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.

1954 Topps Phillies

1994 Topps 1954 Archives #24, #41, #45, #78

The battle between Topps and Bowman for players' rights intensified in 1954, as player selection in both baseball card sets continued to suffer.

1954 Topps #247

The Set

Number of cards in the set:  There are 250 cards in the complete set.

My very brief thoughts on the set:  For the first time, collectors got two photos on the front of the card - one color portrait-type shot of the player and another miniature black and white action shot.  I've always liked the use of the full color backgrounds too.  And I'm a sucker for baseball cards with the team logo featured on the front, especially since Topps started using the correct Phillies logo this year.

Notable competition:  Bowman issued its penultimate set in 1954, featuring 224 cards.

1954 Phillies

Record and finish:  The Phils finished in 4th place with a record of 75-79.  A steady decline was beginning and the team wouldn't finish above .500 again until 1962.

1954 Topps #247 (Back)

Key players:  The key player summary could begin and end with Robin Roberts.  The future Hall of Famer started the All-Star Game, pitched two one-hitters, went 23-15 with a 2.97 ERA, and led the league in wins, strikeouts (185), innings pitched (337) and complete games (29).  Richie Ashburn had another solid year, hitting .313.  Catcher Smoky Burgess (.368 average while splitting duties with Stan Lopata), left fielder Del Ennis (.261, 25 home runs and 119 RBIs) and second baseman Granny Hamner (.299, 13 home runs, 89 RBIs) were the top offensive performers for the club.

Key events:  New general manager Roy Hamey surprisingly fired manager Steve O'Neill in July when the Phils were in third place with a 40-37 record.  Terry Moore was hired to replace O'Neill and the team went 35-42 for the remainder of the season.  Moore was fired after the season ended.  Murry Dickson, acquired before the season from the Pirates, led the league with 20 losses.

1994 Topps 1954 Archives #127, #183, #236, #196

1954 Phillies in 1954 Topps

Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 14 Phillies cards in the '54 Topps set, bringing the cumulative 1951-1954 total to an even 50.

Who’s in:  Proving that Topps' lackluster player selection is not a recent trend in its sets, here's the break-down of the Phillies cards kids could expect to find in packs of '54 Topps - Just three regulars (second baseman Hamner, third baseman Puddin' Head Jones and center fielder Ashburn), one bench guy (shortstop Ted Kazanski), five guys who appeared in 13 games or less with the Phillies (Johnny Lindell, Mickey Micelotta, Stan Jok, Paul Penson and Thornton Kipper), two players who didn't suit up with the team that year (Mike Sandlock and Tom Qualters), and a manager card for O'Neill and two coaches' cards for Earle Combs and Eddie Mayo.  That's lousy player selection.

Who’s out:  Pretty much everyone, but the notable omissions are catcher Burgess, first baseman Earl Torgeson, shortstop Bobby Morgan, outfielders Ennis and Johnny Wyrostek, pitchers Roberts, Curt Simmons, Dickson, Herm Wehmeier and Jim Konstanty.

Phillies on other teams:  Wehmeier was purchased from the Reds on June 12th and he's featured on card #162 with his former team.

What’s he doing here:  The five guys appearing in 13 games or less, as listed above.  Stan Jok had 3 at-bats with the '54 Phils, striking out twice.

Cards that never were candidates:  Roberts, Ennis, Burgess, Simmons and short-time manager Moore.

Favorite Phillies card:  Ashburn's card, by default, and because I own a beat up copy of the original.

2000 Fleer Tradition #423, 2000 Fleer Tradition Update #U93
2003 Topps Heritage #127 and #190

Other Stuff

Recycled:  Topps reprinted the set in 1994, shrinking the cards and doing away with the full bleed tops, opting for a clean white border surrounding the entire card instead.  Fleer borrowed heavily from the design for its 2000 Fleer Tradition set, a set that pre-dated the 2003 Topps Heritage set by three years.  I liked both sets so much that I put together hand-collated sets of both back in the day.

Blogs/Websites:  Want to view the entire 1954 Topps set?  Head over to the Virtual Card Collection and enjoy.

Did You Know?:  Here are just a few "Inside Baseball" tidbits that can be found on the back of the Phillies' cards:

• Mickey is a rug-measurer during the off-season!  (#212 Mickey Micelotta)
• When only 12, Steve worked in the coal mines at Scranton!  (#127 Steve O'Neill)
• Richie broke into baseball as a catcher in 1945.  (#45 Richie Ashburn)
• In high school, Tom dreamed of playing for the Phils!  (#174 Tom Qualters)