1956 Topps #75 Roy Sievers

This a crossover post from my other blog, chronicling each card in the wonderful 1956 Topps set. Today's post features former Phillies outfielder Roy Sievers.  Please click on over there for all of the posts to date, including a look at all the Phillies Alumni featured in the set.



Roy Edward Sievers
Washington Nationals
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  195
Born:  November 18, 1926, St. Louis, MO
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Brown as an amateur free agent, October 14, 1944
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Browns 1949-1953; Washington Senators 1954-1959; Chicago White Sox 1960-1961; Philadelphia Phillies 1962-1964; Washington Senators 1964-1965
Died:  April 3, 2017, Spanish Lake, MO (age 90)

A prolific American League slugger, usually overshadowed by the likes of Mickey Mantle (#135) and Ted Williams (#5), Roy Sievers was the Rookie of the Year in 1949 and a four-time All-Star.  Over his 17-year big league career, he slugged 318 home runs and tallied 1,147 RBIs with a lifetime .267 batting average.  Playing for the basement dwelling Senators, his offensive feats weren't as publicized as those of his counterparts in New York and Boston, but Topps did see fit to give him a Baseball Thrills card in its 1959 set to highlight his accomplishments.

1959 Topps #465

Limited by shoulder injuries early in his career, Sievers blossomed once traded by the Browns to the Senators in February 1954.  He hit at least 20 home runs in every season between 1954 and 1962, driving in at least 100 runs in four of those seasons.  His best season came in 1957 when he hit career highs in home runs (42) and RBIs (114) leading the league in both categories.  He finished third in MVP voting that season behind Mantle and Williams.

Along with Gil Hodges (#145), he's one of two early members of the 300 home run club not in the Hall of Fame.  Sievers also holds the distinction of playing for both Washington expansion teams, finding the most success with the franchise that would ultimately become the Twins in 1961 and then finishing his career with the franchise that would move to Texas and become the Rangers in 1972.

Building the Set
July 31, 1993 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #118
This is one of five 1956 Topps cards I purchased at the Ocean City baseball card show during the summer of '93.  My notes indicate we paid $6 for the card, and it's in absolutely pristine shape.

I already wrote about the summer of '93 with the Frank House (#32) post back in February, but it's worth repeating here.  After missing much of my freshman spring semester with a bad case of mono, I spent the summer mostly resting at home and taking make-up classes at nearby Rowan College of New Jersey (now Rowan University).  Looking back now, it's strange to me that I have so few memories or pictures from that summer.  I found pictures I took from an Orioles-Twins game at Camden Yards with shots of Fernando Valenzuela pitching to Dave Winfield and Kirby Puckett, and another picture of Cal Ripken at bat.  There were also pictures of my Nana's house in Sea Isle, which I think I spent part of that summer painting (again).  But that's it.

I know it was just another summer day at the time, but I'd love to have one picture of my Dad and me as we were about to attend this baseball card show that Saturday afternoon in Ocean City.

The Card
The head shot used for Sievers is the same from his 1954 and 1955 Topps cards.  The action shot appears to show Sievers wearing his road Senators uniform, and sunglasses, pulling back a ball from either foul territory in left field or possibly saving a home run.  The Senators' road uniforms featured no pinstripes and the blue block W in 1954 and 1955, with their home uniforms featuring pinstripes.

Although he won Rookie of the Year honors with the Browns in 1949, his next four seasons with the club were marked with disappointment and lengthy slumps.  Sievers suffered a dislocated shoulder injury on August 1, 1951 while playing for the San Antonio Missions, a Browns' farm team.  He'd spend the next few seasons trying to overcome that injury before the Browns finally traded him to the Senators prior to the 1954 season for Gil Coan.

1956 Season
As the regular left fielder for the Senators, Sievers appeared in 152 games (missing only two of his team's 154 games) and hit .253 with a team leading 29 home runs.  He had 95 RBIs, which was one less than the 96 accumulated by right fielder Jim Lemon.  At the time, Sievers and Lemon formed one of the most feared home run hitting duos on any team along with Mantle and Yogi Berra (#110) from the Yankees.  Sievers appeared in his first of five All-Star Games in 1956, playing in both 1959 games.  In his sole plate appearance in the 1956 game, Sievers pinch-hit for pitcher Early Wynn (#187) in ninth, popping out against pitcher Johnny Antonelli (#138).

