Focused on Vintage During Lock-Out

While the owners continue to lock-out the players, and with the first week of spring training games now canceled, I wanted to publish a post to (a) say I'm still here, anxiously awaiting the 2022 Phillies season and (b) remind readers my other three blogs are going strong with now daily posts from the 1934-36 Diamond Stars set, the 1956 Topps set and the 1965 Topps set.  I don't how much longer daily posting on these blogs is feasible, but for now I've settled into a schedule of a new Diamond Stars card on Sunday, a 1956 Topps card on Friday and a 1965 Topps card all other days of the week.

Here's a look at Curt Simmons' card from the 1965 Topps set, from a post originally published a few weeks ago.  As we wait for live baseball to resume, I hope you'll enjoy taking a look back at some great older baseball cards as much as I've enjoyed writing about them.

1965 Topps #373 Curt Simmons - St. Louis Cardinals

Curtis Thomas Simmons
St. Louis Cardinals
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  175
Born:  May 19, 1929, Egypt, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 1947-1950, 1952-1960; St. Louis Cardinals 1960-1966; Chicago Cubs 1966-1967; California Angels 1967

Curt Simmons will forever be associated with the beloved Whiz Kids, the 1950 Phillies club that made it to the World Series for the first time since 1915.  Simmons was a 17-game winner for the Phillies in 1950 and formed a solid one-two punch atop their starting pitching rotation with Robin Roberts (#15).  He missed the 1950 World Series against the Yankees after being drafted to serve in the Korean War.  Simmons was a three-time All-Star with the Phillies in 1952, 1953 and 1957.  He won at least 12 games with the club in six different seasons.  Released by the Phillies in May 1960, Simmons signed with the Cardinals where he enjoyed a career resurgence.  His best seasons actually came during his time in St. Louis as he went 15-9 in 1963 with a 2.48 ERA and was 18-9 for the team in 1964 when they upset the Phillies in the final week of the season to advance to the World Series.  Simmons pitched well in his Game 3 and Game 6 starts, and while he was the losing pitcher in Game 6, he compiled a 2.51 ERA over 14 1/3 innings.  The Cardinals would win the series in seven games over the Yankees.

2006 Toyota Phillies Wall of Fame Postcards

A competent fielder as well, Simmons had errorless seasons in 1950, 1952, 1957 and 1963.  Simmons would finish up his 20-year big league career with a few seasons with the Cubs and Angels, retiring in 1967.  At the time, along with Smoky Burgess (#198), he was the last person to retire who had played in the majors in the 1940s.  Simmons had a lifetime record of 193-183 with a 3.54 ERA over 569 games pitched.  His career strikeout total of 1,697 is currently 149th on the all-time list.  Hank Aaron (#170) named Simmons as one of the toughest pitchers he faced during his career.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #399
You'll be seeing this particular passage on my 1965 Topps blog for quite some time as we added a whopping 97 cards to our set during the December Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show.  If I'm ambitious and compose posts for five cards a week, I should be completely caught up by the end of May.  If I'm not as ambitious, I might still be going through this stack by the time we hit July.  Either way, I'll enjoy the process and I'm looking forward to taking my time.  I've posted a complete summary of this fantastic show over at The Phillies Room.

Looking to kill some time while we were waiting for our number to be called for Doug's autograph from Jim Thome, I found a bargain bin of 1965 Topps cards at Uncle Dick's and I texted Doug that I'd be standing at the table where the dealers were wearing neon green shirts.   This Simmons card was one of 15 from that first batch of purchases, totaling $40, and it was a little less than $3 after the dealer discount.  After getting the Thome autograph, and grabbing a slice of pizza from the "food court" upstairs, I'd settle in at Uncle Dick's for my second and biggest haul of the show.

The Card / Cardinals Team Set
Simmons' veteran status and his lengthy major league career up to this point allowed no room for anything other than statistics.

1965 Season
Simmons, and the entire Cardinals team, came back down to Earth in 1965, with Simmons going 9-15 with a 4.08 ERA over 34 appearances, including 32 starts.  Only Bob Gibson (#320) with 36 made more starts than Simmons with the lefty pitcher crossing the 200-inning threshold for eighth and final time in his career.

