1956 Topps - 1st Series Phillies Alumni

Similar to what I did recently with the 1965 Topps set and the Phillies Alumni within that set's first series, I wanted to post a gallery of the Phillies within the first 100 cards of the 1956 Topps set.  You can follow along as I document each card in the iconic 1956 Topps set here, and clicking on the links below each card will take you to that player's post.

#3

#7

#9

#17

#24

#46

#48

#49

#58

#60

#63

#67

#71

#75

#77

#78

#80

#81

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.

1962 Topps Stamps Roy Sievers

Cardinals 5, Phillies 2
Game 22 - Wednesday Night, April 29th in St. Louis
Record - 8-14, 5th Place, 7 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Aaron Harang suffered his first rough outing as the Cardinals downed the floundering Phillies, 5-2.

What It Means:  The loss put the Phillies back in sole possession of last place in the division.

What Happened:  Harang gave up five runs on nine hits in his six innings of work.  Ryan Howard hit a solo home run in the fourth and Odubel Herrera singled home Harang in the fifth.

Featured Ca . . . Stamp:  After this game, Chase Utley was hitting .114 which was tied for the lowest batting average in the month of April in franchise history for batters with at least 40 plate appearances.  Roy Sievers hit .114 in April 1962 while Billy Kelly hit .119 in April 1928.  (H/T to the game recap at Phillies.com)

1964 Topps Phillies

1964 Topps #135, #265, #208 and #157

The Phillies were supposed to go to the World Series in 1964.  Tickets and programs had been printed.  But with 12 games to play and a 6 1/2 game lead in the National League - they blew it.  I've been told grown men broke down in tears the day the Phils were officially eliminated from postseason play.  Growing up, I remember hearing the "grown ups" talk about the '64 season in hushed voices, always melancholy.  Although I've suffered through years of futility, I won't pretend to understand the heartache and massive disappointment that must have been felt by the Phillies and their fans in 1964.

The Set

1964 Topps #265 (Back)

Number of cards in the set:  There are 587 cards in a complete set.

My very brief thoughts on the set:  There are a few notable Phillies cards in the set, but overall, it's probably one of my least favorite Topps sets of the decade.  This could be because of the drab design, or it could be just because I associate the year 1964 with bad things happening for the Phillies.

Notable competition:  With their suit against Fleer in 1963, Topps effectively stopped all competitors for the foreseeable future.  A few Phillies can be found in the Wheaties Stamps set.  Topps released a number of specialty sets in 1964 including Topps Coins, Topps Giants (postcard-size cards), Topps Tattoos and Topps Stand-Ups.

1964 Phillies

Record and finish:  92-70, one agonizing game behind the Cardinals in the National League, and tied for second place with the Reds.

Key players:  Right fielder Johnny Callison (.274, 31 home runs and 104 RBIs), newly anointed third baseman Richie Allen (.318, 29 home runs and 91 RBIs) and left fielder Wes Covington (.280, 13 home runs and 58 RBIs) paced the offense.  Jim Bunning, acquired in an off-season trade with the Tigers, was the ace of the pitching staff, going 19-8 with a 2.63 ERA and 13 complete games.  Chris Short was right behind him with a 17-9 record, a 2.20 ERA and 12 complete games.  Jack Baldschun saved 21 games for the club.

1964 Topps #191, #43, #83 and #347

Key events:  The Phillies traded third baseman Don Demeter and pitcher Jack Hamilton to the Tigers in December 1963 for Bunning and catcher Gus Triandos, necessitating the move to third by Allen.  Although Allen led the league with 41 errors, his 29 home runs set the Phillies rookie home run record.  On Father's Day 1964, Bunning threw the seventh perfect game in Major League history against the New York Mets.  The Phils acquired Frank Thomas in August from the Mets, and the slugger had 26 RBIs in 34 games before breaking his thumb.  The Phils then acquired Vic Power from the Angels to replace Thomas, but Power struggled at the plate against his first taste of National League pitching.