Phillies Career
On November 28, 1961, the White Sox traded Sievers to the Phillies for John Buzhardt and Charley Smith.  Having moved to first base for good in 1959 due to lingering shoulder issues, the Phillies picked up Sievers to take over that position from fading prospect Pancho Herrera.

Sievers provided a veteran presence in an otherwise young clubhouse, as the 35-year-old Sievers was the only regular on the 1962 Phillies club older than 27.  Along with Don Demeter, Tony Gonzalez and Johnny Callison, that 1962 team boasted the first quartet of players in franchise history to each hit at least 20 home runs.

Sievers' production fell in 1963 due a fractured rib suffered in spring training when he was hit by a Jim Maloney fastball.  He hit only 19 home runs that season, with his biggest blast being his 300th career home run on June 19th.  That home run, off Mets' reliever Roger Craig (#63), was a walk-off two-run shot to give the Phillies a 2-1 victory.  Struggling at the start of the 1964 season, Sievers was sold to the expansion Senators (the second version) where he was used primarily as a pinch-hitter for the remainder of the season.

In his 2 1/2 years with the Phillies, Sievers hit .244 over 331 games, hitting 44 home runs and driving in 178 runs.  He had a number of Phillies baseball card appearances between 1962 and 1964, most notably appearing with the team in the 1962, 1963 and 1964 Topps flagship sets.

1950 Bowman #16

1951 Topps Red Backs #9

1959 Topps #340

1963 Topps #283

1965 Topps #574

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1950 Bowman #16
First Topps Card:  1951 Topps Red Backs #9
Representative Phillies Card:  1963 Topps #283
Last Topps Card:  1965 Topps #574
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-RS

115 - Sievers non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/6/19.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

Happy Birthday Mom!

1950 Bowman #204

1952 Bowman #148

I'm a few days late with this post, as I had to take a quick little work trip to Chicago.  Sadly, I was unable to fit a baseball game into my visit and return trips to Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park (aka Guaranteed Rate Field) will have to wait until (hopefully) my next Chicago trip.

But I digress.  Another tax day has come and gone and my Mom's birthday was on Monday.  As has been the tradition in recent years, I'm compensated for preparing my Mom's tax returns in the form of vintage Phillies baseball cards.  This is an amazing form of compensation and at the same time a horrible business model if I was actually in the business of preparing individual tax returns.  I'm always extremely grateful for the time my Mom takes to review my want lists and then track down Phillies cards I need.  She's very meticulous in her hunt, and the cards she provides are always in fantastic shape.

This year was no different than prior years.  I added two more Bowman Phillies cards to my collection as I creep ever closer to having a full run of vintage Bowman Phillies team sets.  The fantastic horizontal Granny Hamner card from the 1950 Bowman set means I'm just one card away (#177 Hank Borowy) from the complete team set.  And the Ken Heintzelman card from the 1952 Bowman set means I'm three cards away from completing that team set.

1952 Topps #44

1958 Topps #134

Next up were a few vintage Topps cards.  I've had a reprint of Con Dempsey's 1952 Topps card in my collection for over 30 years, and I now I've added the original.  My Mom also tracked down a 1958 Topps Phillies team card, with a pristinely unmarked back.

Even though I'm extremely thankful for my Mom every day, I like to officially declare my gratitude every year on (or near) her birthday.  Nothing I've accomplished so far would have been possible without the love, support, patience and baseball card purchasing of her and my Dad.  Happy birthday Mom!

Thanks Santa! Time to Update My Most Wanted List (#SBWTMABCTJ)

1950 Bowman #121

1952 Topps #158

1952 Bowman #184

We made it!  It's 2017 and the sun is (sort of) shining, the coffee is hot and I've decided to spend the first day of the year sorting baseball cards.  My first order of business is to once again completely update my Ten Most Wanted - Vintage list on the sidebar, which until the day after Christmas looked like this:

For the past six Christmases, my Mom has been chipping away at my Phillies team set needs one card at a time.  For as long as I can remember, Santa (with help from my parents I suppose) has gifted me with amazing baseball cards each and every Christmas morning.  Through my college years, the Dark Times and even after I had married and had kids of my own, my Dad continued the tradition of hunting down baseball cards that would amaze me and become treasured additions to my collection. My Mom has continued that tradition since my Dad passed away in 2011.

