Number of Cards: 47
Card Size: 3 1/2" x 5 1/4"
Description: Beginning in 1985, the Phillies used the exact same card design for three straight years. The only differences with these cards are the photos used and the copyright line on the bottom right of the cards' fronts. The design removes the Phillies script logo found on the 1984 cards and adds the player's uniform number and position. The set's sponsor, Tastykake, has its logo featured on the backs of the cards.
How Distributed: All fans attending the Phillies game at Veterans Stadium on April 21, 1985, received a complete shrink-wrapped set with a header/checklist card on the top. The back of the header/checklist card advertised that additional sets could be purchased from the Phillies via mail order for $3.50. The Phillies raised the price of a complete set by fifty cents over the previous year.
The 1985 Tastykake Phillies set seems to be the most ubiquitous of all the team-issued sets from the 1980s. Up through the mid-2010s, the sets could be readily found on eBay and for sale at Citizens Bank Park. The Memorabilia Store from Hunt Auctions located behind Section 126 had several of these sets for sale throughout the 2014 season.
Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here based on the numbered checklist found on the back of the header card):
1. Header Card / Checklist
2. John Felske (#7 - MG)
3. Dave Bristol (#4 - CO)
4. Lee Elia (#2 - CO)
5. Claude Osteen (#3 - CO)
6. Mike Ryan (#5 - CO)
7. Del Unser (#25 - CO)
8. Manager and Coaches
9. Pitchers
10. Catchers
11. Infielders
12. Outfielders
13. Larry Andersen (#47 - RHP)
14. Steve Carlton (#32 - LHP)
15. Don Carman (#42 - LHP)
16. John Denny (#40 - RHP) |
17. Tony Ghelfi (#35 - RHP)
18. Kevin Gross (#46 - RHP)
19. Al Holland (#19 - RHP)
20. Charles Hudson (#49 - RHP)
21. Jerry Koosman (#24 - LHP)
22. Shane Rawley (#48 - LHP)
23. Pat Zachry (#38 - RHP)
24. Darren Daulton (#10 - C)
25. Bo Diaz (#6 - C)
26. Ozzie Virgil (#17 - C)
27. John Wockenfuss (#14 - C)
28. Luis Aguayo (#16 - INF)
29. Kiko Garcia (#18 - INF)
30. Steve Jeltz (#30 - SS)
31. John Russell (#29 - OF-1B)
32. Juan Samuel (#8 - 2B) | 33. Mike Schmidt (#20 - 3B)
34. Tim Corcoran (#22 - 1B-OF)
35. Greg Gross (#21 - OF-1B)
36. Von Hayes (#9 - CF)
37. Joe Lefebvre (#23 - OF)
38. Garry Maddox (#31 - OF)
39. Jeff Stone (#26 - OF)
40. Glenn Wilson (#12 - OF)
41. Ramon Caraballo / Mike Diaz
42. Mike Maddux / Rodger Cole
43. Rick Schu / Chris James
44. Francisco Melendez / Ken Jackson
45. Randy Salava / Rocky Childress
46. Rich Surhoff / Ralph Citarella
47. Team Photo |
One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (1): Zachry
First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (1): Rawley
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (26): Aguayo, Andersen, Carlton, Carman, Corcoran, Daulton, Denny, Diaz, Garcia, Ghelfi, G. Gross, K. Gross, Hayes, Holland, Hudson, Jeltz, Koosman, Lefebvre, Maddox, Russell, Samuel, Schmidt, Stone, Virgil, Wilson, Wockenfuss
Manager (1): Felske
Coaches (5): Bristol, Elia, Osteen, Ryan, Unser
Phillie Phanatic (0)
Broadcasters (0): But see below.
Future Phillies (6): Caraballo / Diaz, Maddux / Cole, Schu / James, Melendez / Jackson, Salava / Childress, Surhoff / Citarella
Other Cards (2): Header Card / Checklist, Team Photo
Surprises: There was very little roster turnover between the end of the 1984 season and spring training 1985, as Shane Rawley and Pat Zachry are the only two new additions to the set. Along with Zachry's one and done Phillies card, this set includes the only Phillies baseball card of Rich Surhoff. The stand-alone cards feature the entire opening day line-up and adds Tony Ghelfi, Darren Daulton and Joe Lefebvre, who would spend the entire season on the disabled list.
The set's designer's decided to try something different with group photos of coaches and players by position. Batting practice pitcher Hank King is featured on the coach's card, making this (I believe) his sole Phillies baseball card. Bill Campbell is featured on the pitcher's card and Ivan DeJesus is featured on the infielder's card, but both are omitted from the regular set. As the regular season was about to begin, Campbell and DeJesus were traded to the Cardinals for pitcher Dave Rucker.
Of the players receiving solo cards in the regular set, Ghelfi was left off the pitcher's card, John Wockenfuss was (sadly) left off the catcher's card, Kiko Garcia was left off the infielder's card and Lefebvre and Garry Maddox were not on the outfielder's card.
Omissions: The day before these sets were handed out to fans, the Phillies traded Al Holland to the Pirates for Kent Tekulve. An update set could have featured Tekulve and other players acquired during the season, such as Derrel Thomas, Tom Foley, Freddie Toliver, Alan Knicely and with a few weeks left to go in the regular season, Dave Stewart.
Variations/Rarities: Once again, fellow collector Rick came through with a few rarities back when I originally published a post for this set. These could have been first made available during this season's ALS Autograph Party which would have been in its second season in 1985. (The Phestival became an official event in 1989.) Tug McGraw announced his retirement following the 1984 season and this card seems to be a final tribute to the popular lefty reliever. Fronts and backs of these cards are presented below.
Rarities
1. Tug McGraw - Former Phillies Great
2. Phillies Broadcasters - Richie Ashburn, Harry Kalas, Andy Musser and Chris Wheeler |
Also See: With the 2020 season put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I went back and recapped the Phillies games played in 1985 between that season's opening day and the All-Star break. An index to those game summaries
can be found here.
This set was originally featured in a post
back in October 2014, and I'm going to slowly go through some of these team issued set posts and update them with new information learned (if any) over the past six years.
