1973 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  41
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.  Most of the cards (excluding the Jim Essian card) have blue facsimile autographs on the fronts.  The backs of the photo cards are blank and there's no indication on the cards themselves that they're from 1973.

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.  

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically): 

1. Mike Anderson 2. Carroll Beringer CO 3. Bob Boone 4. Larry Bowa 5. Darrell Brandon 6. Ken Brett 7. Steve Carlton      8. Larry Christenson 9. George Culver 10. Billy DeMars CO            11. Ron Diorio 12. Denny Doyle 13. Jim Essian 14. Billy Grabarkewitz

15. Terry Harmon 16. Tommy Hutton 17. Deron Johnson 18. Barry Lersch 19. Jim Lonborg 20. Greg Luzinski 21. Willie Montanez 22. Danny Ozark MG 23. Jose Pagan 24. Ray Rippelmeyer CO 25. Bill Robinson (not smiling) 26. Bill Robinson (shoulder visible, smiling) 27. Craig Robinson 28. Mike Rogodzinski

29. Dick Ruthven 30. Mike Ryan 31. Mac Scarce 32. Mike Schmidt 33. Dick Selma 34. Cesar Tovar 35. Cesar Tovar (closer cropped, less hair) 36. Wayne Twitchell (smiling) 37. Wayne Twitchell (not smiling) 38. Del Unser 39. Mike Wallace 40. Billy Wilson 41. Bobby Wine CO

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (0)

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (15):  Brett, Christenson, Culver, Diorio, Essian, Grabarkewitz, Lonborg, Pagan, C. Robinson, Rogodzinski, Ruthven, Tovar (2), Unser, Wallace
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (21):  Anderson, Boone, Bowa, Brandon, Carlton, Doyle, Harmon, Hutton, Johnson, Lersch, Luzinski, Montanez, B. Robinson (2), Ryan, Scarce, Schmidt, Selma, Twitchell (2), Wilson

Manager (1):  Ozark
Coach (4):  Berringer, DeMars, Rippelmeyer, Wine

Surprises:  I'm surprised only by the comprehensiveness of this set's checklist.  35 players appeared in a game in 1973 for the Phillies and only 2 were omitted from this set (see below).  The Phillies were issuing new cards as late as mid to late August for newly acquired players too.  George Culver was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers on August 10th and Billy Grabarkewitz was acquired from the Angels on August 14th.

Even Essian, who was in the Phillies' system the entire season and was a September call-up received a card.  The catcher didn't make his big league debut until September 15th.

Omissions:  The 2 players omitted are catcher Larry Cox and reliever Dave Wallace.  Cox is a bit of a surprise omission as he was on the team's opening day roster, but he appeared in only one game on April 18th before getting sent back down to Triple-A Eugene for the rest of the season.  Wallace appeared in four games with the Phillies, pitching 3 2/3 innings, between mid-July and early August.

Variations/Rarities:  Based on the checklist found at The Trading Card Database, there are signature variations for the Bob Boone and Mike Schmidt cards.  The cards contain the same photos, but the signature placement differs slightly on both cards.  I've also added a Del Unser card to my collection without a blue facsimile autograph, shown below.

Signature Variations 1. Bob Boone (slightly different placement) 2. Mike Schmidt (slightly different placement) 3. Del Unser (no signature)

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

Also See:  The Mike Schmidt Rookie Card

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

This set was originally featured in a post back in November 2014, 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.

 

1972 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards / 1974 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards

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

Series Preview - Dodgers at Phillies: August 16th to August 18th

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 7:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Dodgers 65-52, 2nd place in the N.L. West, 1/2 game behind the Giants
Phillies 56-63, 4th place in the N.L. East, 15 games behind the Nationals

Dodgers Probables:  Kenta Maeda (11-7, 3.31), Scott Kazmir (9-6, 4.44), Bud Norris (3-2, 4.34)
Phillies Probables:  Vince Velasquez (8-4, 3.94), Jake Thompson (1-1, 8.68), Jared Eickhoff (8-12, 3.82)

At the Ballpark:  The big event with this series is the return of former Phillie (and a Phillies Room favorite) Chase Utley.  Utley will be entering the field from the visitor's dugout at Citizens Bank Park for the first time.