She truly outdid herself this year for the annual Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim (SBWTMABCTJ) extravaganza, completely wiping out my Ten Most Wanted - Vintage list.  Here's a run-down of the 10 vintage cards from this year's haul.  (Click on any of the photos of the cards to enlarge.)

1950 Bowman #121 Andy Seminick
This brings me down to needing just two more cards to complete the 1950 Bowman 19-card Phillies team set.  Once I have the final two cards, I'll definitely be showing off the complete set in a gallery-style post.

1952 Bowman #184 Curt Simmons
I'm also close to completing the 16-card Phillies team set from 1952 Bowman.  After adding this Simmons card to my collection, I'm only four cards away.  The back of this card references Simmons' return from military service.  Although it's slightly miscut, this may be my favorite card of the bunch.

1952 Topps #158 Eddie Waitkus
The bio on the back of this card begins, "Shot by a crazed girl in June, 1949, Ed was close to death." Most of the remaining Phillies cards I need from the 1952 Topps set are from the scarce and pricey high number series.

1952 Bowman Black & White #58

1953 Bowman Color #133

1958 Topps #90

1959 Topps #8

1953 Bowman Black & White #58 Jim Konstanty
1953 Bowman Color #133 Willie Jones
It's always exciting to add cards of any of the Whiz Kids to my collection.  I've seen these two cards for years both at baseball card shows and online, and it's a fantastic feeling to have them both in my collection now.  Kids opening packs of baseball cards in 1953 had no idea how good they had it.

1958 Topps #90 Robin Roberts
1959 Topps #8 Phillies Team Card
With the exception of cards needed from the 1952 Topps set, I'm surprisingly close to having a complete run of Phillies cards from the Topps sets of the 1950s.  I'm pretty sure I have this Roberts card in my collection in reprint form, so it's nice to finally have the original.

1965 Topps #4

1967 Topps #560

1967 Topps #595

1965 Topps #4 N.L. Home Run Leaders
Johnny Callison's head appearing in the bottom left of this card meant that I needed it to complete my 1965 Topps Phillies team set.  It's also great to have an excuse to add a card featuring three Hall of Famers (Willie Mays, Billy Williams and Orlando Cepeda) to my collection.

1967 Topps #560 Jim Bunning
1967 Topps #595 Cookie Rojas
Wrapping up the vintage portion of the annual SBWTMABCTJ are two Phillies cards I needed for my 1967 Topps team set.  These are both from the tougher high-number series, and the Rojas card is a close runner up to the 1952 Bowman Simmons card as my favorite addition.

But wait, there's more!  My Mom also crossed off two extremely oddball wants from my Ten Most Wanted - Modern list and I'll feature those two cards in a future post.

1950 Drake's #21 Del Ennis

As I'm wont to do from time to time, I celebrated a recent career milestone with a major baseball card purchase.  Major is a relative term here since any single card purchase over $20 is considered major by my definition.  My weekly and monthly baseball card spending budget is limited to an occasional blaster box from Target (courtesy of my wife) and the purchase of the latest Phillies team set from eBay.

I had been looking for a few oddball Del Ennis and Dick Sisler cards over the past few months, and this particular card had caught my attention.  I added it to my eBay watch list and didn't think of it again until I received an e-mail indicated that the card was now on sale.  Without hesitation, I bought it.  Ennis and Sisler were my Dad's favorite players growing up, and it's been a fun little side project of mine to try to track down their cards.

The 1950 Drake's set was a one and done issue from Drake Bakeries with cards found within boxes of either Drake's Oatmeal or Jumble Cookies.  The complete set consists of 36 cards and Drake's dubbed the set "TV Baseball Star Pictures" as shown by the advertisement on the lower portion of the backs of the cards.  Cards are square, measuring 2 1/2" by 2 1/2" and their black borders make them tough to find in mint condition.  A complete set sold in late July on eBay for $1,600.

