1987 Tastykake Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards

Number of Cards:  51
Card Size:  3 1/2" x 5 1/4"
Description:  With the exception of the copyright date on the bottom right, these photo cards are identical in design to the sets issued in 1985 and 1986.  Fronts feature a full color picture and the backs include brief biographical notes on each player.

How Distributed:  All fans attending the Sunday, April 12th Phillies game at Veterans Stadium received the original 47-card set.  The four blank-backed update cards (I believe) were sold separately at the stadium late in the season.  I have a very vague recollection of purchasing the four photo card update set for $1 at a second half game.  Lee Elia was named the new Phillies manager on June 18th following the firing of John Felske.  The others featured in the update set made their Phillies debuts in May or June, as follows:  Wally Ritchie - May 1st, Keith Hughes - May 19th and Jeff Calhoun - June 16th.  Given those debuts, I would guess the update cards were available during the second half of the season, following the All-Star break.

Complete Standard Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position from the front of cards): 

1. Luis Aguayo (#16 - INF) 2. Doug Bair (#58 - RHP) 3. Steve Bedrosian (#40 - RHP) 4. Don Carman (#42 - RHP) 5. Joe Cipolloni (#23 - C) 6. Joe Cowley (#39 - RHP)       7. Darren Daulton (#10 - C) 8. Ken Dowell (#37 - SS) 9. Mike Easler (#34 - LF) 10. John Felske (#7 - MG) 11. Marvin Freeman (#48 - RHP)         12. Todd Frohwirth (#52 - RHP) 13. Greg Gross (#21 - OF-1B) 14. Kevin Gross (#46 - RHP) 15. Von Hayes (#9 - 1B) 16. Tom Hume (#41 - RHP)

17. Ken Jackson (#51 - SS) 18. Mike Jackson (#33 - RHP) 19. Chris James (#18 - OF) 20. Greg Jelks (#45 - 1B-OF) 21. Steve Jeltz (#30 - SS) 22. Greg Legg (#11 - INF) 23. Mike Maddux (#44 - RHP) 24. Tom Newell (#50 - RHP) 25. Jim Olander (#38 - OF) 26. Lance Parrish (#13 - C) 27. Shane Rawley (#28 - LHP)         28. Ronn Reynolds (#29 - C) 29. Ron Roenicke (#17 - OF) 30. Bruce Ruffin (#47 - LHP) 31. John Russell (#6 - C-OF) 32. Juan Samuel (#8 - 2B)

33. Bob Scanlan (#39 - RHP) 34. Dan Schatzeder (#35 - LHP) 35. Mike Schmidt (#20 - 3B) 36. Rick Schu (#15 - 3B) 37. Jeff Stone (#14 - OF) 38. Kent Tekulve (#27 - RHP) 39. Milt Thompson (#24 - OF) 40. Freddie Toliver (#43 - RHP) 41. Len Watts (#49 - LHP) 42. Glenn Wilson (#12 - RF) 43. Phillies Coaches 44. Jeff Kaye / Darren Loy 45. Shawn Barton / Rick Lundblade         46. Phillies Team Card 47. Phillie Phanatic

Complete Update Checklist (Unnumbered, presented here alphabetically with uniform number and position from the front of cards):

1. Jeff Calhoun (#31 - LHP)         2. Lee Elia (#4 - MG)

3. Keith Hughes (#19 - OF) 4. Wally Ritchie (#38 - LHP)

One and Only Phillies Baseball Card (7):  Bair, Cowley, Jelks, Legg, Olander, Scanlan, Watts

First Appearance in Phillies Team Issued Set (12):  Calhoun, Dowell, Easler, Freeman, Frohwirth, Hughes, M. Jackson, Newell, Parrish, Ritchie, Roenicke, Schatzeder
Returning Players in Phillies Team Issued Set (25):  Aguayo, Bedrosian, Carman, Cipolloni, Daulton, G. Gross, K. Gross, Hayes, Hume, K. Jackson, James, Jeltz, Maddux, Rawley, Reynolds, Ruffin, Russell, Samuel, Schmidt, Schu, Stone, Tekulve, Thompson, Toliver, Wilson

Managers (2):  Elia, Felske
Coaches (1):  Jim Davenport, Lee Elia, Claude Osteen, Mike Ryan and Del Unser are all featured on a card together.