Tonight is also Beatles Night at the ballpark, and fans with a special theme ticket will receive a special Beatles fleece blanket (which will not be needed for this game).  The special night pays tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Beatles playing a concert at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia on August 16, 1966.

There's a post-game concert on Thursday night featuring country singer Chase Rice.

Dodgers Leaders
Average:  Corey Seager - .309
Runs:  Corey Seager - 74
Home Runs:  Corey Seager and Justin Turner - 21
RBIs:  Justin Turner - 67
Stolen Bases:  Howie Kenrick - 8

Wins:  Clayton Kershaw and Kenta Maeda - 11
ERA:  Clayton Kershaw - 1.79
Strikeouts:  Clayton Kershaw - 145
Saves:  Kenley Jansen - 35

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Cesar Hernandez - .289
Runs:  Odubel Herrera - 64
Home Runs:  Maikel Franco - 21
RBIs:  Maikel Franco - 69
Stolen Bases:  Odubel Herrera - 19

Wins:  Jeremy Hellickson - 9
ERA:  Jeremy Hellickson - 3.65
Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 121
Saves:  Jeanmar Gomez - 31

1970 Topps #446

1970 Topps Appreciation:  Billy Grabarkewitz enjoyed the best season of his seven-year career in 1970 with the Dodgers.  Selected to represent the Dodgers in the All-Star Game, Grabarkewitz finished the 1970 season with what would be career highs in average (.289), home runs (17) and RBIs (84).  He was never able to duplicate this success due to injuries, and the crowded Dodgers infield of the 1970s led to his being traded to the Angels (with Frank Robinson) following the 1972 season.

The Phillies acquired him in a trade with the Angels in August 1973, and his Phillies career spanned just 59 games over two seasons in which he hit .240 with three home runs.  The Phils sold Grabarkewitz to the Cubs in July 1974, but not before he'd appear on three baseball card related releases with the club - 1974 Topps, 1974 Topps Stamps and the 1974 Phillies Photocards set.

And I missed my chance to pay tribute to this original card with the 2016 Chachi card for Brett Oberholtzer.  I clearly should have listed the current Angels pitcher's name as "B. Oberholtzer" on the front of his card.

1973 Topps - Phillies Cards

1973 Topps #535, #396, #572 and #394

We're entering that part of the season when it's time to tie up a few loose ends here on the blog, and set our sights on the better and brighter days that lie ahead for the Phillies.  The 2013 Chachi set uses the design of the 1973 Topps set, and I've enjoyed featuring 1973 Topps cards with some connection to each series opponent in my series preview posts.

Almost a year ago to the day, I posted a comprehensive list of cards from the 1979 Topps set that somehow had a Phillies connection.  This post will serve to do the same with the 1973 Topps set, and it will give me an excuse to show off some cards from teams the Phillies did not face during the 2013 season.

There are 112 (out of 726) cards in the 1979 Topps set with Phillies connections* and I've determined the 1973 Topps set has 107 (out of 660) cards with Phillies connections.

*My original post tallied 111 cards in the 1979 Topps set with Phillies connections, but when the team named Steve Henderson its new hitting coach last October, the number jumped up one to 112.

National League East (41 - 10 without Phillies)
Atlanta Braves (5) - #72 Ron Reed, #169 Ron Schueler, #237 Lew Burdette/Ken Silvestri CO, #550 Davey Johnson, #653 Joe Hoerner
Miami Marlins (0)
New York Mets (4) - #30 Tug McGraw, #184 Jerry Koosman, #223 Bud Harrelson, #525 Jim Fregosi
Philadelphia Phillies (31)
Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos) (1) - #377 Gene Mauch MG

National League Central (24)
Chicago Cubs (2) - #180 Fergie Jenkins, #393 Jose Cardenal
Cincinnati Reds (9) - #28 Hal McRae, #52 Denis Menke, #130 Pete Rose, #202 Pete Rose NLCS, #208 Bobby Tolan/Denis Menke NLCS, #230 Joe Morgan, #275 Tony Perez, #296 Sparky Anderson MG, #335 Bobby Tolan
Milwaukee Brewers (7) - #71 Johnny Briggs, #74 Billy Champion, #332 John Felske, #386 Don Money, #451 John Vukovich, #526 Ollie Brown, #646 Harvey Kuenn CO
Pittsburgh Pirates (3) - #2 Rich Hebner, #225 Al Oliver, #397 Dave Cash
St. Louis Cardinals (3) - #128 Ted Sizemore, #269 Tim McCarver, #364 Rick Wise

