1980 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  38
Card Size:  3 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Description:  As was the case with all Phillies team-issued photo cards issued since 1970, these cards feature a black and white photo with the players' name below.  The backs of the cards are blank and there's no indication on the cards themselves they're from 1980.  Some of the cards contain blue facsimile autographs, as noted on the checklist below.  One way to tell if the photo card is from 1980 is the fact that these are the only photo cards from this era on which the majority of the players' names aren't all in capital letters.  I've listed below those few cards on which the player's name is in all capitals.  (Thanks to Phillies collector Rick and his scanned checklist shown here.)

How Distributed:  The cards were handed out to fans individually and supplied to the players in order to reply to fan mail or honor autograph requests.  I could be wrong, but I don't believe these cards were ever available in complete set form.

I'm theorizing that the cards with the players' names in capital letters were issued later in the season, as Ramon Aviles, Dan Larson and Bob Walk were not on the opening day roster and all made their 1980 debuts in late April or May.  Nino Espinosa and Warren Brusstar are the outliers here as those pitchers made their 1980 debuts in July and their names on their cards use upper and lower case letters.  Brusstar, who started the season on the disabled list and first pitched for the Phillies on July 13th, is the latest player to appear in a game in 1980 and appear on one of these photo cards.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically): 

1. Luis Aguayo 2. Ruben Amaro CO 3. Ramon Aviles (capitals) 4. Bob Boone  5. Larry Bowa 6. Warren Brusstar 7. Steve Carlton 8. Larry Christenson 9. Billy DeMars CO (auto) 10. Lee Elia CO (auto) 11. Nino Espinosa 12. Dallas Green MG (auto)           13. Greg Gross

14. Lerrin LaGrow (auto) 15. Dan Larson (capitals) 16. Randy Lerch  17. Greg Luzinski 18. Garry Maddox (auto) 19. Bake McBride (auto) 20. Tug McGraw (auto) 21. Keith Moreland (auto) 22. Scott Munninghoff 23. Dickie Noles (auto) 24. Ron Reed 25. Pete Rose (batting, auto) 26. Pete Rose (portrait, auto, capitals)

27. Dick Ruthven (auto) 28. Mike Ryan CO 29. Kevin Saucier 30. Mike Schmidt 31. Lonnie Smith (auto)   32. Herm Starrette CO (auto) 33. Manny Trillo 34. Del Unser 35. George Vukovich 36. John Vukovich 37. Bob Walk (capitals) 38. Bobby Wine CO

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (3):  LaGrow, Larson, Munninghoff

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (4):  Aguayo, Moreland, G. Vukovich, Walk
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (24):  Aviles, Boone, Bowa, Brusstar, Carlton, Christenson, Espinosa, Gross, Lerch, Luzinski, Maddox, McBride, McGraw, Noles, Reed, Rose (2), Ruthven, Saucier, Schmidt, Smith, Trillo, Unser, J. Vukovich

Manager (1):  Green
Coaches (6):  Amaro, DeMars, Elia, Ryan, Starrette, Wine

Surprises:  Not to sound like too much of a weirdo, but the seven-year-old me would have loved to have added Scott Munninghoff's card to my collection.  He was one of those guys who was in the prospect section of the yearbook and no one in my little circle of young Phillies fans had any idea who he was.  Munninghoff made the team's opening day roster, appeared in four games, and was sent back to Oklahoma City in early May where he'd stay the rest of the season.

Omissions:  The entire opening day roster, every coach and manager Dallas Green all received cards.  Every player to have suited up for the Phillies in 1980 prior to September also received cards, with Espinosa and Brusstar, as noted above, being the latest additions.  The Phillies had 9 September additions to their roster who understandably did not receive photo cards:  Jay Loviglio, Marty Bystrom, Bob Dernier, Tim McCarver, Orlando Isales, Mark Davis, Sparky Lyle, Don McCormack and Ozzie Virgil.