Phillies Career
The Phillies signed Simmons as a bonus baby in 1947 for $65,000, one of the highest amounts received to date by an amateur player.  He made his debut on September 28th that season and he'd be a fixture in the Phillies' starting pitching rotation for the next decade.  He was the National League's starting pitcher in the 1952 All-Star Game, hosted at Shibe Park, and he pitched three shutout innings while striking out three.  With the Phillies entering a rebuilding phase, Simmons was released by the club on May 17, 1960.  He'd return briefly to the franchise in 1970 as a member of the Phillies' minor league instructional staff.

With the Phillies, he was 115-110 with a 3.66 ERA in 325 games.  Simmons was inducted onto the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1993, and he was by far the best left-handed pitcher in franchise history until Steve Carlton (#477), Chris Short and Cole Hamels all came along.  Simmons still ranks in the top ten among all Phillies pitchers in games started (263), shutouts (18), wins (115), innings pitched (1,939 2/3), and strikeouts (1,052).

1949 Bowman #14

1952 Topps #203

1957 Topps #158

1963 Topps #22

1967 Topps #39

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #14
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13):  1952, 1956-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2016 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-CS

92 - Simmons non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/29/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Ending 2020 on a High Note (#SBWTMABCTJ)

I've always prided myself in trying to live in the moment and to not spend too much time looking forward to what comes next.  With that being said, I'm more than ready to turn the page on 2020 and I'm hopeful for a safe, healthy and less anxiety-filled 2021.  I'm extremely grateful my family made it through this year with our health and clinging to a few annual traditions that mean a lot to us.  Selfishly, one of those annual traditions I look forward to is the opening of presents at my Mom's house the day after Christmas.  The gathering was in doubt this year, but with everyone masked up, spread out as much as we could and with hand sanitizers readily available, we did it.  Dr. Fauci would have been proud.  The gathering was shorter than usual, with less hugs and less eating, but it still meant a lot.  We gathered for a quick family selfie at the end of the evening, which was really the only time we all briefly came together.

The last present I opened yesterday contained eight individually wrapped gifts in the exact shape and size of baseball cards.  If you've read this blog each December for the past 10 years, you're now familiar with the annual event of Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim.  Thanks largely to my Mom, it's actually getting harder to populate my Most Wanted - Vintage list on this blog's sidebar, and I may need to change up my tactics for 2021's installment.  From this year's haul, the 10th Annual SBWTMABCTJ:

1949 Bowman #228 Jackie Mayo - The addition of this Mayo card, since jail-breaked from its slab, means I'm only one card away from a 1949 Bowman Phillies team set.  The Richie Ashburn rookie card is going to need to wait a little bit longer.

1952 Topps #13 Johnny Wyrostek - Wyrostek is on the Reds here, but he played with the Phillies in 1952 which means he fits into my definition of belonging in my 1950s Phillies binder.  The only remaining 1952 Topps Phillies cards I need now are from the pricey high-number series.

1953 Bowman Black & White #47 Jack Lohrke - Compared to their Color counterparts, the 1953 Bowman Black & White set often gets overlooked.  For a complete run of Bowman Phillies cards, I'm down to needing three cards - the '49 Ashburn rookie, along with Wyrostek and Andy Hansen from this 1953 Bowman set.

1956 Topps #114 Jim Owens and #274 Frank Baumholtz - I already own these cards in our 1956 Topps set, and I'm selfishly adding second copies of each for my 1950s Phillies binder.

1966 Topps #543 Roger Craig - This card gets me one card away from a complete run of Phillies cards from the 1960s Topps sets.  I'm down to needing just the Gary Sutherland card (shared with the Mets' Don Shaw) from the tough 1967 Topps high-number series.  The only cards standing in the way of my having a complete run of Topps Phillies team sets from 1951 to 2020 are four cards from the 1952 Topps high-number series, two cards from the 1956 Topps set and the Sutherland Rookie Stars card.

