Other Cards (0)

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.

Variations/Rarities:  The Beckett database entry for this set omits the Bystrom card and adds three variations for a total of 37 cards in the master set.

• Bo Diaz (portrait)
• Karen Eberhard (ball girl)
• Manny Trillo (with hat)

As Rick points out in a comment to this post, the Phillies issued two versions of this set.  The first version released earlier in the year included cards of the coaches and most cards contain a blue facsimile autograph on the fronts of the cards.  Later in the year, a second 25-card set was released with no coaches, no facsimile autographs and no Tastykake logo.  This set contains a Bill Robinson card, not found within the first set as Robinson was acquired in June from the Pirates for Dick Davis.

• Bill Robinson - no autograph, no Tastykake Logo

Also See:  1982 Topps Phillies, 1982 Topps Traded #28T Bob Dernier
Trivia:  I spent a few minutes Googling Karen Eberhard Ball Girl until it started to feel creepy, so I stopped.  I know the current ballgirls hand out "cards" at their promotional stops, but these cards aren't in the style or size of the current year's team issued set.  I wonder what made the Phillies decide to issue a separate card of one of their ball girls in 1982?
Resources:  The Trading Card Database; Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils)

1984 Tastykake Phillies

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

 
Number of Cards:  47
Card Size:  3 1/2" x 5 1/4"
Description:  The 1984 Tastykake set got a little more ambitious than its predecessor by adding cards for all the coaches and a broadcaster card.  The fronts are nearly identical to the 1983 set, with the exception of the Phillies script logo added to the top.  The photographer also requested that everyone remove their hats for this set, which was unfortunate for some of the subjects.  The backs of the cards feature a facsimile autograph of the player, coach or manager, and some of the cards include words of encouragement.

I really wish the Phillies had chosen, "Wherever you go, there you are" for the back of Larry Andersen's card.

How Distributed:  All fans 14 and under attending the Phillies game at Veterans Stadium on April 21, 1984, received a complete 40-card set, shrink-wrapped and containing a logo/checklist card on the top.  The back of the logo/checklist card advertised that additional sets could be purchased from the Phillies via mail order for $3.

The remaining seven cards were issued as an update to the 40-card set at some point late in the season.  Based on my research and correspondence with fellow collectors, it's possible the update cards were released in two groups.  The first group consisting of four cards (Carman, Russell, Stone and Wehrmeister) and the second group consisting of three more cards (Daulton, Fireovid and Jeltz).

UPDATE to the Update (10/20/14):  Per Rick's comment below, apparently the Phillies produced a seven card sheet late in the season that was never released to the general public.  A local baseball card dealer (anyone have his name or contact information?) had the sheets professionally cut and sold the additional seven cards as a set.

Further Update (6/10/16):  Please see this post for a scan provided by reader and fellow collecter Steve F. of an uncut sheet showing the seven "update" cards.

Complete Standard Checklist (40):  The cards themselves aren't numbered, but I'm presenting the checklist below based on the numbered checklist found on the back of the logo card.

Logo Card/Checklist Team Photo Phillie Phanatic Veterans Stadium Steve Carlton - Future HOF Mike Schmidt - Future HOF Broadcasters Paul Owens MG Dave Bristol CO John Felske CO Deron Johnson CO Claude Osteen CO Mike Ryan CO Larry Andersen Marty Bystrom Bill Campbell Steve Carlton John Denny Tony Ghelfi Kevin Gross

Al Holland Charles Hudson Jerry Koosman Tug McGraw Bo Diaz Ozzie Virgil John Wockenfuss Luis Aguayo Ivan DeJesus Kiko Garcia Len Matuszek Juan Samuel Mike Schmidt Tim Corcoran Greg Gross Von Hayes Joe Lefebvre Sixto Lezcano Garry Maddox Glenn Wilson

Complete Update Checklist (7):

Don Carman (7/6/84)            John Russell (6/22/84) Jeff Stone (6/19/84) Dave Wehrmeister (6/3/84)

Darren Daulton (N/A) Steve Fireovid (9/1/84) Steve Jeltz (9/1/84)

The entire following paragaph is now null and void thanks to Rick's comment and the UPDATE to the Update above.

Lending credence to my two update set theory is the fact that the first four players in the update set all made their 1984 debuts with the Phillies between the beginning of June and the beginning of July.  I've listed the dates of their Phillies debuts above.  From the second set of cards, Fireovid and Jeltz were September call-ups and Daulton never appeared in a game with the Phils in 1984.  I've honestly never seen the Fireovid or Jeltz cards, and I'd doubt their existence if not for the fact that I added the Daulton card to my collection last year via eBay.  (Thanks again to Matt from Phillies SGA for the head's up!)

One and Done (2):  Fireovid, Wehrmeister
First Appearances (19):  Andersen, Campbell, Carman, Corcoran, Daulton, Garcia, Ghelfi, K. Gross, Hudson, Jeltz, Koosman, Lefebvre, Lezcano, Matuszek, Russell, Samuel, Stone, Wilson, Wockenfuss
Returning Players (12):  Aguayo, Bystrom, Carlton, DeJesus, Denny, Diaz, G. Gross, Hayes, Maddox, McGraw, Schmidt, Virgil

If you're in the market for a Phillies card of either Fireovid or Wehrmeister, this is the set for you.  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):  Owens
Coaches (5):  Bristol, Felske, Johnson, Osteen, Ryan
Phillie Phanatic (1):  Uses the same ATV photo from the 1983 Tastykake set.
Broadcasters (1):  Chris Wheeler, Harry Kalas, Andy Musser and Richie Ashburn
Commemorative Cards (2):  Carlton and Schmidt get Future Hall of Famer cards.  The back of the Carlton card features a list of all-time victories leaders, while the back of the Schmidt card features a list of all-time home run leaders.
Other Cards (3):  Logo/checklist card, team photo and Veterans Stadium

Variations/Rarities:  There are no known variations or rarities, although I've had a difficult time tracking down the 7-card update set.  Through the kindness of fellow bloggers, I'm down to needing just the Fireovid and Jeltz cards.

Also See:  The Curious Case of Dave Wehrmeister; Memories of 1984 Phillies Photo Day
Trivia:  Beckett's online database does not include the three final update cards.
Resources:  Phillies SGA 1984; Beckett.com; 14,000 Phillies - Dave Wehrmeister, Worst Phillies Card of All Time; Fellow collector Steve F.