1964 Phillies in 1964 Topps

Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 27 Phillies baseball cards in a 1964 Topps team set.  We're up to 148 Phillies Topps cards from the '60s and 321 Phillies Topps cards overall.

Who’s in:  21 of the 27 cards feature players who suited up with the Phillies in 1964.  Three of the five remaining cards are multi-player "Rookie Stars" cards.  The last three cards are a manager card for Gene Mauch, a card for minor leaguer Paul Brown and a team card.

1964 Topps #243

Who’s out: It's the same annual story for Short, as he'd need to wait three more years for his first Topps card.  Back-up left fielder Alex Johnson got left out too, despite appearing in 43 games and hitting .303 with four home runs.

Phillies on other teams:  Thomas (#345 with the Mets) and Power (#355 with the Twins) are featured with their former teams.  Reliever Ed Roebuck (#187 with Senators) appeared in 60 games with the '64 Phillies after being purchased from Washington.  And long-time Philadelphia Athletic Bobby Shantz (#278 with Cardinals) wrapped up his 16-year career with 14 games with the Phillies after being purchased from the Cubs in August.

What’s he doing here:  Brown appears on card #319, despite spending the entire season in AAA Arkansas.  Don't be fooled by Demeter's card (#58).  It's a Tigers card, even though he's clearly sporting a Phillies uniform.

Cards that never were candidates:  Short and Johnson.  And it would be cool to give Shantz and Power their first and only Phillies cards.  (Both appeared in the Philadelphia Bulletin set, included as 8" x 10" inserts in the newspaper.)

2001 Topps Archives #44

Favorite Phillies card:  The season ended on a sour note, but the future looked bright, especially with Allen in the fold.  His rookie card is #243 in the set, and he shares it with John Hernnstein.  Hernnstein, you may recall, also made a cameo on Willie Stargell's rookie card in the 1963 Topps set.  Sadly, Hernnstein is nowhere to be found on Allen's 2001 Topps Archives card.

Other Stuff

Recycled:  There haven't been many Topps cards in recent years to re-use the 1964 Topps design.  But just wait until 2013, when the design should appear in that year's Topps Heritage set.

Blogs/Websites:  I spent close to an hour going through past posts on The 1964 Topps Blog.  The proprietor of the blog is 255 cards away from having a complete 587-card set.

Did You Know?:  I'm amazed this is the first time I've ever featured a Jim Bunning baseball card on the blog.

1963 Topps Phillies

1963 Topps #434, #283, #32 and #341

If 1962 Topps beget 1987 Topps, then 1963 Topps beget 1983 Topps.  I didn't know much about this set growing up other than it's the set with Pete Rose's rookie card in it.  If you had asked 10-year-old me if I could have any baseball card in the entire world, I wouldn't have hesitated with my pick - the Rose rookie card.  Maybe one day.

The Set

1963 Topps #366 (Back)

Number of cards in the set:  The complete set consists of 576 cards, down from the 598 total cards found in the 1962 Topps set.

My very brief thoughts on the set:  The folks at Topps must have wanted to mix things up in 1963 after a soothing, wood-grained design in 1962.  The '63 Topps set is very colorful, with blues, yellows, oranges, reds and greens used no matter the team.

Notable competition:  Post and the Salada coins were around again in 1963, but it was the 66-card Fleer set that gave Topps its biggest competition since Bowman departed the scene in 1955.  The Standard Catalog mentions that a "lawsuit by Topps stopped Fleer's 1963 set at one series of 66 cards."  The complete Phillies team set from 1963 Fleer consists of five cards.

1963 Phillies

Record and finish:  The Phillies finished with a record of 87-75, their highest win total since also winning 87 games in 1952.  They still finished fourth in the National League behind the Giants, Cardinals and pennant winning Dodgers.  Things were looking up and they would almost reach the promised land in 1964.  Almost.