1971 Topps #664 Ken Reynolds and #692 Wayne Twitchell - These two cards wrap up my complete run of 1970s Topps Phillies team sets.  Again, Twitchell is with the Brewers here but since he played with the Phillies in 1971, it's worthy of a spot in my team set.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your families!  Stay safe, mask up and go wash your hands.

A Look at What Santa Brought . . . with Help from My Mom (#SBWTMABCTJ)

This is a post I look forward to writing all year.  We're on the other side of another Christmas, and our family continued our tradition of turning Christmas into a 3-day event.  We celebrate in our house on Christmas day, at my Mom's house the day after Christmas and with my wife's family a few days after that.  It's a fun three days that leave me happy, slightly tired and stuffed with food.

At my Mom's house, I anxiously unwrapped a present to find a box of Fralinger's Salt Water Taffy.  There wasn't any salt water taffy inside the box, but instead I found the first card needed from my (now outdated) Ten Most Wanted list and a clue to the location of more cards.  With the help of my sons and my nieces, the clue was solved and my boyhood teddy bear was found holding a package with the rest of the cards shown in the photo above.  Once again, my Mom had made a Ten Most Wanted list obsolete!  It was another successful installment of Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim, and the hauls from past Christmases are linked below.

Here's a list of the treasures added in the 2019 Edition of #SBWTMABCTJ:

1949 Bowman #216 Schoolboy Rowe
1952 Topps #185 Bill Nicholson
1953 Topps #10 Smoky Burgess
1956 Topps #296 Andy Seminick
1957 Topps #314 Ed Bouchee
1965 Topps #474 Cookie Rojas
1966 Topps #585 Tony Taylor
1967 Topps #242 RBI Leaders
1970 Topps #645 Don Money
1972 Topps #690 Willie Montanez

These ten most wanted lists are going to be tougher to put together as I'm getting closer and closer to a complete run of Bowman and Topps cards throughout the 1950s and 1960s.  The 1965 Topps Cookie Rojas card completed my Phillies team set from that year, and I now have the pleasure of tracking down those Phillies cards all over again for our 1965 Topps set.

An unexpected surprise was the addition of the 1966 Phillies Yearbook and a Sports Illustrated from 1958 with outfielding and base running tips from Richie Ashburn.  My Mom once again did an amazing job and she already knows how much she means to me.

2011 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim

Part 1 - Continuing a Tradition

Part 2 - 1971 Topps Set - 13 More Down

Part 3 - 1952 Topps Phillies

Part 4 - 1951 Bowman Phillies

Part 5 - Curt Simmons - Two New Bowman Cards

Part 6 - 1955 Bowman and Topps Phillies

2012 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 1941 Double Play Litwhiler & May
Part 2 - 1963 Topps John Herrnstein rookie card (featuring Willie Stargell)
Part 3 - 1940 Play Ball Phillies - Part 1
Part 4 - 1940 Play Ball Phillies - Part 2
Part 5 - 1950 Bowman Del Ennis

2013 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 1998 Upper Deck Scott Rolen
Part 2 - 1968 Topps Phillies Team Card
Part 3 - 1966 Topps Bob Uecker
Part 4 - 1955 Bowman Robin Roberts
Part 5 - 1965 Topps Johnny Callison
Part 6 - 1954 Bowman Richie Ashburn

2014 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 1952 Bowman and 1953 Bowman Color Richie Ashburn
Part 2 - 1950 Bowman Roberts, 1951 Topps Blue Backs Jones, 1955 Bowman Wyrostek
Part 3 - 1995 Collector's Choice Hayes and 1999 Fleer Mystique Burrell

2015 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Seven Phillies Cards from the 1950s Crossed Off the List

2016 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 10 vintage Phillies cards added to the collection
Part 2 - 2 modern oddball Phillies cards find a new home

2017 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Vintage cards crossed off the list, 1959 Topps Phillies team set completed!

