Inkquest: Dick Sisler, 1950 Phillies

The 1950 Phillies.  The Whiz Kids.  The mid-point of the century.    This part of the project will probably be the most challenging.  This was not a championship team, so they're not as well-remembered among the general baseball public like the Gashouse Gang or the Yankees or the Boys of Summer.   After all, it was 65 years ago, finding autographs of players from this era (especially the non-stars) will be a challenge.  

Baseball Biography:  Dick Sisler was the son of a MLB HOFer himself (George Sisler, he of the season of 257 hits, which stood as a record until Ichiro came along).    He was signed by the Cardinals as an amateur free agent in 1939 during his age 18 season.  He progressed through the minor leagues until after the 1942 season, when he joined the Navy for World War II, missing the 1943-1945 seasons.  He came back to the Cardinals for the 1946-1947 seasons, winning a championship in 1946, and striking up a friendship with Ernest Hemingway.  He was traded to the Phillies before the 1948 season, and established himself as a starting first baseman in 1949.  He played in the majors until 1953 for the Phillies, Reds, and Cardinals, and continued playing in the minors until 1958.

Role on the 1950 Phillies: Dick Sisler was the starting left fielder on the 1950 Phillies, hitting .296/.373/.442, a 115 OPS+.  It was the best year of his career, earning him his only all-star game nod.  He also set or tied career highs in home runs, RBIs, runs, BB, 2B, hits, total bases, etc.  His moment in the sun was on the last day of the season.  The Phillies were 1 game up on the Dodgers.   With the game tied 1-1 in the top of the 10th inning, he hit a 3-run home run off Don Newcombe and sent the Phillies to their first pennant in 35 years.

Card Facts: This is a 2012 Leaf History of Baseball card.  This set was a pure cut signature set, with cut auto per pack/box.  The checklist was enormous, so it had a variety of players from the greatest of the great to all-stars to team favorites.  The SRP of this set was $40 per card, a value product.  Many of the harder to find players could probably be found through this set.

1951 Bowman and Me or How to Be Crease Worthy

What would the general first reaction be to someone who said "I have decided to collect a vintage set"? It would normally be along the lines of, "excellent, you will love it." And then when they mention it's to be 1951 Bowman....well, that's a whole different reaction about which secret coffers are funding such a venture. Thankfully, to me when I'm speaking to myself about such endeavors, I realize there are no secret coffers and that pipe dreams are made to be split apart into the varied tapestry that we call collecting. If there was only one focus, where would be the fun in discovery? In color? In the view of a 100 binders ready to be cured and sorted? Therefore, the team collector hat is on for most of these vintage sets, which are from a time immemorial, before 162 game seasons and before packs of greater than 5 cards. As a purveyor of Phillies history, it is mostly cathartic to be immersed in successes of the past, no matter how fleeting or previously unconnected I had been. The 1950 team is especially of interest because it's the oasis in the mid-century destitution of fortune. And baseball cards were around to document that season, with the ever-iconic 1951 Bowman issue. I do not claim to have the whole set, but it's going to happen someday. Let's examine some of that team from days of yore (that sounds like some insert set from Allen&Ginter)

Russ Meyer and his arrival from Chicago from 1949 showed that starting pitchers could once again succeed wearing the Phillies uniform.  The 17-8 record with 3.08 ERA was an inspiration to the next season.

Mike Goliat had his only full season as a starter at 2B in 1950 and provided the youthful exuberance  at the keystone position.

Andy Seminick was one of the veteran statesman of the Phillies, having been with the team since 1943.  His power potential coming to fruition (24 HR and 143 OPS+) corresponded with his prime and the pennant-winning year.

Granny Hamner was cantankerous and young and just coming into his own as an up the middle all-star and MVP candidate.  The former bonus baby lent stability to the shortstop position.

Jimmy Bloodworth was a bench hitter at this point in his career with some pinch hitting prowess and one of the few players over 30 on the team.

Bubba Church was a rookie swingman who sported a 148 ERA+ and finished 4th in the Rookie of the Year voting.

The best part of this mini collection, besides the artistic majesty of their cards, is that they are reminders of childhood and days gone by (I wasn't quite alive then though....or my parents....so almost a reminder).

Lineage Linking

Topps Lineage was not a favorite among collectors in 2011 (though they sure did seem to buy a lot of it).  There's already a lot of talk out there of its deficiencies and general malaise with the pack-opening process for this product.  A Spanish language card?  Experimental ideas from the '60s?  More detail was found months ago here about questioning ideas and motives behind a certain number of the presentations.

There is one great thing about this set: the opportunity to expand my 1950 Phillies auto collection by one.  Here we have Bob Miller, signing straight onto a 1952 Topps reprint. 