Phillie Phanatic (1):  I believe the photo used was taken as the Phanatic was atop the Phillies dugout in Clearwater.

Multi-Player Prospect Cards (2):  Kaye / Loy, Barton / Lundblade
Other Cards (1):  Team card

Surprises:  There are a couple of things with this set only a few of us would find interesting.  As far as I can tell, this is the first team-issued photo card set featuring solo cards of players who never actually played for the Phillies.  Joe Cipolloni, Jim Olander, Bob Scanlan and Len Watts never got the call to the big leagues with the team, nor did the four prospects featured on the multi-player cards for that matter.  Marvin Freeman and Ronn Reynolds appear in the set as well, although neither played with the Phillies in 1987.  Freeman's season was hampered by injuries and he appeared in 19 minor league games.  Reynolds was dealt to the Astros on April 2nd for Calhoun.

There are two #39's in the set - Scanlan and Joe Cowley.  Scanlan started the spring with #39 and Cowley most likely requested the number upon his arrival from the White Sox late in the spring on March 26th.  Cowley had worn #40 with the White Sox, but that number already belonged to Steve Bedrosian.

Omissions:  None!  Every single player to appear with the Phillies in 1987 is represented in this set, and that's really impressive.

Variations/Rarities:  There's a Phanatic photo variation featuring the mascot riding his ATV, and a variation of the widely available Phanatic card but with different writing on the back.  There's also a black and white portrait version of a Don Carman card and fellow collector Bill W. e-mailed me to let me know the card was available at a Pennsylvania baseball card show in 1987 where Carman was an autograph guest.

Phanatic Variations 1. On dugout, different writing on back         2. Riding ATV

Black & White Variation 1. Don Carman (#42 - LHP)

Also See:  One of the more desirable (in my opinion) and difficult to find team issued sets is the 1987 Phillies Great Performers of 1986 set, issued to season ticket holders who renewed their 1987 season tickets early.  14,000 Phillies created an entry for this set as part of his Phillies Database Project.

Resources:  Beckett.com; Phillies collectors Rick G., Steve F. and Bill W.

This set was originally featured in a post back in October 2014, and I'm going through these older team-issued set posts to update them with new information learned (if any) over the past six years.

1986 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards / 1988 Tastykake Phillies Photo Cards

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

Series Preview - Mets at Phillies: September 15th to September 17th

1991 Topps #30

2020 Chachi 1991 Topps Missing Links #11

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 7:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  This is the start of the final homestand for the Phillies as the 2020 season is rapidly barreling towards its conclusion.  The Phillies have 14 more games to play over the next 13 days.

Mets 21-26
4th Place in the N.L. East, 6 1/2 games behind the Braves

Mets Probables
Rick Porcello (1-4, 6.07)
Jacob deGrom (4-1, 1.67)
Seth Lugo (2-3, 2.63)

Mets Leaders
Average:  Michael Conforto - .343
Runs:  Michael Conforto - 36
Home Runs:  Pete Alonso - 11
RBIs:  Dominic Smith - 38
Stolen Bases:  Andres Gimenez - 7

Wins:  Jacob deGrom and David Peterson - 4
ERA:  Jacob deGrom - 1.67
Strikeouts:  Jacob deGrom - 79
Saves:  Edwin Diaz and Seth Lugo - 3

Phillies 23-23
3rd Place in the N.L. East, 4 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Jake Arrieta (3-4, 5.54)
Aaron Nola (5-3, 2.40)
TBD

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Didi Gregorius - .277
Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 35
Home Runs:  J.T. Realmuto - 11
RBIs:  J.T. Realmuto - 30
Stolen Bases:  Bryce Harper and Roman Quinn - 8

Wins:  Aaron Nola - 5
ERA:  Aaron Nola - 2.40

Strikeouts:  Aaron Nola - 77
Saves:  Brandon Workman - 5

Pondering the 2019 Chachi Design - Reader Input Requested #Collect

1971 Topps #119

1972 Topps #528

1984 Topps #101

1986 Topps #585

1987 Topps Traded #103T

It's about this time each year that I start to think ahead to the next season and the design I'll use for my annual custom Phillies team set.  I've called these cards "Chachi" cards since first creating the set during the 2005 season in honor of our late, great first dog, Chachi.  I've been working my way through the Topps designs of the 1970s and 1980s, and my choices are dwindling in terms of sets I've not yet tackled.