2018 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
8th annual haul completes 1953 Bowman Color Phillies team set

2019 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
1965 Topps team set completed, getting closer to most 1950s team sets

1949 Bowman #46 Robin Roberts

I wanted to take a brief break from family time and eating way too much to show off my big present from my wife Jenna this Christmas.  Jenna got me this Robin Roberts rookie card and I'm thrilled to finally have this card in my collection.  This would have been one of those cards I had seen over and over again as a young(er) collector in magazines or in books or at baseball card shows, and I never imagined I'd actually own one.  I'm just a little bummed the offer for an Official Baseball Ring, as advertised on the back, expired 70 years ago.  The next major Phillies card I need to track down after this is the Richie Ashburn rookie card, also found within the 1949 Bowman set.

There were a few other baseball card related gifts under our tree, including a 2019 Topps factory set for me, some new Topps cards for Doug, and a 1965 Topps League Leaders card for our 1965 Topps set.  Ben was happy to load a bunch of games onto his new iPad.

I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays and here's to a fantastic 2020!

1965 Topps #15 Robin Roberts

I'm trying to get the word out that I've started a new blog and here's a crossover post from it, chronicling each card we add to our new 1965 Topps set.  We started collecting the set this month and I'll be taking a deep dive look at each card we add.  Please click on over there for all of the posts to date, including a look at the Phillies Alumni featured so far.


Robin Evan Roberts
Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  190
Born:  September 30, 1926, Springfield, IL
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 1948-1961; Baltimore Orioles 1962-1965; Houston Astros 1965-1966; Chicago Cubs 1966
Hall of Fame Induction:  1976
Died:  May 6, 2010, Temple Terrace, FL (age 83)

Hall of Famer Robin Roberts was one of the most dominant right-handed pitchers of the 1950s, leading the National League in wins for four straight seasons between 1952 and 1955 and earning seven straight All-Star Game appearances.  A work horse for the Phillies, his 20-win season in 1950 led the Phillies to the World Series and made him the first pitcher to win at least 20 games for the club since Grover Cleveland Alexander did it in 1917.  Straddling the 1952 and 1953 seasons, he pitched 28 complete games in a row with his appearance on September 6, 1952 lasting 17 innings.  He led the league in strikeouts in 1953 and 1954, and was named The Sporting News pitcher of the year in both 1952 and 1955.

After departing the Phillies, Roberts bounced from the Yankees, Orioles, Astros and Cubs, pitching a total of 19 seasons and retiring at the age of 39.  He finished with a career record of 286-245 with a 3.41 ERA and exactly half of his 609 starts resulted in complete games (305).  His 609 games started currently rank 20th on the all-time list.  He was the first Phillies player to have his number retired in 1962 and the first player inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1978.

Building the Set
December 7, 2019 from King of Prussia, PA - Card #8
Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sportscard & Memorabilia Show held inside the Valley Forge Casino.  After meeting Benito Santiago, Brad Lidge and Ryan Howard and having secured the first five cards for our 1965 Topps set, I continued scanning tables for the final two cards I needed to complete my 1971 Topps set.

I found a dealer with organized binders of vintage Topps cards, and I dug in.  Quickly finding the last two cards I needed from 1971 - #662 Mike Hedlund and #715 Horace Clarke,  both in great shape - I started browsing through binders from other years, in search of cards for my 1960s Phillies team sets.  I added five cards (all high numbers) for those sets and then decided to look through the 1965 Topps binder, figuring Doug wouldn't mind if I added a few more cards to our set.  I found four more sharp cards for our set, featuring players who all had some meaning for me personally.  This Roberts card was the first of those four cards along with Jim Fregosi (#210), Juan Pizarro (#125) and Harvey Haddix (#67).  For all 11 cards, the dealer gave me a price of $62, which I felt was fair given I had calculated a price of $75 in my head for the lot.  I snapped a quick picture of his table before moving along.

The Card

2006 Toyota Phillies Wall of Fame Postcards

This is Roberts' third and final Topps card showing him with the Orioles, as he previously appeared with the team in the 1963 and 1964 Topps sets.  It's still odd seeing Roberts in anything other than red pinstripes.  It's also odd that Roberts wore #38 with the Orioles instead of his familiar #36.  Darrell Johnson wore #36 for the Orioles in 1962, Roberts first year with the club, and he only appeared in six games.  No one wore #36 for the Orioles during Roberts' remaining time with the club.