Variations/Rarities:  Rose appeared on two different versions of photo cards in 1980, no doubt due to high autograph request demands.  Phillies collector Rick sent me a scan of his checklist for this set cluing me in to the fact that cards for Bake McBride and Dickie Noles can be found both with and without facsimile autographs.  A few years back, I also added Lerrin LaGrow and Keith Moreland cards to my collection without facsimile autographs.  Also, fellow collector Steve indicates there could be a Nino Espinosa variation card available and for the sake of completeness, I've added it here too.

Finally, while not part of the team-issued set, there is a 1980 black and white photo card of the Phillie Phanatic issued by Harrison/Erickson and this card is roughly the same size as the rest of the 1980 set.

No Facsimile Autograph       1. Lerrin LaGrow 2. Bake McBride 3. Keith Moreland 4. Dickie Noles

Mystery Variation?  1. Nino Espinosa

Harrison/Erickson   1. Phillie Phanatic

Resources:  The Trading Card Database; Beckett.com; Phillies collectors Steve and Rick (@rickphils).

It was only through the awesome photos provided at The Trading Card Database for this set I was able to originally identify these cards as being from 1980.  Collector Dave Sosidka uploaded the checklist and scans of all cards to the database back in 2011.  However, The Trading Card Database entry for this set omits the card for Munninghoff and the portrait version of Rose's card.

The Beckett database entry for this set lists the set as "Phillies Postcards" and omits the cards for Garry Maddox, Noles, John Vukovich and the second Rose card.

This set was originally featured in a post back in December 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 five years.

1979 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards / 1981 Phillies Team-Issued Photo Cards

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

Limited Edition Chachi Insert Set: 1978 Topps Missing Links

I've needed a Phillies break since the conclusion of the Freefall of '18 wrapped up, but I wanted to break my hiatus to post these cards today.  My wife's birthday is approaching and 1978 was a big year for her so I thought I'd use her upcoming birthday as motivation to wrap up a project I've been working on for a while now.

There are several players who appeared for the Phillies during the 1978 season who never appeared on a proper 1978 Topps card in red pinstripes/baby blue.  In an attempt to right that wrong, I scoured the internet and my personal collection to provide suitable (?) cards for these 14 players and the Phillies coaching staff.

Some of these have already appeared throughout the past season atop series preview posts, but the entire 19-card, limited edition insert set is presented here.  And I'll gladly update the Kerry Dineen and Horacio Pina cards if Phillies pictures of either player ever show up.


1. Dan Boitano - The righty reliever appeared in one inning of one game for the 1978 Phillies.  He appears in the 1980 Topps set on a Brewers Future Stars card.
2. Todd Cruz - Cruz started his six-year career with 3 games for the Phillies as a September call-up.
3. Kerry Dineen - Dineen appeared in 16 big league games between 1975 and 1978 for the Yankees and Phillies.  He has a Phillies related card in the 1979 Oklahoma City 89ers team city that I've yet to track down.
4. Rawly Eastwick - Acquired from the Cardinals in June 1978 for Bobby Brown and Jay Johnstone, Eastwick appears in the 1978 Topps set with his former team.
5. Orlando Gonzalez - Gonzalez shows up in the 1977 Topps and 1981 Fleer sets, but there are no official cards marking his 26 games with the Phillies in 1978.


6. Bud Harrelson - Harrelson appears with the Mets in the 1978 Topps set.  The Phils sent Fred Andrews to the Mets in March to acquire him.
7. Dan Larson - Larson pitched in 21 games for the Phillies between 1978 and 1981.  He's in the 1977 Topps set with the Astros.
8. Pete Mackanin - The future Phillies manager appeared in 5 games for the 1978 Phillies and he's in the 1978 Topps set with the Expos.
9. Keith Moreland - Moreland made his Major League debut in the final game of the 1978 season.
10. Jim Morrison - A true omission from the 1978 Topps set, Morrison appeared in 53 games for the N.L. Champion Phillies.  He'd appear in the 1979 Topps set on a Phillies Prospects card with Lonnie Smith and Jim Wright.


11. Horacio Pina - The veteran Pina was purchased from the Mexican League on September 14th, appeared in 2 games for the Phillies, and was promptly returned to the Mexican League following the season.
12. Dick Ruthven - On June 15th, the Phillies re-acquired Ruthven from the Braves, swapping out Gene Garber.
13. Kevin Saucier - Like Moreland, Saucier made his big league debut in the final game of the 1978 season.  He allowed 4 runs on 4 hits in 2 innings of work.
14. Lonnie Smith - A September call-up, Smith appeared in 17 games for the Phillies down the stretch.