There's a New York/Boston team bias to the set, with the majority of the cards featuring players from those teams:  Boston Braves (6), Boston Red Sox (6), Brooklyn Dodgers (6), New York Giants (6) and New York Yankees (6).  The remaining six cards are spread among the Chicago White Sox (1), Philadelphia Athletics (1), Philadelphia Phillies (3) and St. Louis Cardinals (1).  All the other teams got shut out.  Along with the Ennis card, the Phillies team set also consists of Sisler and Eddie Waitkus.

Now to track down that Sisler card . . .

Memory Lane/Checklist
1946-1949 Sports Exchange (W603) #3-3 - NEED
1947-1952 Baseball Player Charms
1947-1966 Exhibits
1947 Homogenized Bond Bread - Need original, have reprint
1949 Eureka Stamps #134 - NEED
1948 Leaf #49
1949 M.P. & Co. (R302-2) #109
1949 Philadelphia Bulletin - NEED
1949 Phillies Lummis Peanut Butter - NEED
1950 Bowman #31
1950 Drake's #21
1950 Philadelphia Inquirer Fightin' Phillies
1950 R423 - NEED
1951 Berk Ross #1-10
1951 Bowman #4
1951 Topps Blue Backs #4
1952 Berk Ross #17 - NEED
1952 Bowman #76
1952 Naitonal Tea Labels #8 - NEED
1952 Topps #233
1953 Bowman Color #103
1953 Red Man Tobacco #17
1954 Bowman #127
1954 Wilson's Franks #2 - NEED
1955 Bowman #17
1956 Topps #220

Happy Birthday Mom! (Featuring Roberts, Waitkus & Puddin' Head)

1952 Topps #59

Once again, the combination of my ability to prepare tax returns and my having an awesome mother has resulted in me receiving cool, vintage Phillies baseball cards.  I've long assisted my family members and close friends with the preparation of their tax returns, and I refuse to accept any type of monetary compensation.  However, payment in baseball cards is not only accepted, but encouraged.

The cards featured in this post had been the top three cards in my Ten Most Wanted - Vintage list on the left sidebar.  My Mom added the 1950 Bowman Willie Jones and 1952 Topps Robin Roberts to my collection as payment for preparing her tax return.  And somehow, my 96-year-old grandmother not only found my want list, but tracked down the 1951 Bowman Eddie Waitkus card that I needed.*

In honor of my Mom's birthday today, and continuing the tradition I started last year, I'm using this post to show off these cards and to wish her a very happy birthday.

* * *

1950 Bowman #67

1952 Bowman #92

Now about these cards . . . The addition of the Jones card puts me five cards away from a complete 1950 Bowman Phillies team set.  What's more, the addition of the Waitkus card puts me at five cards away from a complete 1952 Bowman Phillies team set.  With the help of both my parents, I've previously completed the 1951, 1954 and 1955 Bowman Phillies team sets and I'm getting closer to my ultimate goal of having a complete run of Bowman Phillies cards from 1948 to 1955.  What was once a pipe dream of a goal is now a realistic possibility.

I love Waitkus' facsimile autograph on his card and the back of Jones' card makes the obligatory mention of his "Puddin' Head" nickname.

And I now own a 1952 Topps Robin Roberts card.  This card is gorgeous, and it becomes my favorite card of the Hall of Famer now in my collection.  Over five years ago, I wrote about the reprints of this card in my collection and I finished off that post with the line, "And who knows? Maybe one day I'll actually own one of the originals."  Hard to believe that I now do, and I'm extremely grateful to my Mom for making that (and everything else) possible.  Happy birthday Mom!

* * *

*My Mom will neither confirm nor deny that she may have acquired this Waitkus card on behalf of my Nana.

1950 Philadelphia Bulletin Pin-Ups Dick Sisler

Today would have been my Dad's 72nd birthday.  There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of him or wish that I could tell him something.  He would have loved the new Star Wars movie and he'd be amazed at how quickly his grandsons are growing up.  His oldest grandson Doug is showing signs of the athleticism that he possessed, although those skills skipped a generation since they missed me. Doug keeps busy with soccer and basketball and he'll enter his second year of Little League in the spring.

Dad's youngest grandson Ben is a knowledge sponge, soaking in everything he can about the 50 states and anything else that interests his five-year-old brain.  Ben says and does things on a daily basis that would send my Dad into hysterics.

As a continuing tribute to him, here's a Dick Sisler item I've never featured on this blog.  Sisler and Del Ennis were his favorite players as a kid and I never miss an opportunity to add one of their cards to my Phillies collection.

