1965 Topps - 1st Series Phillies Alumni

In celebration of the completion of the first series (cards 1 to 88) of our 1965 Topps set, here's a look at each card from that first series featuring a former, current or future Phillies player, coach or manager.  You can follow along as we collect this set here.

#13

#15

#16

#20

#22

#23

#33

#36

#52

#62

#64

#67

#72

#75

#80

1965 Topps 2nd Series Phillies Alumni

1983 Tastykake Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  32
Card Size:  3 1/4" x 5 1/4"

Description:  This is the first team-issued photo card set featuring full color photos.  A color head shot of each player is on the front and the backs are either blank or contain an encouraging message "written" by the player.  Most of these messages begin with a standard, "Dear Fan: Thanks for your letter.  the Phillies and I appreciate your interest."  In the checklist below, I've indicated which photo cards have the "Dear Fan" greeting on the back, which are blank and which have a message variation.  This is the second consecutive year Tastykake sponsored the set, and the black Tastykake logo can be found on the backs of all cards with the exception of the card for Veterans Stadium.

Interestingly enough, the 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards lists Joe Amalfitano in the checklist instead of Porfi Altamirano.  The Beckett database entry for the set perpetuates this error.  As pointed out by 14,000 Phillies in his checklist entry for the set, both Beckett and the Standard Catalog omit the Dave Roberts card from their checklists.

How Distributed:  My guess is these photo cards were available to purchase in set form at Veterans Stadium and also available individually as players responded to fans' autograph requests.  I personally had a tough time tracking down the cards for John Denny, Von Hayes and Bill Robinson.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically, with Dear Fan inscriptions unless otherwise noted): 

1. Luis Aguayo 2. Porfi Altamirano 3. Marty Bystrom (blank) 4. Steve Carlton (blank) 5. Larry Christenson 6. Pat Corrales MG (blank)       7. Ivan DeJesus 8. John Denny 9. Bob Dernier 10. Bo Diaz 11. Ed Farmer

12. Greg Gross 13. Von Hayes 14. Al Holland 15. Garry Maddox 16. Gary Matthews 17. Tug McGraw (Support . . . )       18. Larry Milbourne 19. Bob Molinaro 20. Sid Monge 21. Joe Morgan 22. Tony Perez

23. Ron Reed (blank) 24. Dave Roberts 25. Bill Robinson 26. Pete Rose 27. Dick Ruthven (blank) 28. Mike Schmidt (blank) 29. Ozzie Virgil 30. Phillies Coaches (blank) 31. Phillie Phanatic  32. Veterans Stadium (blank)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (0)

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (7):  Denny, Hayes, Holland, Milbourne, Molinaro, Morgan, Perez
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (21):  Aguayo, Altamirano, Bystrom, Carlton, Christenson, DeJesus, Dernier, Diaz, Farmer, Gross, Maddox, Matthews, McGraw, Monge, Reed, Roberts, Robinson, Rose, Ruthven, Schmidt, Virgil

Manager (1):  Corrales
Coaches (1):  There's one card featuring all five Phillies coaches - Mike Ryan, Deron Johnson, Bobby Wine, Dave Bristol and Claude Osteen.

Phillies Phanatic (1):  The more readily available version features the Phanatic on his ATV.

Other Cards (1):  Veterans Stadium.

Surprises:  There are no real surprises here, and I'm assuming the set was issued once with no updates made.  The entire 25-man opening day roster, with the exception of the two players discussed below, received photo cards.  The Phillies also had five players on the disabled list to start the 1983 season, and they all received cards too - Luis Aguayo, Marty Bystrom, Hayes, Al Holland and Roberts.

