1978 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  35
Card Size:  3 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Description:  As was the case with all Phillies photo cards issued throughout the 1970s, these cards feature a black and white photo with the players' name below.  The backs of the photo cards are blank and there's no indication on the cards themselves that they're from 1978.  Some of the cards contain blue facsimile autographs, as noted on the checklist below.  Tug McGraw's card features a rare horizontal format to fit his post wind-up photo.

How Distributed:  The photo cards were handed out to fans individually and supplied to the players in order to reply to fan mail or honor autograph requests.  I could be wrong, but I don't believe the cards were ever available in complete set form.  The set's checklist is comprised of the manager, five coaches, the entire 25-man opening day roster and two players acquired via trades in mid-June - Rawly Eastwick and Dick Ruthven.  As fellow collector Rick pointed out in a comment to this set's original post, there are action and portrait variations for the Tim McCarver and McGraw cards.  I'm not sure which versions are more prevalent, so I've included both in the standard checklist below.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically): 

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

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

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

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (0)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Signature Variation 1. Mike Schmidt (auto)

Harrison/Erickson 1. Phillie Phanatic

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

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

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

This set was originally featured in a post back in January 2015, and I'm going to slowly go through these team-issued set posts and update them with new information learned (if any) over the past six years.

 

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

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

Limited Edition Chachi Insert Set: 1978 Topps Missing Links

I've needed a Phillies break since the conclusion of the Freefall of '18 wrapped up, but I wanted to break my hiatus to post these cards today.  My wife's birthday is approaching and 1978 was a big year for her so I thought I'd use her upcoming birthday as motivation to wrap up a project I've been working on for a while now.

There are several players who appeared for the Phillies during the 1978 season who never appeared on a proper 1978 Topps card in red pinstripes/baby blue.  In an attempt to right that wrong, I scoured the internet and my personal collection to provide suitable (?) cards for these 14 players and the Phillies coaching staff.

Some of these have already appeared throughout the past season atop series preview posts, but the entire 19-card, limited edition insert set is presented here.  And I'll gladly update the Kerry Dineen and Horacio Pina cards if Phillies pictures of either player ever show up.


1. Dan Boitano - The righty reliever appeared in one inning of one game for the 1978 Phillies.  He appears in the 1980 Topps set on a Brewers Future Stars card.
2. Todd Cruz - Cruz started his six-year career with 3 games for the Phillies as a September call-up.
3. Kerry Dineen - Dineen appeared in 16 big league games between 1975 and 1978 for the Yankees and Phillies.  He has a Phillies related card in the 1979 Oklahoma City 89ers team city that I've yet to track down.
4. Rawly Eastwick - Acquired from the Cardinals in June 1978 for Bobby Brown and Jay Johnstone, Eastwick appears in the 1978 Topps set with his former team.
5. Orlando Gonzalez - Gonzalez shows up in the 1977 Topps and 1981 Fleer sets, but there are no official cards marking his 26 games with the Phillies in 1978.


6. Bud Harrelson - Harrelson appears with the Mets in the 1978 Topps set.  The Phils sent Fred Andrews to the Mets in March to acquire him.
7. Dan Larson - Larson pitched in 21 games for the Phillies between 1978 and 1981.  He's in the 1977 Topps set with the Astros.
8. Pete Mackanin - The future Phillies manager appeared in 5 games for the 1978 Phillies and he's in the 1978 Topps set with the Expos.
9. Keith Moreland - Moreland made his Major League debut in the final game of the 1978 season.
10. Jim Morrison - A true omission from the 1978 Topps set, Morrison appeared in 53 games for the N.L. Champion Phillies.  He'd appear in the 1979 Topps set on a Phillies Prospects card with Lonnie Smith and Jim Wright.


11. Horacio Pina - The veteran Pina was purchased from the Mexican League on September 14th, appeared in 2 games for the Phillies, and was promptly returned to the Mexican League following the season.
12. Dick Ruthven - On June 15th, the Phillies re-acquired Ruthven from the Braves, swapping out Gene Garber.
13. Kevin Saucier - Like Moreland, Saucier made his big league debut in the final game of the 1978 season.  He allowed 4 runs on 4 hits in 2 innings of work.
14. Lonnie Smith - A September call-up, Smith appeared in 17 games for the Phillies down the stretch.


15. Carroll Beringer CO - Beringer departed following the season, having served as the bullpen coach since 1973.
16. Billy DeMars CO - The team's hitting coach between 1969 and 1981, DeMars also served as the first base coach (1969-1972) and the third base coach (1972-1979).
17. Ray Rippelmeyer CO - This was Rippelmeyer's final season as the team's pitching coach, a position he had held since 1970.


18. Tony Taylor CO - Taylor's first stint as a Phillies coach saw him serve as the infield coach (1977-1978) and first base coach (1979).
19. Bobby Wine CO - A Phillies coach from 1972 until 1983, Wine served as the infield coach (1972), first base coach (1973-1978) and bench coach (1979-1983).

1974 Topps #119 Danny Ozark MG & Coaches

If given the choice, I'd much rather be sleep-deprived right now, staying up late watching the Phillies in the postseason and creating Chachi cards to commemorate each playoff game.  Instead, I'm doing a series of posts on the Phillies coaches from the past 40-plus years.

I've already looked at the team's bench, bullpen, hitting, pitching and third base coaches, and this post will take a look at the Phillies first base coaches since 1970.  No one has served as the team's first base coach for more than four seasons since Bobby Wine held the position from 1973 to 1978, and there's been quite a bit of turnover with the position.  As I write this, the Phillies are still in the market for a first base coach for the 2014 season.