National League West (10)
Arizona Diamondbacks (0)
Colorado Rockies (0)
Los Angeles Dodgers (3) - #239 Pete Richert, #490 Claude Osteen, #609 Davey Lopes RS
San Diego Padres (4) - #12 Johnny Podres/Bob Skinner CO, #57 Derrel Thomas, #133 Dave Roberts, #542 Pat Corrales
San Francisco Giants (3) - #121 Dave Rader, #322 Garry Maddox, #606 Gary Matthews RS

1973 Topps #9, #20, #301 and #362

American League East (9)
Baltimore Orioles (3) - #9 Johnny Oates, #362 Eddie Watt, #396 Grant Jackson
Boston Red Sox (1) - #317 Danny Cater
New York Yankees (5) - #68 Sparky Lyle LL, #116 Jim Hegan CO, #394 Sparky Lyle, #479 Hal Lanier, #535 Johnny Callison
Tampa Bay Rays (0)
Toronto Blue Jays (0)

American League Central (18)
Chicago White Sox (6) - #20 Stan Bahnsen, #62 Dick Allen LL, #63 Dick Allen LL, #310 Dick Allen, #356 Joe Lonnett CO, #379 Cy Acosta
Cleveland Indians (4) - #247 Del Unser, #272 Ed Farmer, #372 Oscar Gamble, #425 Alex Johnson
Detroit Tigers (3) - #29 Tony Taylor, #146 Woodie Fryman, #369 Lerrin LaGrow
Kansas City Royals (3) - #188 Cookie Rojas, #428 Wayne Simpson, #593 Galen Cisco CO
Minnesota Twins (2) - #530 Jim Kaat, #622 Larry Hisle

American League West (5)
Houston Astros (2) - #242 George Culver, #572 Gary Sutherland
Los Angeles Angels (1) - #301 Billy Grabarkewitz
Oakland Athletics (1) - #274 Darold Knowles
Seattle Mariners (0)
Texas Rangers (1) - #138 Horacio Pina

1973 Topps #12, #208 and #606

Memory Lane

1979 Topps - 111 cards with Phillies connections, plus one more

1974 Topps Stamps Phillies

The 1974 Topps Stamps set was released as a stand-alone set and not as an insert within packs of the flagship 1974 Topps set.  Stamps came twelve to a sheet and there are 240 unnumbered stamps in the entire set.  I have the ten Phillies stamps from the set, but I'm still trying to track down the Phillies stamp album issued to hold the team set.

All the players in this set can also be found as Phillies in the 1974 Topps set.  The photo used for Wayne Twitchell is the same one used for this 1973 Topps card.  My scanner didn't cut off the Billy Grabarkewitz stamp - it's just cut that way.  A quick Google Images search for the same stamp shows that Garbarkewitz must have been on the edge of a stamp sheet, and all images I've found show the same borderless left side.

2010 Chachi Set Poll

2010: A Chachi Odyssey, Conclusion
In which a poll appears

1971 Topps #233 Larry Bowa
1974 Topps #214 Billy Grabarkewitz
1982 Topps #480 Steve Carlton
1983 Topps #780 Gary Matthews

So there you have it. The 2010 Chachi Set Planning Committee narrowed the choices for next year's Chachi set down to the 1971, 1974 and 1983 Topps sets. (The 1982 Topps set is also in the final four, but the chairperson of the committee has realized the error of his ways.) We think we've picked our favorite, but we're interested in the input from the readers of this blog. Therefore, I've added a poll (look left) which will remain open until the end of the World Series. I must stress however, the poll's outcome will not be the deciding factor in choosing the final 2010 Chachi set design. It will be a big factor, but not the deciding factor.

I'd also appreciate reader's comments as to why they chose a certain set over another set. Why did you vote the way you did? Do you have any special memories of collecting these sets? Is anyone as upset as Doug is about 1982 Topps beating out 1987 Topps? The Committee thanks you in advance for your comments and feedback.