We miss you Sir and we'll be thinking about you today.

Santa Crossed 7 Cards Off My Most Wanted List (#SBWTMABCTJ)

1952 Topps #223

1953 Bowman Color #65

1953 Topps #146

For the fifth year in a row, my Mom took it upon herself to personally demolish the majority of my "Ten Most Wanted - Vintage" list found on the sidebar.  Here's what it looked like prior to Christmas, and as you can tell by the seven cards featured within this post, the list now needs seven new residents.

The Pre-SBWTMABCTJ List

I've always received baseball cards for Christmas, and I'm very lucky that my Mom has kept the tradition alive started by her and my Dad many years ago.  In recent years, our family has gathered at my Mom's house the day after Christmas to spend time together and exchange gifts.  This year, I was happy to unwrap the Star Wars book I asked for and I was also thrilled to receive the Beatles 1+ CD/Blu-Ray collection from my Mom.  But there's just something about unwrapping small packages shaped like baseball cards in top loaders that brings me back to those special Christmases from the 1970s and 1980s.

(As an aside here, I think it's fitting that my Mom's main Christmas presents to me this year were once again related to the Beatles, Star Wars and baseball cards.  This is pretty much what my typical Christmas gifts have consisted of for the past 35+ years.)

For past after-Christmas posts, I've spread out the haul from the annual Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim (#SBWTMABCTJ) over several posts.  This year, I wanted to keep these seven cards together in one post in order to maximize their collective awesomeness.

1950 Bowman #30

1952 Bowman #4

1950 Bowman #30 Eddie Waitkus
This card brings me down to needing just six cards to complete the 19-card 1950 Bowman Phillies team set.  The first line on the back of this card is still bizarre to read today:  "Eddie had appeared in 54 games last season and was hitting at a .306 clip when he was shot and seriously wounded by a demented girl fan."

1952 Bowman #4 Robin Roberts
This is one of two vintage Roberts cards I received this year, both representing two of the most valuable remaining cards standing in the way of me having a complete run of Phillies Bowman cards from 1948 to 1955.

1952 Topps #223 Del Ennis
This card may be my favorite of the bunch.  Featuring one of my Dad's favorite players, this is now the nicest 1952 Topps card in my collection.  The card is well-centered with no front or back blemishes and it has three sharp corners with only a minor ding on the lower left corner.  I still have a ways to go to complete the 1952 Topps Phillies team set, but this card gets me a little closer.

I need to mention again how pristine this card is.  This is pretty much what I imagine the 1952 Topps cards looking like when they were pulled out of a nickel pack over sixty years ago.

1953 Bowman Color #65 Robin Roberts
This is the second Roberts card from this year's haul, and now the only vintage Bowman card of the Hall of Famer that I'm currently missing is his 1949 Bowman rookie card.  This is one of those cards that I've seen for sale at card shows for years, but I've never owned.  I'm thrilled to finally have this card as part of my collection.

1953 Topps #146 Granny Hamner
The card's front reads Granville, but the card's back points out three times that the player's nickname is actually "Granny."  The 1953 Topps Phillies team set is now well within reach for me, as I need just four more cards.

1957 Topps #70

1959 Topps #317

1957 Topps #70 Richie Ashburn
This was one of two "modern" baseball cards I received from the SBWTMABCTJ and this is the final Ashburn Topps cards I needed to finish off my complete run of his Topps cards from 1951 to 1959.  For good measure, my Mom also added in the next card.

1959 Topps #317 N.L. Hitting Kings - Willie Mays & Richie Ashburn
Like the 1953 Bowman Color Robin Roberts card, this is one of those cards I had admired for years at various baseball card shows.  This card commemorates the 1958 N.L. batting title race, decided on the final day of the season when Ashburn went 3 for 4 to top Willie Mays' 2 for 5.  Ashburn finished at .350 with Mays at his heels with a .347 average.

And there you have it.  Thanks to my Mom's continuation of an annual tradition, I now have the pleasure of crossing seven more vintage Phillies cards off my want lists.