Bob Miller played for the Phillies (and his entire career) from 1949-1958.    He had a career best year in the pennant winning season of 1950, going 11-6 with a 3.57 ERA  (113 ERA+), finishing 2nd in the ROY behind Sam Jethroe.  He was a low K pitcher, even for the era,  with a career 2.9 K/9.   It looks like injuries struck him in 1951-1952, but he managed to come back up to the Phillies as a starter 1953-1954, then converting to a relief pitcher for the rest of his career.

This is actually one of the few times where I had not known anything at all about this long-time Phillie before receiving this card.  I think that there should be similar autos in sets like this of fan favorites (wait....that is happening this year) or even those who played at least 5 consecutive years on the same team who may have been overlooked.  I mean, when's the last time you saw a card of Harry Walker as a Cardinal or Ferris Fain as an Athletic?  (Note: These may have existed recently without my knowledge)

As the 2012 introduction to cardmania commences....


Stand up...

Try to be seen....

Dress fashionably in the latest fabric....

And try not to follow the crowd.....

Because you can shine (with some direct light)...

And be focused on your goals...

even when just beginning the collecting journey...

just don't get cut out of what you love to do....

Today's uplifting message was brought to you by the 2011 Topps Lineage Phillies inserts and an uncanny optimism now that the groundhog has seen its shadow. Knowing that there is less than 20 days to spring training is what keeps hope alive and the scattering of foil wrappers around my living room gives me a veritable hobby pool to jump in. The cycle doesn't end....

The Wonders of Coffee

At this point, late nights are a common occurrence in life. I don't actually drink coffee, but I heard it does wonders for the late night seeker or the not-yet-morning person. Caffeine is something that baseball players really must have drank a lot of in the 1950s. Performance enhancing drugs at that time was booze and cigarettes, so any energy boost at that time would have been welcomed. Right now, I'm running on one of those adrenaline highs you get after something exciting happens to you, you know? The problem is nothing actually happened, so my brain has convinced my mind (these are not the same) that I should be amped....

So here I am, absolutely hyper for no reason. I've spent hours rifling through cards ("everybody shufflin'") and realizing that 2011 was the year of collection overload. It looked like my cabinet decided to swallow all the coffee I don't drink and dedicate itself to running around and filling itself with cards that I haven't seen before. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike autonomous furniture? First, they surreptitiously undermine your authority and then they convince the other furniture to join their cause. As I write this, my dining room table has decided to fill itself up with cards without my knowledge as well....

Here's to some of the 1956 Topps cards I have, the first of which is definitely coffee stained (or it at least better be coffee).  This card is of my second favorite catcher from before I was born, Andy Seminick.

It was a calling to old glory for Andy, as he returned to the scene of his power hitting younger days after a 3+ year exile in Cincinnati.  On second thought, that could have been a Skyline chili stain....

Jim Owen was too young to appreciate the drinks of the older gentlemen of the club, having only just turned 21 during the 1955 season. But there must have been some sort of "giddyup juice" in his water bottle because the ball jumped out of his hand in any which direction. He issued over 130 BB between the minors and majors.

He finally settled down to a less than 6.0 BB/9 in 1959 when he could rent a car on his own. I wonder if drive-through coffee places were invented yet?

So to all nighttime coffee drinkers out there, I have two pleas (of semi-ignorance), stop allowing your furniture to take sips when you're not looking and only drink it when you're in need of vintage cards because they will appear in all their stained glory.

1950 Phillies Auto Collection: Curt Simmons

The nomenclature isn't exactly true.  My collection for this admittedly extremely difficult pursuit now numbers.....three.   This is the first in chronological order.  This card is of the famed 1999 Sports Illustrated Greats of the Game on card auto set of all retired players.  The 1950 team is one of the greatest Phillies team that had one of the most thrilling endings to a season ever seen.  Throwing a runner out at the plate to send the game to extra innings in the last game of the season?  Are you kidding me?

Curt Simmons was a large part of that team, playing as a veteran 21 year old, solidifying the #2 spot in the rotation.  He was 17-8 that season with 11 CG in 27 starts with a 3.40 ERA and 1.23 WHIP.  He also tied Robin Roberts for the team lead in K with 148. 

I love this card because of the photo used.  I first saw the blue hats for day games in 1994; they were soon  discarded from use after two disastrous games and forever cursed as anti-karmic.  They made their return with a twist a in 2008.  Instead of keeping with the general pinstripe theme of the current Phillies uniform, a solid cream colored uniform was used with the same cap from this card.  This cap was in use during the 1948-1949 seasons, so Simmons was merely a teenager when this photo was taken.  He already had a starting pitcher's intensity and was ready to sink his teeth into his major league career.

He lasted 20 seasons in the majors, playing for the Phillies, Cardinals, Cubs, and finishing with the Angels in 1967.  He was a 3 time all-star and finished in the top 10 in the NL in ERA 9 times.  A long-time successful Phillies pitcher with a great script, what else is needed of a former Whiz Kid?