Key players:  Johnny Callison (.284, 26 home runs and 78 RBIs) and Wes Covington (.303, 17 home runs and 64 RBIs) paced the offense.  Roy Sievers' average dropped to .240, but he still hit 19 home runs and drove in 82 runs.  Tony Gonzalez hit .306 in another steady year for the Phillies.  With Art Mahaffey missing a chunk of the season with a bad ankle, starters Cal McLish (13-11, 3.26 ERA) and Ray Culp (14-11, 2.97 ERA) led the pitching staff.  Jack Baldschun was great out of the bullpen, saving 16 games and pitching to an 11-7 record with a 2.30 ERA.  Johnny Klippstein contributed a 1.93 ERA in 49 appearances.

Key events:  Shortstop Bobby Wine won his first and only Gold Glove.  Richie Allen was a September call-up, making his Major League debut on September 3rd.

1963 Topps #366, #318, #71 and #385

1963 Phillies in 1963 Topps

Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 29 cards in a 1963 Topps Phillies team set.  The cumulative tally is 121 cards from the '60s (so far) and 294 Topps Phillies cards dating back to 1951.  (Turns out there are actually 30 Phillies cards in a complete team set - see the comments to this post.  I'll update the overall tally if I ever get to a 1951 to whenever Topps Phillies retrospective post.)

Who’s in:  22 players who actually played with the Phillies in 1963 made it into the set - on their own cards.  On three other cards, rookies Marcelino Lopez, Culp, John Boozer and John Herrnstein had to share their rookie cards with several other players on Topps' multi-player Rookie Stars cards.  Mahaffey became the first Phillie to appear on a League Leader card, as he was featured along with the other 1962 victory leaders on card #7.  Rounding out the team set is a card for manager Gene Mauch, a team card, and a card for reliever Billy Smith, who spent the season playing for the Phillies' AAA team in Arkansas.

Who’s out:  Just starting pitcher Chris Short.  And Allen would have to wait for the 1964 Topps set for his rookie card.

1963 Topps #268, #455, #91 and #192

Phillies on other teams:  Ryne Duren (#17) pitched in 33 games for the Phillies after being sold from the Angels in March.  Outfielder Jim Lemon (#369) was purchased from the Twins in May.

What’s he doing here:  I have no arguments with any of the Phillies players featured.  Even Smith, who should have had a card in the 1962 Topps set, was a logical inclusion as he had pitched in 24 games in the prior year.

Cards that never were candidates:  Short and Allen.  The fine Dick Allen Hall of Fame blog has already created a great looking 1963 Topps Richie Allen card.

Favorite Phillies card:  Similar to the 1962 Topps Phillies cards, there aren't any cards that really stand out to me.  I'll pick Bobby Wine's card, although I could be swayed by the smiling Mahaffey or the Cookie Rojas rookie card.

1963 Topps #7 and #221, 2006 Topps Wal-Mart #WM17 and 2001 Upper Deck Vintage #298

Other Stuff

Recycled:  If Topps produces a Heritage set in 2012 (and why wouldn't they?) this will be the design used.  Back in 2001, Upper Deck used a design that looked suspiciously like the 1963 Topps set for its Vintage offering.  And in 2006, Topps failed with a 1963-style Chase Utley card - the circle is too small and the font is all wrong.

Blogs/Websites:  Here's a terrific post on the 1963 Topps set from Dean's Cards.

Did You Know?:  It could be a while before I complete this team set.  John Hernstein's rookie card, #553 in the set, typically sells for a few hundred dollars.  He shares the card with three other Rookie Stars - Brock Davis, Jim Gosger and Willie Stargell.

1962 Topps Phillies

1962 Topps #146, #17, #220 and #453

We're now up to the design used for this year's Topps Heritage set, the original wood-grained wonder.  Way before there was 1987 Topps, there was the 1962 Topps set.

The Set

1962 Topps #146 (Back)

Number of cards in the set:  Topps added eleven more cards to its baseball card set in 1962, increasing the complete set size to 598 cards.