Omissions:  Len Matuszek and Alejandro Sanchez both made the opening day roster, but were omitted from the set.  Sanchez returned to the minors a week into the season when Hayes was activated from the disabled list.  Matuszek stuck around a bit longer, optioned down to Triple-A Portland on April 29th.  Kiko Garcia started the season at Portland, but was recalled on May 17th and he'd remain with the club through the rest of the season.  I wish the Phillies had considered an update set as Garcia and a number of players acquired during the season - Joe Lefebvre, Willie Hernandez, Larry Andersen and Sixto Lezcano - would have been obvious choices.  There were also a number of prospects who debuted during 1983, including Charles Hudson, Kevin Gross, Steve Jeltz, Juan Samuel and Darren Daulton, and update cards for those players would have been highly sought after by collectors.

Variations/Rarities:  According to the set's entry in the 2001 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards, several cards are available with different backs.  There's also a different Phanatic card available showing him walking around the field in the vicinity of home plate.  I've listed these variations below.

Fellow collector Bill e-mailed to let me know of a few other back variations.  The Greg Gross card can be found with both "Dear Fan" and "Support amateur baseball" backs.  And the ATV variation of the Phanatic can be found with "Dear Fan" and "Tell your parents" backs.

Back Variations       1. Greg Gross (Support . . . ) 2. Sid Monge (Quitters never win)      3. Pete Rose (A good eduction) 4. Phillie Phanatic (Tell your parents)

Phanatic Variation        1. Phillie Phanatic - Not on ATV

Resources:   14,000 Phillies, Beckett.com, Phillies collector Bill, 1984 Phillies Media Guide.

This set was originally featured in a post back in October 2014, and I'm going to slowly go through these team-issued set posts and update them with new information gathered (if any) over the past six years.

Standard Version

Variation

1982 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards / 1984 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards

1980-1999 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards Want List / Phillies Team Issued Sets Index Page

Series Preview - Nationals at Phillies: April 8th to April 10th

1971 Topps #171

1971 Topps #490

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

Nationals 4-4, 4th place in the N.L. East, 2 games behind the Phillies
Phillies 6-2, 1st place in the N.L. East, 1/2 game ahead of the Mets

Nationals Probables:  Anibal Sanchez (0-0, 9.00), Stephen Strasburg (1-0, 2.84), Jeremy Hellickson (0-0, 9.00)
Phillies Probables:  Vince Velasquez (0-0, 0.00), Aaron Nola (1-0, 7.00), Nick Pivetta (1-0, 6.52)

At the Ballpark:  Tonight is the annual Asian Pacific Celebration and tomorrow night is another early Dollar Dog Night.

Nationals Leaders
Average:  Anthony Rendon - .433
Runs:  Anthony Rendon - 12
Home Runs:  Anthony Rendon - 4
RBIs:  Anthony Rendon - 9
Stolen Bases:  Trea Turner - 4

Wins:  Sean Doolittle - 2
ERA:  Stephen Strasburg - 2.84
Strikeouts:  Max Scherzer - 28
Saves:  N/A

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Bryce Harper - .385
Runs:  Andrew McCutchen and Jean Segura - 9
Home Runs:  3 tied with - 3
RBIs:  Rhys Hoskins - 13
Stolen Bases:  Bryce Harper and Cesar Hernandez - 1

Wins:  Zach Eflin - 2
ERA:  Zach Eflin - 0.75
Strikeouts:  Zach Eflin - 14
Saves:  Hector Neris - 1

Series Preview - Phillies at Brewers: April 22nd to April 24th

Friday 8:10, Saturday 7:10 and Sunday 2:10
Miller Park - Milwaukee, WI

Phillies 7-9, 3rd place in the N.L. East, 4 1/2 games behind the Nationals
Brewers 7-9, 5th place in the N.L. Central, 5 games behind the Cubs

Phillies Probables:  Aaron Nola (0-2, 5.68), Charlie Morton (1-1, 3.86), Jared Eickhoff (1-2, 1.89)
Brewers Probables:  Zach Davies (0-1, 19.29), Chase Anderson (1-1, 2.25), Wily Peralta (0-3, 8.35)

At the Ballpark:  On Sunday afternoon, not only do kids eat free, but they get to run the bases after the game.  According to the Brewers website, the eat free part consists of a voucher for a hot dog, apple slices, ice cream and bottled water.  Not a bad deal at all.