As a look into this annual process, here's a summary of what sets are off the board (for now) since they've already been used, and a look at the handful of sets still remaining.

1970 Topps - 2016 Chachi
1973 Topps - 2013 Chachi
1974 Topps - 2010 Chachi
1975 Topps - 2005 Chachi
1976 Topps - 2007 Chachi
1977 Topps - 2008 Chachi
1978 Topps - 2018 Chachi
1979 Topps - 2012 Chachi
1980 Topps - 2009 Chachi
1981 Topps - 2006 Chachi
1982 Topps - 2017 Chachi
1983 Topps - 2011 Chachi
1985 Topps - 2015 Chachi
1988 Topps - 2014 Chachi

And the candidates for the 2019 Chachi set:

1971 Topps - I've come close to using this design so many times, but I've never been able to pull the trigger.  The actual 1971 Topps set is awesome, but I'm afraid I'd get tired of creating cards with the all-black border half-way through the season.  I either need to use this design in 2019, or wait a few years as Topps will be using this design for its 2020 Topps Heritage set.

1972 Topps - I can say the same thing about the 1972 Topps set - awesome set, but I could get tired of the psychedelic tombstone design by early summer.  And there's no way I'm talented enough to re-create the team name font so I'd have to scan in a card for each team I wanted to feature and I'd pass on making cards for minor league teams.  No fun.

1984 Topps - This design has grown on me, and I'm far enough away from having used the 1983 Topps design that maybe it's time to give this a shot.  As an added bonus, it's colorful.

1986 Topps - This set is also a dark horse candidate, and it's moved up in the rankings since someone gave me the name of the font to use for the team name (Napoli Serial Heavy).  But it's somewhat of a boring design.

1987 Topps - Like the 1971 Topps design, I've come close to using this in the past but Topps' over-saturation of 1987 Topps style cards as inserts in prior years caused me to back away.

1989 Topps - I'll probably never use this design.  I wouldn't know how to re-create the style and font used for the team name and I'd have to go the 1972 Topps route (see above) if I were to use this set's design.

1965 Topps #352

1981 Donruss #175

1982 Donruss #219

1983 Fleer #163

1991 Topps #618

I've also recently given some thought to leaving the friendly confines of the Topps sets from these two decades and using the design of one of my other favorite sets.

1965 Topps - My favorite design from the 1960s.
1981 Donruss - One of the first sets I remember collecting, and I've always had a soft spot for the very early Donruss designs.
1982 Donruss - See above.
1983 Fleer - Another nostalgic set for me with a simple design.
1991 Topps - My son Doug has become partial to this set's design for some reason.  Given that 2020 will be the 15th anniversary of the first Chachi set, maybe I'll go with this design then and replace the "40" from the original with a "15".

What do you think?  What set would you like to see on this blog throughout next season?  Any other sets I'm omitting that deserve consideration?

1987 Tastykake Phillies

I updated this post here in November 2020 and this original post is now outdated.

 
Number of Cards:  51
Card Size:  3 1/2" x 5 1/4"
Description:  With the exception of the copyright date on the bottom right, these cards are identical in design to the sets issued in 1985 and 1986.  Fronts feature a full color picture and the backs include brief biographical notes on each player.
How Distributed:  All fans attending the April 12, 1987 Phillies game at Veterans Stadium received the 47-card set.  The four blank-backed update cards (I believe) were sold separately at the stadium late in the season.  I have a very vague recollection of purchasing the four-card update set for $1 at a game during the '87 season.