2011 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim

Part 1 - Continuing a Tradition

Part 2 - 1971 Topps Set - 13 More Down

Part 3 - 1952 Topps Phillies

Part 4 - 1951 Bowman Phillies

Part 5 - Curt Simmons - Two New Bowman Cards

Part 6 - 1955 Bowman and Topps Phillies

2012 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 1941 Double Play Litwhiler & May
Part 2 - 1963 Topps John Herrnstein rookie card (featuring Willie Stargell)
Part 3 - 1940 Play Ball Phillies - Part 1
Part 4 - 1940 Play Ball Phillies - Part 2
Part 5 - 1950 Bowman Del Ennis

2013 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 1998 Upper Deck Scott Rolen
Part 2 - 1968 Topps Phillies Team Card
Part 3 - 1966 Topps Bob Uecker
Part 4 - 1955 Bowman Robin Roberts
Part 5 - 1965 Topps Johnny Callison
Part 6 - 1954 Bowman Richie Ashburn

2014 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 1952 Bowman and 1953 Bowman Color Richie Ashburn
Part 2 - 1950 Bowman Roberts, 1951 Topps Blue Backs Jones, 1955 Bowman Wyrostek
Part 3 - 1995 Collector's Choice Hayes and 1999 Fleer Mystique Burrell

2015 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Seven Phillies Cards from the 1950s Crossed Off the List

Posting will continue to be light as I continue my winter hibernation.  Happy New Year!

1950-1952 Royal Desserts #19 Dick Sisler

I recently added this early oddball card to my growing Dick Sisler collection.  Whenever I track down a card like this, I like to try to find out as much as possible about the card and the set it comes from.

According to the 2012 edition of the Standard Catalog of Vintage Baseball Cards, these cards were issued one per box on the backs of various Royal Dessert products between 1950 and 1952.  24 total players were included in the set, although numerous variations exist as the makers of the cards either switched up the tint used for the photo (black or blue) or updated the player's biography.  There's also a nice summary of the set with a few more pictures over at Old Cardboard.

According to the Catalog, there are four different versions of the Sisler card available and the Beckett online database indicates that one of the latter versions was updated to mark Sisler's move to the Reds.  The only other Phillies card available from the set is a card for Andy Seminick.

I'm going to forgive the kid who haphazardly cut this Sisler card out of his box of pudding, solely because of what can be found on the back of the card.  The original owner included his or her own back of the card biography, which in my opinion makes this card even more fantastic.

Dick Sisler - OF

Philadelphia Phillies 

No. 19

Broke in with 

Cardinals was traded; 

Sisler caught fire 

and became one of the 

better hitters in baseball.

* * *

My Dad would have been 71 today, and he would have found this card to be equally fascinating.  He'd probably even have a story or two to tell me about his favorite brand of Royal Desserts.  I'm collecting these Sisler cards (and cards of his other favorite player, Del Ennis) as a continuing tribute to him and it makes me happy to be able to share these cards here.

We don't have any Royal Desserts products in our pantry, but I think tonight I'll have a big bowl of ice cream in my Dad's honor.

(P.S.  At some point during this offseason, my Dad would have intoned in a ridiculous, sarcastic voice that his new favorite Phillie was Odubel Herrera.  He would have then shook his head and said, "I mean, what are they even doing?")

More Cards from the 1950s from the Annual SBWTMABCTJ

1950 Bowman #32

I wrote my last post while coming down from a Christmas cookie high, so perhaps I was a bit premature in declaring that the two Richie Ashburn Bowman cards were my favorite cards obtained in this year's Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim haul.  (The SBWTMABCTOJ if you will.)

Sure the 1950 Bowman Robin Roberts card is small by today's standards, but it's a beautiful baseball card nevertheless.  Featuring a somewhat unusual for this set horizontal orientation, this Roberts card is the Hall of Famers' second Bowman card, coming a year after the appearance of his 1949 rookie card.  This now marks the oldest (and most valuable) Roberts card in my collection, and it gets me one card closer to finishing the tough 1950 Bowman Phillies team set.

1951 Topps Blue Backs #43

Also added from the haul was this 1951 Topps Blue Backs card of Willie "Puddin' Head" Jones.  Not too long ago, I didn't have any 1951 Topps cards in my Phillies collection, and now I'm just a Richie Ashburn and an Eddie Waitkus card away from a complete team set.  Willie looks upset on this card about the Balk call with which his card has been designated.