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Odubel Herrera - .255
Runs:  Three tied with - 5
Home Runs:  Ryan Howard - 4
RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 8
Stolen Bases:  Odubel Herrera - 2

Wins:  Jeanmar Gomez and Vince Velasquez - 2
ERA:  Vince Velasquez - 0.93
Strikeouts:  Vince Velasquez - 29
Saves:  Jeanmar Gomez - 4

Brewers Leaders
Average:  Ryan Braun - .333
Runs:  Scooter Gennett - 11
Home Runs:  Chris Carter - 4
RBIs:  Chris Carter - 13
Stolen Bases:  Keon Broxton and Aaron Hill - 2

Wins:  Jimmy Nelson - 3
ERA:  Chase Anderson - 2.25
Strikeouts:  Jimmy Nelson - 19
Saves:  Jeremy Jeffress - 5

1970 Topps #125

1970 Topps #556

1970 Topps Appreciation:  Deron Johnson and Dave Bristol were on the Phillies coaching staff together between 1982 and 1984 for managers Pat Corrales and Paul Owens.  Johnson coached first while Bristol coached over at third.  Johnson was let go following the 1984 season, and Bristol stuck around for one more season.  He came back briefly as a coach again in 1988.

In 1970, Johnson was in his second full season with the Phillies and his first full season as their starting first baseman.  He'd hit .256 that season with 27 home runs and 93 RBIs, with both marks leading the team by far.  Johnson would stay with the Phillies until May 1973 when he was traded to the A's where he'd contribute to Oakland's World Series run.

Bristol never actually managed the Pilots.  The Seattle Pilots played their first and last season in 1969 under manager Joe Schultz.  In the spring of 1970, Bristol took over with the Pilots ownership group actively looking for a buyer to save the cash-strapped franchise.  With just a week to go before opening day in 1970, the team was sold to Milwaukee car dealer Allan "Bud" Selig.  Selig moved the team to Milwaukee and the Brewers were born.  Bristol's tenure as the Brewers manager lasted until 30 games into the 1972 season when he was fired.  His record with the club as the first Brewers manager was 144-209.

Braves at Phillies: September 6th to September 8th

Friday and Saturday 7:05, Sunday 1:35
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Braves 85-54, 1st Place in the N.L. East, 14 games ahead of the Nationals
Phillies 63-77, 4th Place in the N.L. East, 22 1/2 games behind the Braves

Braves Probables:  Mike Minor (13-5, 3.08), Alex Wood (3-3, 3.15), Paul Maholm (10-10, 4.41)
Phillies Probables:  Cliff Lee (11-6, 3.09), Kyle Kendrick (10-12, 4.51), Cole Hamels (6-13, 3.50)

At the Ballpark:  Tonight is Cabrini College Knit Hat night, with all fans 15 and older receiving the stylish, yet practical, headgear.  On Sunday afternoon, all kids will receive a Ben Revere growth chart.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Domonic Brown and Chase Utley - .274

Runs:  Chase Utley - 62

Home Runs:  Domonic Brown - 27

RBIs:  Domonic Brown - 81

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 22

Wins:  Cliff Lee - 11

ERA:  Cliff Lee - 3.09

Strikeouts:  Cliff Lee - 174

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 24

*Michael Young, now with the Dodgers, has the overall team lead (.276) among players with enough qualifying plate appearances.

1973 Topps #590

1973 Topps Flashback:  On December 3, 1968, the Atlanta Braves sold struggling first baseman Deron Johnson to the Phillies.  Johnson had enjoyed very productive years with the Reds, with his best season coming in 1965 when he hit 32 home runs and 130 RBIs.  But in his one season with the Braves, Johnson managed just eight home runs and 33 RBIs while hitting a lowly .208.  So the Braves sent him packing.