With the palm tree visible over Roberts' right shoulder, it would appear this photo was taken during spring training.

1965 Season
At the start of the 1965 season, Roberts was relegated to the Orioles bullpen as the team already had set its starting pitching rotation with Steve Barber (#113), Dave McNally (#249), Wally Bunker (#290) and Milt Pappas (#270).  With Pappas missing a few games in May, Roberts got his shot and pitched four straight complete games.  But he struggled after that, going 1-7 over his final eight starts with the club and the Orioles released him on July 31st.

The Astros picked him up a week later, and he immediately rewarded them with two shutouts in first two starts.  His first Astros start came against the Phillies, and he allowed just four hits while striking out six.  In total, Roberts started 25 games for both teams, going a combined 10-9 with a 2.78 ERA.

Phillies Career
Roberts signed with the Phillies as an amateur free agent before the 1948 season and he was sold to the Yankees on October 16, 1961.  In the decade-plus in between, he established himself as the best right-handed pitcher in franchise history.  He still ranks first in franchise history in games (529), complete games (272), and innings pitched (3,739 1/3), and is second only to Steve Carlton in games started (472), wins (234) and strikeouts (1,871).

Following his big league career, and after a partial season with the Reading Phillies in 1967 attempting a comeback, Roberts' later crossed paths with the Phillies when he served as a color commentary on Phillies broadcasts for games between 1974 and 1976.  Along with his induction into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1978, he was also named to their Centennial Team in 1983.  His statute sits outside the first base gate of Citizens Bank Park, and when he passed away in 2010 the Phillies wore a black #36 patch on their uniforms and hung a Roberts jersey in their dugout during each game.

1949 Bowman #46

1952 Topps #59

1956 Topps #180

1959 Topps #352

1966 Topps #530

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #46
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12):  1952, 1956-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2019 Topps Archives #212

483 - Roberts non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/14/19.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Doug in the Hall of Fame Club at Citizens Bank Park in 2015
Photo shows the four greatest Phillies players together in Cooperstown

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

1956 Topps #48 Jim Hegan

I'm considering this a crossover post as I've recently dusted off my other blog, chronicling each card in the wonderful 1956 Topps set. I hope to maintain a regular posting schedule and today's post features former Phillies player Gene Freese.  Please click on over there for all of the posts to date, including a look at all the Phillies Alumni featured in the set.



James Edward Hegan
Cleveland Indians
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  195
Born:  August 3, 1920, Lynn, MA
Signed:  Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1938 season
Major League Teams:  Cleveland Indians 1941-1942, 1946-1957; Detroit Tigers 1958; Philadelphia Phillies 1958-1959; San Francisco Giants 1959; Chicago Cubs 1960
Died:  June 17, 1984, Lynn, MA (age 63)

Interrupted by three years of military service during World War II, Jim Hegan played 17 seasons in the big leagues as an All-Star catcher and then as a dependable back-up catcher in his later years.  With the Indians in the late 1940s and early 1950s, he was named to five All-Star Games and received A.L. MVP votes in 1948 and 1954, the two seasons in which the Indians advanced to the World Series.  His best season came in 1948, helping the Indians to a World Series ring, and hitting career highs in both home runs (14) and RBIs (61).

Hegan appeared in 1,666 games and was a career .228 hitter.  He more than compensated for his low average with his work behind the plate, expertly handling the early 1950s Indians starting pitching rotation consisting of Bob Feller (#200), Bob Lemon (#255), Early Wynn (#187) and Mike Garcia (#210).

Following his playing days, Hegan served as a Yankees coach for 16 seasons from 1960 to 1973 and then again from 1979 to 1980.  His son Mike Hegan made his Major League debut with the Yankees in 1964, and the two Hegan's were together for parts of four seasons with the team.

Building the Set
July 31, 1993 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #116
This is one of five 1956 Topps cards I purchased at the Ocean City baseball card show during the summer of '93.  My notes indicate we paid $9 for the card, and like the other 1956 Topps cards we purchased that day this card is flawless.

I wrote about the summer of '93 and the first of five cards purchased in my post for Frank House (#32).

