This core of the Phillies team that won the 1950 pennant was still in place. Richie Ashburn and Del Ennis still patrolled the outfield. Granny Hamner and Willie "Puddin' Head" Jones were still on the infield. Robin Roberts, Curt Simmons, and Jim Konstanty were still the heart of the mound crew. Added to this mix were veterans picked up from other teams like catcher Smoky Burgess, first baseman, Earl Torgeson, second baseman Connie Ryan, right fielder Johnny Wyrostek and starting pitcher Karl Drews. The team looked to be a contender for the pennant.
The team's first four game sweep came April 24-26 at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates would win only 50 games in 1953. The Phillies were 15-7 against them for the season. In the Friday night game on April 26, Jim Konstanty, normally a reliever. but who made 19 starts for the Phillies in 1953, twirled a two-hitter to beat the Bucs, 5-3. Konstanty flirted with a no-hitter until Danny O'Connell singled in the seventh. Ennis contributed a two-run home run to the cause. On Saturday afternoon the Phillies slugged three home runs (Torgeson, Hamner, and Ennis again) as Curt Simmons, who gave up 10 hits and six walks in 7 1/3 innings, managed to win, 7-6. Andy "Swede" Hansen got the save.
Sunday was Robin Roberts Day at the stadium. Robin was honored for his amazing 28-7 1952 season. After the plaudits and gifts were distributed, Roberts pitched and beat the Pittsburgh ace Bob Friend, 7-5. Ralph Kiner and Eddie Pelligrini touched Roberts for two-run homers in the 8th and 9th respectively to make it close. Ryan went five-for-five for the Phillies including a homerun, two RBIs, and three runs scored. Roberts added two hits of his own, but after one of them, he was picked off first base by Pirate catcher Joe Garagiola. The Phillies completed the sweep of the doubleheader and the series with an 8-1 blowout. Jones had three hits, including a two-run home run off the Buccos' Elroy Face. Drews pitched the complete game for the win. The Phillies were riding an eight-game winning streak and were atop the National League standings in the early going.
The second four-game series sweep came June 8-10 against the Chicago Cubs, again at the newly renamed Connie Mack Stadium. The Cubs were not as bad a team as the Pirates, but in their third and final season under manager Phil Cavaretta, they would finish in seventh place, with a 65-89-1 record. The Cubs now featured two players who had been playing for the Pirates when the Phillies swept them in April, Ralph Kiner and Joe Garagiola. The Pirates and Cubs had pulled off a multi-player trade just four days before this series began.
The first game of the series, a Monday day game, saw the Phillies jump out to a 4-0 lead on four unearned runs in the second inning. With two outs and Ennis and Jones on base, Cubs second baseman, Eddie Miksis, dropped a pop fly off the bat of Phillies catcher Stan Lopata. Ennis scored and Jones moved up. The next batter, pitcher Bob Miller, singled to center field, Jones scored and Lopata attempted to move to third on the hit. Frank Baumholtz's throw was wild, and Lopata picked himself up and headed home. Pitcher Paul Minner backed up the play and threw home in an attempt to get Lopata. This throw was also wild. Lopata was safe and Miller was awarded home on the overthrow. That tour of the bases seemed to take something out of Miller and he only lasted 3 2/3 innings. before being replaced by Steve Ridzik. Ridzik picked up the win with 5 1/3 innings of shutout relief. The final was Phils 7, Cubs 3.
The next day the Phillies won a wild, see-saw affair, 10-9. Ennis won the game in walk off fashion with a ninth inning home run against his former Phillie teammate Dutch Leonard. Phillies' rookie Thornton Kipper won his first ever major league game with one inning of scoreless relief. Kipper would win a total of three games in his brief major league career. Wednesday brought a doubleheader, that included a makeup game that had been rained out on May 5. In the first game, Roberts was masterful in shutting down the Cubs, 9-1. The only run Roberts allowed was a Kiner solo home run. Torgeson was the hitting star for the Phillies with three hits and 4 RBIs, including a three-run home run. In the second game, Jim Konstanty won his fifth of the year with the help of relievers Ridzik and Drews, 8-5. Ennis and Ryan homered. The Phillies were 28-18, in third place, four games behind the Milwaukee Braves.