Over the next four seasons, Johnson found his swing and was the team's first big slugger upon their move into the brand new Veterans Stadium.  In 563 games with the Phillies, between 1969 and 1973,  Johnson hit 88 home runs and drove in 304 runs.

Most likely by the time this 1973 Topps card was released, Johnson was already a member of the Oakland Athletics.  Slowed down by injuries, the Phillies traded him to the A's on May 2, 1973 for a minor league outfielder.  He would play in parts of four more seasons before his release by the Red Sox in June 1976.  Johnson came back home to the Vet from 1982 to 1984 when he served as the Phillies hitting coach.

1971 Arco Phillies

With all of the vintage baseball card designs Topps has recylced over the years, I'm surprised they haven't used the clean, classic design of the 1971 Arco cards.  In 1971, 8" x 10" cards were produced for four different teams to be given away at Arco gas stations serving those team's markets.  The Red Sox, Yankees, Pirates and Phillies each participated in the promotion, and the 13 Phillies cards are featured here.

Click on any card below to enlarge.

1972 Topps Phillies

1972 Topps #112, #751, #690 and #520

Of all the "vintage" sets I've completed from the '70s, this was probably the most difficult to put together.  It was a challenge finding some of the high numbers in decent shape and I collected the bulk of this set during a time of transition in my life when things weren't exactly rainbows and lollipops.  Thankfully, I had the majesty of the psychedelic tombstone set to keep me company when I found myself in times of trouble.

The Set

1972 Topps #520 (Back)

Number of cards in the set:  Topps upped the ante once again, going with 787 cards in the complete set.  It would be ten years until Topps produced a baseball card set this large, when it released its 1982 set with 792 cards.

My very brief thoughts on the set:  I love it.  As difficult a set as it was to put together, it was a fun set to collect. Every time I asked a dealer if he had any '72 commons, inevitably the dealer would smile.  This is just one of the baseball card sets I could easily flip through on a grumpy day and not help but cheer up.  Completely off the top of my head, my favorite Topps sets would have to be - 1956, 1975, 1972, 1981, 1976.  (The order of this listing is subject to change without notice.)

Notable competition:  Not a darn thing really.  There were the usual oddballs, a Kellogg's set with no Phillies in it and 10-card locally issued Phillies Ticketron set.

1972 Phillies

Record and finish:  1971 was a bleak year, but 1972 was even worse.  The Phillies went 59-97, finishing 37 1/2 games behind the Pirates, securely in last place.  Things could only go up from here.

Key players:  A discussion of the team's key players in 1972 starts and ends with Steve Carlton.  Carlton put together perhaps one of the greatest seasons any pitcher has ever thrown, going 27-10 and winning almost half of his team's 59 total wins.  He finished 30 of his 41 starts, had a 1.97 ERA and 310 strikeouts.  Following the season, he was the unanimous pick for the Cy Young Award.  Young Greg Luzinski won the team's offensive triple crown, hitting .281 with 18 home runs and 68 RBIs.

Key events:  Following the 1971 season, Rick Wise and Carlton both wanted pay increases neither team's owner's were willing to grant.  A straight-up one-for-one deal was struck, shipping Wise to the Cardinals and Carlton to the Phillies on February 25, 1972.  Carlton would go on to help lead the Phillies to their World Championship in 1980 and he was enshrined in Cooperstown in 1994 as one of the greatest left-handed pitchers of all time.

1972 Topps #768, #635, #69 and #377

Manager Frank Lucchesi was fired in July and general manager Paul Owens stepped in for the rest of the season.  In September, the Phillies recalled two of their top prospects - Mike Schmidt and Bob Boone.

1972 Phillies in 1972 Topps

Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 30 Phillies cards in a master team set.  We're up to 90 Topps Phillies cards from the '70s, and 558 total Topps Phillies cards from 1951 through 1972.