The Card
That's Hegan, wearing #4 and coming in spikes high at a play at second base.  Given where the fielder's glove is, I'm assuming the umpire was about to call Hegan safe.  The portrait photo is the same photo used on Hegan's 1954 and 1955 Topps cards.

The back of his card pays tribute to his status as one of the best defensive catchers in the league.  Hegan's record of having caught three no-hitters was later broken by Jason Varitek and Carlos Ruiz, who both caught four no-hitters.  (I commemorated Ruiz's record here over at The Phillies Room.)  Hegan was on the receiving end of no-hitters from Don Black in 1947, Lemon in 1948 and Feller in 1951.

1956 Season
1956 was to be Hegan's final year as a regular catcher, appearing in 122 games for the Indians at the age of 36.  He hit .222 with 6 home runs that season.  Prior to the 1958 season, with rookie Russ Nixon ready to take over regular catching duties for the Indians, Hegan was traded to the Tigers.

Phillies Career
On July 27, 1958, the Tigers traded Hegan to the Phillies for minor leaguer John Turk and cash.  The 1958 Phillies were going nowhere fast and they'd ultimately finish 8th in the National League with a record of 69-85.  Hegan appeared in 25 games for the Phillies, serving as a back-up to Stan Lopata (#183) along with fellow catchers Joe Lonnett and Jimmie Coker.  Hegan appeared in 25 more games for the Phillies in 1959 before being sold to the Giants on June 14th.  His Phillies career consisted of 50 games, where he hit .209 (23 for 110) with no home runs and 14 RBIs.

His 1959 Topps card features him with the Phillies, and the card holds a special place in my collection.  I wrote about it here, and this was my first truly "vintage" Phillies baseball card.  At the time of its acquisition, I remember marveling that something this old was now in my small but growing collection.  This is Hegan's one and only Phillies baseball card, and his last card as an active player.

1949 Leaf #28

1951 Topps Red Backs #12

1959 Topps #372

1973 Topps #116

1976 Topps #69

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Leaf #28
First Topps Card:  1951 Topps Red Backs #12
Representative Phillies Card:  1959 Topps #372
Last Topps Card (as a player):  1959 Topps #372
First Topps Card (as a coach):  1973 Topps #116
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Topps Archives 1954 #29

92 - Hegan non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/13/19.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

The Best Lists are Checked Lists - Crossing Off Vintage Phillies Cards (#SBWTMABCTJ)

1949 Bowman #161

1949 Bowman #177

1951 Berk Ross #4-8

This is a post I look forward to writing all year.

My Mom has taken it upon herself to single-handedly wipe out my Ten Most Wanted - Vintage list every year with a highly anticipated Christmas present.  She made me work for it this year, hiding the box with the ten individually wrapped cards that I could only find using a series of clues she had hidden.  With the help of two sons and two nieces, and following each clue, I was eventually able to locate the box in the back seat of my Mom's car.  Before we dive into the summary, here's a look at what the list looked like before Christmas:

These cards are all off my want lists now due to the 2018 installment of Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim (#SBWTMABCTJ).  Thank you Santa (aka Mom)!

1949 Bowman #161 Jocko Thompson
1949 Bowman #177 Stan Lopata
I'm getting closer to this tough Phillies team set with the addition of these two cards.  I'm now down to needing the rather expensive Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts rookie cards, and the high-numbered cards of Schoolboy Rowe and Jackie Mayo.

This is Lopata's rookie card, and he'd go on to play 13 years in the Majors, 11 of those years with the Phillies.

1951 Berk Ross #4-8 Robin Roberts
I'm now one card away to completing this 14-card Phillies team set, needing just the Curt Simmons card at this point.  I had to break Roberts out of his PSA slab to let him breathe and take his place in the 1950s Phillies binder along with his counterparts.

1953 Bowman Black & White #14 Bill Nicholson
1953 Bowman Color #158 Howard Fox
Thanks to this Howard Fox card, I'm now the proud owner of a complete 1953 Bowman Color Phillies team set.  I'm going to show off the entire team set in a separate gallery.  Bill Nicholson's card got me a card closer to also finishing off the 1953 Bowman Black & White Phillies team set.  Both of these cards are beautiful.