Complete Standard Checklist (47):  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

6 - John Russell 7 - John Felske MG 8 - Juan Samuel 9 - Von Hayes 10 - Darren Daulton 11 - Greg Legg 12 - Glenn Wilson 13 - Lance Parrish 14 - Jeff Stone 15 - Rick Schu 16 - Luis Aguayo 17 - Ron Roenicke 18 - Chris James 20 - Mike Schmidt 21 - Greg Gross 23 - Joe Cipolloni 24 - Milt Thompson 27 - Kent Tekulve 28 - Shane Rawley 29 - Ronn Reynolds 30 - Steve Jeltz 33 - Mike Jackson 34 - Mike Easler 35 - Dan Schatzeder

37 - Ken Dowell 38 - Jim Olander 39 - Joe Cowley 39 - Bob Scanlan 40 - Steve Bedrosian 41 - Tom Hume 42 - Don Carman 43 - Freddie Toliver 44 - Mike Maddux 45 - Greg Jelks 46 - Kevin Gross 47 - Bruce Ruffin 48 - Marvin Freeman 49 - Len Watts 50 - Tom Newell 51 - Ken Jackson 52 - Todd Frohwirth 58 - Doug Bair Phillies Coaches Jeff Kaye/Darren Loy Shawn Barton/Rick Lundblade Phillies Team Card Phillie Phanatic

Complete Update Checklist (4):

4 - Lee Elia MG 19 - Keith Hughes

31 - Jeff Calhoun 38 - Wally Ritchie

Elia was named manager on June 18th following the firing of Felske.  The others featured in the update set made their Phillies debuts in May or June, as follows:  Ritchie - May 1st, Hughes - May 19th and Calhoun - June 16th.

One and Done (7):  Bair, Cowley, Jelks, Legg, Olander, Scanlan, Watts
First Appearances (12):  Calhoun, Dowell, Easler, Freeman, Frohwirth, Hughes, M. Jackson, Newell, Parrish, Ritchie, Roenicke, Schatzeder
Returning Players (25):  Aguayo, Bedrosian, Carman, Cipolloni, Daulton, G. Gross, K. Gross, Hayes, Hume, K. Jackson, James, Jeltz, Maddux, Rawley, Reynolds, Ruffin, Russell, Samuel, Schmidt, Schu, Stone, Tekulve, Thompson, Toliver, Wilson

As originally documented in this 1987 Phillies Missing Links post, this set is the only place to find Phillies baseball cards for Bair, Cowley, Jelks and Legg.  (I have a little more on the other three guys below.)  The First Appearance designation is for players who have never before appeared within a Phillies team issued set.  These players may have already appeared on other Phillies baseball cards.

Managers (2):  Felske, Elia
Coaches (1):  Jim Davenport, Lee Elia, Claude Osteen, Mike Ryan and Del Unser are all featured on a card together.
Phillie Phanatic (1):  I believe the photo used was taken as the Phanatic was atop the Phillies dugout in Clearwater.
Broadcasters (0)
Multi-Player Prospect Cards (2):  Kaye/Loy, Barton/Lundblade
Other Cards (1):  Team card

Variations/Rarities:  Steve was kind enough to send me the scan below of the Phanatic variation available in 1987.  The more prevalent version is the card on the right, while the rarer version is the card on the left featuring the Phanatic on his ATV.

• Phanatic on ATV

Based on Rick's comment below, it appears as if there's an additional variation of the Phanatic card featuring different writing on the back.

Update (11/15/18) - Fellow collector Bill e-mailed me the photo below of a black and white Don Carman card, bearing a 1987 copyright date.  Bill obtained the card at a baseball card show in Pennsylvania where Carman was an autograph guest.

Also See:  One of the more desirable (in my opinion) and difficult to find team issued sets is the 1987 Phillies Great Performers of 1986 set, issued to season ticket holders who renewed their 1987 season tickets early.  14,000 Phillies created an entry for this set as part of his Phillies Database Project.

Trivia:  There are a couple of things with this set that only a few of us would find interesting . . . As far as I can tell, this is the first team-issued set featuring solo cards of players that never actually played for the Phillies.  Cipolloni, Olander, Scanlan and Watts never got the call to the big leagues with the Phils, nor did the four prospects featured on the multi-player cards for that matter.