15. Carroll Beringer CO - Beringer departed following the season, having served as the bullpen coach since 1973.
16. Billy DeMars CO - The team's hitting coach between 1969 and 1981, DeMars also served as the first base coach (1969-1972) and the third base coach (1972-1979).
17. Ray Rippelmeyer CO - This was Rippelmeyer's final season as the team's pitching coach, a position he had held since 1970.


18. Tony Taylor CO - Taylor's first stint as a Phillies coach saw him serve as the infield coach (1977-1978) and first base coach (1979).
19. Bobby Wine CO - A Phillies coach from 1972 until 1983, Wine served as the infield coach (1972), first base coach (1973-1978) and bench coach (1979-1983).

1981 Phillies - The Missing Links

1981 Fleer #22, 1981 TCMA Oklahoma City 89ers #7 and #9 and 1994 Topps Traded #130T

There's only one new addition to the Missing Link Phillies players in 1981 as there were only 36 different Phillies players in the strike-shortened season.  The addition of Donruss and Fleer to the baseball card landscape forever altered collecting patterns, as we collectors now had a choice of which product would receive our hard-earned lawn mowing money.  Of course Donruss and Fleer are now long gone and we're stuck with collecting whatever product Topps decides to dole out.  But I digress.

3 Cards or More
31 Players

2 Cards
**John Vukovich (153 games from 1970-1971, 1976-1977 and 1979-1981) - 1980 Burger King Phillies #8 and 1981 Fleer #22
**Mark Davis (11 games in 1980 and 1981, 25 games in 1993) - 1982 Topps #231 and 1993 Ultra #437

1 Card
Dan Larson (21 games from 1978-1981) - 1980 Phillies Postcards #15

0 Cards
Jerry Reed (11 games from 1981-1982)
Don McCormack (5 games from 1980-1981)

1993 Upper Deck
Then and Now #TN6

Ryne Sandberg, who played just 13 games with the 1981 Phillies, could have made the list, if not for his Phillies cards issued following his Hall of Fame playing career.  I believe his first official Phillies card was the 1993 Upper Deck Then and Now card.  This insert card featured a head shot of Sandberg as a Phillie over a holographic image of him as a Cub.  Topps gave him a Phillies card in its 1994 Traded set and two more cards within its 2010 National Chicle set.

Jerry Reed began his nine-year career with 11 forgettable games with the declining Phillies in 1981 and 1982.  He compiled a 1-1 record and a 6.08 ERA before being packaged with two other prospects in the deal with the Indians that brought John Denny to the Phillies.  Reed spent three seasons in Cleveland, three more seasons in Seattle and finished up with a half season in Boston.  He had to wait until 1986 for his "rookie" cards, appearing with the Indians in the 1986 Fleer and Topps sets.

Past Missing Link Posts
1980 Phillies - Orlando Isales and Don McCormack

1990 Phillies - Louie Meadows

1991 Phillies - Dave LaPoint

1992 Phillies - Darrin Chapin and Mickey Weston

1993 Phillies - None

1994 Phillies - Tom Edens and Bob Wells

1995 Phillies - Jim Deshaies, Kevin Elster, Omar Olivares, Chuck Ricci and Dennis Springer

1996 Phillies - Glenn Dishman, Bronson Heflin, Manny Martinez and Rafael Quirico

1997 Phillies - Rob Butler and Mike Robertson

1998 Phillies - Robert Dodd and Matt Whiteside

1999 Phillies - Joel Bennett, Domingo Cedeno, Joe Grahe and Torey Lovullo

2000 Phillies - Clemente Alvarez, Kirk Bullinger, Mark Holzemer and Bryan Ward

**UPDATE (6/19/15) - I know now that Vukovich had additional Phillies baseball cards in the 1971, 1980 and 1981 Phillies Photocards sets.  Davis has additional team issued cards in the 1982 Tastykake Phillies set and in the style of the 1993 Medford Phillies set.