1953 Bowman Black & White #14

1956 Topps #220

1953 Bowman Color #158

1956 Topps #220 Del Ennis
Having already completed the entire 1956 Topps set*, I'm now trying to add a second Phillies team set to my 1950s Phillies binder.  This Del Ennis card is actually nicer than the version of the card I have in my complete set.

*My 1956 Topps blog has been dormant since February 2017, which truly bothers me.  I'd love to find some time in 2019 to dust this off and add a few more cards to this blog.  I think I originally stalled out due to the daunting task of writing about card #30, Jackie Robinson, and I haven't been able to pick it back up . . . yet.

1957 Topps #265 Harvey Haddix
1957 Topps #335 Granny Hamner
A complete 1957 Topps Phillies team set is now within reach as I'm just a handful of cards short of wrapping this one up too.

1957 Topps #265

1957 Topps #335

1960 Topps #518

1961 Topps #530

1960 Topps #518 Tony Gonzalez
1961 Topps #530 Bobby Malkmus
The Tony Gonzalez card was the last card I needed to finish off my version of the 1960 Topps Phillies team set.  Gonzalez was dealt to the Phillies from the Reds in June, playing the bulk of the 1960 season in Philadelphia.  By my logic, his 1960 Topps card belongs with the rest of the 1960 Topps Phillies team set.

The addition of the 1961 Topps Bobby Malkmus card means I need just one more card for a complete 1961 Topps Phillies team set.

Finally, the print below is a new addition to the actual Phillies Room, courtesy (again) of my Mom.  The print features the classic broadcast team of By Saam, Richie Ashburn and Bill Campbell, who worked in the booth together between 1963 and 1970.

2011 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim

Part 1 - Continuing a Tradition

Part 2 - 1971 Topps Set - 13 More Down

Part 3 - 1952 Topps Phillies

Part 4 - 1951 Bowman Phillies

Part 5 - Curt Simmons - Two New Bowman Cards

Part 6 - 1955 Bowman and Topps Phillies

2012 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 1941 Double Play Litwhiler & May
Part 2 - 1963 Topps John Herrnstein rookie card (featuring Willie Stargell)
Part 3 - 1940 Play Ball Phillies - Part 1
Part 4 - 1940 Play Ball Phillies - Part 2
Part 5 - 1950 Bowman Del Ennis

2013 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 1998 Upper Deck Scott Rolen
Part 2 - 1968 Topps Phillies Team Card
Part 3 - 1966 Topps Bob Uecker
Part 4 - 1955 Bowman Robin Roberts
Part 5 - 1965 Topps Johnny Callison
Part 6 - 1954 Bowman Richie Ashburn

2014 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 1952 Bowman and 1953 Bowman Color Richie Ashburn
Part 2 - 1950 Bowman Roberts, 1951 Topps Blue Backs Jones, 1955 Bowman Wyrostek
Part 3 - 1995 Collector's Choice Hayes and 1999 Fleer Mystique Burrell

2015 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Seven Phillies Cards from the 1950s Crossed Off the List

2016 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 10 vintage Phillies cards added to the collection
Part 2 - 2 modern oddball Phillies cards find a new home

2017 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Vintage cards crossed off the list, 1959 Topps Phillies team set completed!

2018 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
8th annual haul completes 1953 Bowman Color Phillies team set

Old Phillies Baseball Cards and a Quilt Too! (#SBWTMABCTJ)

1949 Bowman #76

1949 Bowman #142

1951 Berk Ross #1-9

She did it again.

Before Christmas, my Ten Most Wanted - Vintage list on the sidebar looked like this:

Thanks to my Mom, and a now seven-year tradition, nine of those ten cards have been removed from my want lists and an updated Ten Most Wanted - Vintage list is needed.  On the day after Christmas, we visited my Mom's house so that her grandkids and kids could each open their stockings, unwrap their way too many thoughtful gifts and so that I could once again experience the annual phenomenon now known as Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim (SBWTMABCTJ, for short).