Billy DeMars 1969-1972 - DeMars was also the de facto hitting coach during this time
Brandy Davis 1972
Bobby Wine 1973-1978
Tony Taylor 1979; 1988-1989
Ruben Amaro 1980-1981
Deron Johnson 1982-1984 - Johnson also served as hitting coach
Del Unser 1985-1987 - Unser also served as hitting coach
John Vukovich 1990-1991
Mel Roberts 1992-1995
Dave Cash 1996
Brad Mills 1997-2000
Tony Scott 2001-2003
Milt Thompson 2004
Marc Bombard 2005-2006
Davey Lopes 2007-2010
Sam Perlozzo 2011-2012
Juan Samuel 2013
Wally Joyner 2013

Phillies Coaches 1970-2014

Bench Coach

Bullpen Coach

Hitting Coach

Pitching Coach

Third Base Coach

1978 SSPC Baseball the Phillies Way - Part One

During the first Gallery Week, I featured the Phillies team set from the quirky, yet lovable 1976 SSPC set.  I broke the gallery into two posts - part one and part two.  Today and tomorrow, I'll feature the Phillies cards from a set released by SSPC in 1978.  This set is either listed as "1978 SSPC Baseball the Phillies Way" or "1978 SSPC 270."  The latter name derives from the fact that these cards were included as an insert within a baseball magazine entitled, you guessed it, Baseball the Phillies Way.  The publication contained tips on how to play each position and how to better your hitting, pitching and fielding skills, among other things.  The back of the front cover even contained a letter to the reader from then-Phillies front office personnel Paul Owens and Dallas Green.

The 1978 SSPC 270 name derives from the fact that SSPC released 270 total cards that year, all spread out among a number of team publications.  For this reason, the Phillies cards are numbered "0028" to "0054" within their publication.  (I've dropped the "00" prefix in the galleries.)  The set has the feel of the 1976 SSPC set, but adds horizontal cards and more cards of coaches this time around.

Back in the early '80s, I bought two of these magazines at the Ocean City Baseball Card Show - one to keep in tact and one from which to skillfully cut the baseball cards from.

#28 Garry Maddox

#29 Steve Carlton

#30 Ron Reed

#31 Greg Luzinski

#32 Bobby Wine CO

#33 Bob Boone

#34 Carroll Beringer CO

#35 Richie Hebner

#36 Ray Rippelmeyer CO

#37 Terry Harmon

#38 Gene Garber

#39 Ted Sizemore

#40 Barry Foote

#41 Tony Taylor CO

Phillies at Nationals: May 24th to May 26th

Friday 7:05, Saturday 7:15 and Sunday 1:35
Nationals Park - Washington, D.C.

Phillies 23-24, 3rd Place in the N.L. East, 5 1/2 games behind the Braves
Nationals 24-23, 2nd Place in the N.L. East, 4 1/2 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables:  Kyle Kendrick (4-2, 2.82), Jonathan Pettibone (3-0, 3.00), Cole Hamels (1-7, 4.45)
Nationals Probables:  Jordan Zimmermann (7-2, 1.62), Dan Haren (4-5, 5.54), Stephen Strasburg (2-5, 2.66)

At the Ballpark:  On Saturday, the first 15,000 fans will receive a Nationals Lunch Tote.  It's the perfect way to carry your lunch into work with a intense amount of Natitude.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Michael Young - .287

Runs:  Chase Utley - 21

Home Runs:  Domonic Brown - 8

RBIs:  Ryan Howard and Chase Utley - 25

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 8

Wins:  Cliff Lee - 5

ERA:  Cliff Lee - 2.48

Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 57

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 8

1973 Topps #486 and #377

1973 Topps Flashback:  Today's flashback features two of the three men to have managed at least 1,000 Phillies games - the other of course being the current Phillies manager,  Charlie Manuel.

1973 was Danny Ozark's first season at the helm, and my guess is that there's a Dodgers hat somewhere underneath the airbrushed Phillies logo appearing on this card.  Prior to being hired by the Phillies, Ozark spent eight seasons as a coach for the Dodgers on Walter Alston's staff.  Ozark led the Phils to three division titles in 1976, 1977 and 1978, but his teams never advanced to the World Series. He was fired in August 1979 after 1,105 games with the Phillies and a career win-loss record of 594-510-1.

Three of his four coaches - third base coach Billy DeMars, pitching coach Ray Rippelmeyer and first base coach Bobby Wine - were hold-overs from the previous Frank Lucchesi/Paul Owens administrations.  Only bullpen coach Carroll Beringer was added to the staff  when Ozark joined the team, assuming the same coaching position he had previously held with the Dodgers.  Beringer and Rippelmeyer made it through the 1978 season, while DeMars and Wine would go on to win World Series rings in 1980 under Ozark's successor, Dallas Green.

Gene Mauch began his managerial career with nine tumultuous season with the Phillies between 1960 and 1968.  He joined the expansion Montreal Expos for their first season in 1969 and managed the club through 1975.  In his 1,127 games with the Expos, Mauch compiled a record of 499-627, never finishing better than fourth place in the N.L. East.

There are two other Phillies connections on Mauch's manager card.  Dave Bristol served as the team's hitting coach from 1982 until 1985 and again in 1988, and Cal McLish served under Mauch as a coach during the 1965 and 1966 seasons, following three seasons pitching with the Phillies from 1962 to 1964.