1955 Bowman #237

Finally, but certainly not least, Johnny Wyrostek's 1955 Bowman card gets me just two cards away from a complete 1955 Bowman Phillies team set.  I've already decided that once I finish off this team set, I'm going to put up a gallery of all the cards, similar to what I did with the very special 1951 Bowman Phillies team set.

2014 Santa Brings Way Too Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim
Part 1 - 1952 Bowman and 1953 Bowman Color Richie Ashburn

1950 Bowman #176 Sylvester Donnelly

Pirates 3, Phillies 2
Game 87 - Saturday Afternoon, July 5th in Pittsburgh
Record - 37-50, 5th Place, 12 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The team's struggles continued as they dropped the second game of the series to the Pirates by a score of 3-2.

What It Means:  The Phillies are in the midst of a 3-12 stretch in which they've hit .210 as a team while hitting .142 (15 for 106) with runners in scoring position.  (Hat tip to Todd Zolecki.)

What Happened:  David Buchanan had a decent outing (3 runs in 6 innings pitched), but the Phillies offense was mostly quiet yet again.  Cody Asche and Marlon Byrd hit solo home runs to account for the team's two runs in this game.

Featured Card:  Is the Phillies season beyond repair?  Are we as Phillies fans going to be subjected to substandard play for the remainder of the season while the veterans of the team are unceremoniously traded off to contending teams for prospects?  Will the remaining game summary posts on this blog from now until late September slowly devolve into a rambling, incoherent babble of complaints and woe is us drivel?

Some possible responses to the above questions are:  Yes, probably.  Yes, probably again.  And no, not at all.

There's no denying that I'm frustrated and unhappy at the direction this season has gone.  But I'm a Phillies fan.  I've been a Phillies fan my whole life, and the performances on the field from the Adam Eaton's or the Delmon Young's or the Domonic Brown's aren't going to change that.  More importantly, my seven-year-old son Doug has taken his first steps into the world of being a lifelong Phillies fan this season.

Each morning, he asks what time the Phillies are playing.  He asks if their opponent is any good.  He asks if Cameron Rupp or Koyie Hill is catching that day.  He asks if I think it's possible for the Phillies to trade Jeff Manship and John Mayberry, Jr. to the Angels for Mike Trout.  And yesterday when I received a small envelope in the mail containing a few vintage Phillies cards I had recently ordered, he wanted to look at them with me.

"That card's cool," he said when I showed him this gorgeous 1950 Bowman baseball card of former Phillies pitcher Blix Donnelly.  It sure is.  And while I'm bummed that the Phillies season is most likely a bust, I'm thrilled that Doug can now appreciate a great baseball card.  It makes me smile when he asks if we can turn on the TV around six so that he doesn't miss the Phillies pre-game show.  And he's probably the only seven-year-old in town who knows who Jeff Manship and Koyie Hill are.  That's my boy.

1950 Bowman #84 Richie Ashburn

Just a quick post this morning to show off the latest addition to my growing vintage Bowman collection, and to wish my Mom a very happy birthday.  My Mom was the one who added this card to my collection recently as a thank you gift for preparing her tax return again this year.  Everyone wins in this scenario.  My Mom doesn't have to put up with the H&R Block folks, and I get some amazing baseball cards out of the deal.

And what an amazing baseball card this is.  The card has four sharp corners and still has great color.  This is Ashburn's second Bowman card as his iconic rookie card can be found in the 1949 Bowman set.

Thanks again Mom and happy birthday!

1950 Bowman #31 Del Ennis

The final card to be featured in the "Santa Brings Way to Many Awesome Baseball Cards to Jim" series of posts is the final Bowman card I needed of one of my Dad's favorite players - Del Ennis.  For the better part of the past year, this card sat atop my Ten Most Wanted list until my Mom added it to my collection for Christmas.  One of my long-term collecting goals is to eventually have full runs of the Phillies cards featured in Bowman's sets between 1948 and 1955.  This fantastic card gets me one step closer.

To celebrate the fact that I now have all of Ennis' Bowman cards in my collection, I present below a mini-gallery of his 1950 through 1955 Bowman cards.

Thanks again Mom!

1950 Bowman #31

1951 Bowman #4

1952 Bowman #76

1953 Bowman Color #103

1954 Bowman #127

1955 Bowman #17