Who’s in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 7 cards

#167 Deron Johnson (1b), #768 Denny Doyle (2b), #520 Larry Bowa (ss), #635 Don Money (3b), #112 Greg Luzinski (lf), #690 Willie Montanez (cf), #69 Roger Freed (rf)

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 4 cards

#751 Steve Carlton TR, #252 Ken Reynolds, #599 Billy Champion, #357 Woodie Fryman

1972 Topps #252, #599, #357 and #665

• Base cards of other players who played with the Phillies in 1972 - 11 cards

#139 Tim McCarver, #283 Darrell Brandon, #324 Mike Ryan, #377 Terry Harmon, #423 Oscar Gamble, #453 Barry Lersch, #482 Joe Hoerner, #528 Ron Stone, #587 Bill Wilson, #665 Chris Short, #726 Dick Selma

• 1972 Rookie Stars cards - 2 cards

#14 Pete Koegel, Mike Anderson and Wayne Twitchell, #741 Tom Hutton with John Milner (Mets) and Rick Miller (Red Sox)

• Base cards of players who didn't play with the Phillies in 1972 - 1 card, #43 Rick Wise
• In Action cards - 2 cards, #44 Rick Wise and #168 Deron Johnson
• Boyhood Photo cards - 1 card, #345 Rick Wise
• Manager card - 1 card, #188 Frank Lucchesi
• Team card - 1 card, #397

1972 Topps #397

Who’s out:  Bill Robinson, one of the team's bright spots, was left out of the set, despite appearing in 82 games for the Phils.  Back-up first baseman Joe Lis and left reliever Mac Scarce also got left out.

Phillies on other teams:  Regular catcher John Bateman (#5) is featured with the Expos.  Relievers Jim Nash (#401) and Gary Neibauer (#149) are both featured with the Braves.  Carlton appears as a Cardinal (#420) before making his appearance as a Phillie in the final series.  Bobby Wine appears with the Expos (#657).  Wine was released by Montreal in July and joined the Phillies coaching staff.

What’s he doing here:  I can't really argue with any of the players selected.  Rick Wise ended up with a regular card and an In Action card in the first series, as well as a Boyhood Photo card in the third series.  One interesting tidbit (at least to me) - Jim Fregosi, who was traded from the Angels to the Mets in December 1971, appears as an airbrushed Met on his Boyhood Photo card (#346) but as an Angel on his series one base card (#115).  I guess the Topps airbrush artist didn't have enough time to replace Wise's Phillies hat with a Cardinals hat for his Boyhood Photo card.

Cards that never were candidates:  Robinson, Lis and Scarce are candidates.  I'd also add a card for interim manager Owens, who had to wait for the 1984 Topps set for his "rookie" card.  Hutton and Twitchell both appeared on multi-player Rookie Stars cards, but they should have their own cards.  And I'd add a Rookie Stars card featuring Schmidt and Boone. 

Favorite Phillies card:  Based on historic significance - Carlton's Traded card or the team card featuring The Vet scoreboard in the background for the first time on cardboard.  Based on pure aesthetics - Luzinski's first solo card.

1972 Topps #423, #168, #345 and #188

Other Stuff

Recycled:  Given the popularity of the Topps Heritage set, why not have an all '70s themed Heritage release as well?  The thought of waiting ten more years to see this design back in packs of cards is a little depressing.

Blogs/Websites:  It's been inactive for over a year, but there's a lot of good stuff archived over at the 1972 Topps Set blog.  I also miss the frequent postings from Dinged Corners on the glory of the '72 set.

Did You Know?:  This set marks Topps first foray into the world of Traded cards, as there's a 7-card Traded subset featured in the sixth and final series.  Topps would try the format again in 1974 and 1976 before making the set a permanent fixture in 1981.  (Barring a few years in the mid-'90s.)