My very brief thoughts on the set:  I've always liked this set.  Way back in my early days of collecting, my Dad bought me a Tim McCarver 1962 Topps card and my first thought was that the card looked so old.  The design and feel of the set is reminiscent of your grandparents' basement, peeling posters on the wall and all.  It's familiar and comfortable.

Notable competition:  There was an abundance of regional and food-issued sets released.  Post again issued  a 200-card set available on its cereal boxes (9 Phillies in the set) and a set of 221 coins were released with Salada Tea and Junket Pudding mix (12 Phillies coins).

1962 Phillies

Record and finish: Thanks in part to two expansion teams - the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45's - the Phillies finished with a record of 81-80, in seventh place in the new ten-team National League.

Key players:  The offense showed signs of life, as led by third baseman Don Demeter (.307, 29 home runs and 107 RBIs), right fielder Johnny Callison (.300, 23, 83) and first baseman Roy Sievers (.262, 21, 80).  Demeter moved to third to make room for Sievers, acquired in an off-season trade with the White Sox.  Tony Gonzalez (.300, 20, 63, 17 stolen bases) had another consistent year.  All-Star Art Mahaffey led the pitching staff (19-14, 3.94 ERA) followed by Cal McLish and Chris Short with eleven wins each.  Jack Baldschun won 12 games and saved 13 out of the bullpen.

Key events:  Things were starting to look up for the Phillies after a dismal 1961 season.

1962 Topps #77, #434, #104 and #374

1962 Phillies in 1962 Topps

Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 27 cards in the 1962 Topps Phillies team set, down three from 1961 most likely as a result of the team's awful performance in the prior year.  That makes 92 cards from 1960 to 1962, and 265 total Phillies Topps cards dating back to 1951.  I have most of the '62 Topps cards, but I still need to track down the high numbers.

Who’s in:  24 of the 27 cards feature players who actually played with the Phillies in 1962.  The other three cards are a team card, a card for manager Gene Mauch and a card for Ken Walters, who had been sold to the Reds in February.  Also of note is the first appearance of a Phillie on a multi-player "rookie" card.  Pitcher Jack Hamilton appears on a "Rookie Parade" card (#593) along with four other pitching prospects.

Who’s out:  Regular shortstop Bobby Wine was omitted, as was the team's number three starter, Dennis Bennett.  In the bullpen, Chris Short (again) is missing despite pitching in 47 games, as is Bill Smith, who appeared in 24 games.

1962 Topps #111, #157, #284 and #303

Phillies on other teams:  Pitcher Don Ferrerese appeared in five games with the '62 Phillies before being shipped to the Reds on April 28th for Bobby Locke.  Ferrarese appears on card #547 with the Cardinals and Locke, who had been traded by the Cubs to the Cardinals earlier that April, appears on card #359 with the Cubs.

What’s he doing here:  The inclusion of Walters doesn't make much sense, given that Topps had to have known about his sale to the Reds by the time his card (#328) made its appearance in the set's fourth series.  In fact, upon further review, Topps actually makes mention of the pre-season sale on the back of Walters' card.  The plot thickens.

Cards that never were candidates: Wine, Bennett, Short and Smith.

Favorite Phillies card:  There aren't any real eye-popping cards in the bunch, but I narrowed it down to Clay Dalrymple's squat pose with a bunch of Phillies milling about behind him and Tony Taylor's first baseball card to feature him in an actual Phillies uniform with billboards from Connie Mack Stadium in the background.  I'll give the nod to the Taylor card.

1962 Topps #46, #212, #328 and #269

Other Stuff

Recycled:  You'll see a whole lot of 2011 Topps Heritage throughout the season as I'll feature the Phillies cards from this set in my game summary posts.

Blogs/Websites:  It's been quiet recently, but there's plenty of good stuff to read in the archives over at Project '62.

Did You Know?:  Early printings of the cards in series two (cards 110 to 196) were inadvertently printed with extra green ink, giving the cards a greenish tint.  Topps intentionally recreated this printing gaffe with its 2011 Heritage set, and cards 110 to 196 can be found in short-printed "green tint" variations.