There are two #39's in the original set - Scanlan and Cowley.  I'm assuming Scanlan started the spring with #39 and Cowley requested the number upon his arrival from the White Sox late in the spring on March 26th.  Cowley had worn #40 with the White Sox, but that number already belonged to Bedrosian.
Resources:  Phillies SGA 1987; Beckett.com; Phillies collector Rick (@rickphils) and Steve F.

Giants at Phillies: July 21st to July 24th

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 7:05, Thursday 1:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Giants 54-44, Tied for 1st Place in the N.L. West, 11 games ahead of the Padres
Phillies 43-55, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 11 games behind the Braves and Nationals

Giants Probables:  Ryan Vogelsong (5-7, 3.86), Matt Cain (2-7, 4.18), Madison Bumgarner (11-7, 3.38), Tim Hudson (8-6, 2.78)
Phillies Probables:  Cliff Lee (4-4, 3.18), Roberto Hernandez (4-8, 4.22), A.J. Burnett (6-9, 4.08), Cole Hamels (4-5, 2.83)

At the Ballpark:  Tonight is Italian Heritage night at the ballpark and kids get to run the bases following Thursday afternoon's game.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Ben Revere - .293

Runs:  Chase Utley - 52

Home Runs:  Marlon Byrd - 19

RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 58

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 26

Wins:  A.J. Burnett - 6

ERA:  Cole Hamels - 2.83

Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 115

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 23

1988 Topps #52 and #494

1988 Topps Appreciation:  If you're trying to figure out the connection between Don Robinson and Wally Ritchie, I'd be extremely impressed if you realized that both pitchers were teammates on the 1992 Phillies squad.  There's that and I needed somewhere to feature Ritchie's card since we're now more than half way through the season and I'm running out of series preview posts quickly.

Robinson ended his 15-year career pitching eight forgettable game with the 1992 Phillies.  He went 1-4 with a 6.18 ERA before earning his release in mid-July.  For Phillies fans, Robinson is probably best remembered as the pitcher who allowed Mike Schmidt's memorable 500th career home run back on April 18, 1987.

Ritchie spent parts of four seasons with the Phillies, first appearing with the club in 1987.  He'd appear in just 19 games with the 1988 club before being exiled to Triple-A for the entire 1989 and 1990 seasons.  He was one of the team's more reliable relievers in 1991 and 1992, appearing in 79 games and pitching to a 2.72 ERA.  The Phillies and Ritchie parted ways following the 1992 season and he bounced around with the Tigers and Reds organizations as well as a few independent league teams before hanging up his spikes in 1998.

Scrapbook Sunday: June 12, 1992

1992 Leaf #443 Wally Ritchie

I'm writing this on Saturday morning as the Phillies find themselves in third place in the NL East, looking up at the Braves and the Mets. It hasn't been enjoyable for the team or their fan base for just about a month now. Following a dominating performance against the Pirates back on May 17th in which they won, 12-2, things have completely fallen apart. On May 17th, the Phillies were 5 games up in the NL East, 11 games above .500. On the morning of June 12th, the Phillies are 2½ games behind the NL East leading Braves, 3 games above .500. ESPN's Phillies page points out the team is now 19th (out of 30) in the league in hitting and RBIs, and they're 23rd in the league in hits.

Going into the season, the major concerns were the bullpen (which has been fine) and the starting pitching after Roy Halladay (which has also been fine). No one could have predicted the team's mid-May to mid-June downfall would be a result of a horribly struggling offense. To paraphrase the old saying, "I guess that's why they play the games."

So how does this all relate to 1992? Back on June 12, 1992, the Phillies were 27-30, 4 games behind the NL East leading Pirates. The biggest difference between the '92 Phillies and the '10 Phillies is the expectations that came with both teams. The '92 Phillies were expected to be bad. You'd often hear the phrase, "We just want to be competitive," when club leaders spoke of that team. Conversely, the '10 Phillies were all but expected to walk away with their fourth NL East pennant and waltz into the World Series this year. For that reason, watching the last month of Phillies baseball is much, much more difficult than what we had to endure back in 1992.

At least in 1992 we knew what we were getting ourselves into.