I don't remember a Christmas when I didn't receive one or two or dozens of amazing baseball cards from Santa.  Be it a card I needed to complete my 1975 Topps set (#638 Cubs Team Card) or a pricey card needed for the 1956 Topps set, I've always had the pleasure of adding great cards to my collection every Christmas.  This year was no different.

Presented here in chronological order are the cards I crossed off my list thanks to my Mom.

1949 Bowman #76 Bill Nicholson
1949 Bowman #142 Eddie Waitkus
Appearing in Cubs uniforms, both of these cards are technically Phillies cards.  The backs of both cards list the Phillies as the team designation, as Nicholson was acquired from the Cubs on October 4, 1948, and Waitkus was acquired a few months later on December 14th.  I now need six cards to complete the 1949 Bowman team set, including the rookie cards of Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts.

1951 Berk Ross #1-9 Richie Ashburn
Speaking of Ashburn . . . This 1951 Berk Ross card came encased in a PSA graded slab but it's now been freed.  No offense to the other cards I received, but this may be my favorite of the lot.

1953 Bowman Color #113

1953 Bowman Color #131

1953 Bowman Color #113 Karl Drews
1953 Bowman Color #131 Connie Ryan
With the addition of these two cards, I'm now just one card away from a complete 1953 Bowman Color Phillies team set (#158 Howie Fox).  When I'm one day rich and famous, it would be tough to decide whether to collect this complete set or the complete 1955 Bowman set.  These cards are gorgeous.

1959 Topps #31 Ken Lehman
1959 Topps #352 Robin Roberts
These are the last two cards I needed to complete the 1959 Topps Phillies team set.  Together in nine-pocket pages, the team set looks incredible and I may need to feature all the cards in a gallery in a future post.

1961 Topps Topps #569 Frank Herrera AS
1962 Topps #534 Tony Gonzalez
Jumping ahead to the 1960s, I'm inching closer to complete Phillies team sets from 1961 and 1962 Topps.  These two high numbered cards have been difficult for me to find, but by Mom was able to track them both down.

1959 Topps #31

1959 Topps #352

1961 Topps #569

1962 Topps #534

2011 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim

Part 1 - Continuing a Tradition

Part 2 - 1971 Topps Set - 13 More Down

Part 3 - 1952 Topps Phillies

Part 4 - 1951 Bowman Phillies

Part 5 - Curt Simmons - Two New Bowman Cards

Part 6 - 1955 Bowman and Topps Phillies

2012 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 1941 Double Play Litwhiler & May
Part 2 - 1963 Topps John Herrnstein rookie card (featuring Willie Stargell)
Part 3 - 1940 Play Ball Phillies - Part 1
Part 4 - 1940 Play Ball Phillies - Part 2
Part 5 - 1950 Bowman Del Ennis

2013 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 1998 Upper Deck Scott Rolen
Part 2 - 1968 Topps Phillies Team Card
Part 3 - 1966 Topps Bob Uecker
Part 4 - 1955 Bowman Robin Roberts
Part 5 - 1965 Topps Johnny Callison
Part 6 - 1954 Bowman Richie Ashburn

2014 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 1952 Bowman and 1953 Bowman Color Richie Ashburn
Part 2 - 1950 Bowman Roberts, 1951 Topps Blue Backs Jones, 1955 Bowman Wyrostek
Part 3 - 1995 Collector's Choice Hayes and 1999 Fleer Mystique Burrell

2015 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Seven Phillies Cards from the 1950s Crossed Off the List

2016 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 10 vintage Phillies cards added to the collection
Part 2 - 2 modern oddball Phillies cards find a new home

2017 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Vintage cards crossed off the list, 1959 Topps Phillies team set completed!

Before ending this post, the post title promised a quilt as part of my annual Christmas summary.  Gathering old t-shirts and baseball uniforms, my Mom had a large quilt made that perfectly captures my formative years.  I hadn't seen some of these shirts in over 30 years, and I had no idea she had kept them.  The resulting quilt is a nostalgic reminder of my youth and a perfect gift.  (My sister got one too, featuring t-shirts from the many local and school plays in which she had appeared.)

If you're interested, and I can highly recommend them, please check out Keepsake Theme Quilts here.