In July the Pirates came to town again and the Phillies feasted again. The Friday night, July 10 game featured 10 errors (six by the Phillies) and nine unearned runs, as the Phillies prevailed, 13-3. Simmons picked up his eighth win of the season. Rookie shortstop, Ted Kazanski, had three hits to raise his season average to .227. Kazanski also made two errors. On July 11, the Phillies rallied from a 4-3 deficit to win, 8-5. The big blow was another Del Ennis home run, this time a three-run dinger off the Pirates Murry Dickson. Ridzik got the win in relief of Konstanty.
The Phillies swept the July 12 doubleheader to complete the second four-game shellacking of the Pirates. In game one, Roberts bested Roy Face, 6-4. Ennis was again the hitting star, banging out three hits, including two home runs and three RBIs. In the nightcap, the Phillies scored six early runs and then hung on to win, 6-5, as Ridzik contributed another strong 5 1/3 inning relief stint for his fifth win of the season. While the Phillies were beating up on these weak teams, however, they were treading water in the standings. At 45-35, they were now in fourth place, 4.5 games behind the surging Brooklyn Dodgers.
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| Robin Roberts slides in headfirst to score from first base on an Eddie Waitkus triple. The catcher is Vic Janowicz. The umpire is Frank Secory. |
One of the things that stands out as we look over these twelve games as a whole, however, is the importance of Del Ennis to this Phillies lineup. During these twelve games, Ennis hit .367 (18 for 49), with seven home runs, 21 RBIs, and 13 runs scored. Numbers like this show that Ennis was the most important bat in the Phillies lineup in the 1950s. Ennis was to the 1950s Phillies what Dick Allen was in the 60s, Mike Schmidt was in the 70s and 80s, and what Bryce Harper is today. Like Schmidt and Allen, Ennis was booed unmercifully by Phillies fans. The reasons for this are unclear. I looked at the booing of Ennis in this post.
Ennis was, of course, a Philly boy. He went to Olney High School, signed with the Phillies although the New York Yankees offered him more money, served in the army during World War II, played 11 years for the hometown team and settled here after his retirement. Del Ennis is on the Phillies Wall of Fame as he should be, but when his number 14 was retired, it was to honor another great Phillies' 14, Jim Bunning. Del Ennis remains one of the most underrated great Phillie ballplayers of all time.
A fine reflection on 1953 season. I remember it as the last time any in the national media preseason picked the Whiz Kids to win a pennant. As I recall the majority chose the Dodgers while two or three went with the Phillies. Even in 1951 it was only local writers that gave them a chance to repeat.
ReplyDeleteThe strong ‘52 finish under O’Neill and the trade for Earl Torgeson convinced a few that a pennant was possible. Several things wrecked the scenario unfortunately. First, Torgy didn’t live up to his promise due to injury and his own temper. Second, an unexpected result of the trade for him saw Russ Meyer end up with the Dodgers where he proceeded to go 15-5. It was not Carpenter’s intention that a quality pitcher end up with your foremost opposition and he screamed aplenty that the Braves never told him it was going to end up a tree way trade. No one cried much for him though.
The team came out of the gate winning 9 of 11 and continued to look good remaining within three games of the leaders well into July. Even with Simmons out for the month of June with the lawn mower incident.
The problem was the great Dodgers lineup had everyone clicking with great seasons and the addition of Meyer solidified their pitching and by the end of July into early August it was apparent everyone else was playing for second place money.
Back to Torgeson: Roberts, Maje McDonnell and others are on record saying he had 25/100 ability and a great guy but would get so mad at himself when he didn’t perform that he literally took himself out of games.
You are coming up with good stuff! Always a good read.
Thanks so much for these additions. The Torgeson trade was two temperamental types for each other, I guess, but Meyer had a career year. Torgeson never was able to fully realize that potential.
ReplyDeleteTorgy was my favorite going back to the Braves .Number 14 should have been retired in Del's name . He contributed more than Bunning or Rose
ReplyDeleteIt's a travesty that neither Scott Rolen or Curt Schilling are on the wall . If the Phils are running out
Amen. Del is never going to get his due I guess. The guy was an above average runner until his last 4-5 years, outstanding arm, rarely struck out, hustled like Pete Rose and produced impressive offensive stats without having top flight hitters hitting third or fifth in front or behind him in the lineup.
DeleteThe two guys in the wall this year are two short timers not good selections. If they are have no names don't do it for awhile .
ReplyDeleteHave to agree. I like Ron Reed and Bake but Bake was a short timer and if Reed belongs what about Konstanty? The guy was an MVP, without whom the 1950 Whiz Kids would have been lucky to finish within 8-10 games of the pennant. He had several other decent years as well.
DeleteMy favorite player,del Ennius.
ReplyDelete