The speculation about Painter spurred me to look back at the Phillies history of teenage pitchers. The picture is decidedly mixed. On the plus side twirlers like Curt Simmons, Rick Wise, and Larry Christensen became very good major league pitchers. On the minus side were phenoms like Charlie Bicknell, Tom Qualters, or Dave Bennett, who no doubt would have benefited with more seasoning before being thrown to the wolves. Here is a look at some of the teens who have toiled on the mound for the Phillies over the last 75 years.
Curt Simmons - Simmons was the most sought-after high school pitcher in the country when the Phillies signed him for a reported $65,000 bonus the day after he graduated from Whitehall High School near his home in tiny Egypt, Pennsylvania in June 1947. After 18 terrific starts for the Wimington Blue Rocks, Curt was called up to the big club to make his major league debut against the New York Giants on the last day of the season, September 28. He was 18-years and 132-days-old. Curt shut down the mighty Johnny Mize and the Giants on five hits, 3-1. You can read about that game here. The next two years, Curt struggled as the Phillies tinkered with his unique pitching motion and he struggled with his control. Finally, Simmons went back to his old motion and came fully into his own in the pennant winning season of 1950. In late August that year Curt was called up to military service because of the Korean War and missed out on the World Series. He missed all of 1951 while in the service and then returned to be a solid pitcher for the Phillies for many years. Injuries (including an unfortunate encounter with a lawn mower) and arm miseries limited Curt's effectiveness. After being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1960, Curt reinvented himself as a soft-tosser and had several fine seasons for the Cards, including helping knock the Phillies out of the pennant in 1964 and pitching very well in the World Series himself. He won 193 games in his career.
Charlie Bicknell - Bicknell was signed out of Seton Hall University at about the same time as Simmons was signed. Bicknell got a more modest $20,000 bonus. After spending 1947 with the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the highly touted Bicknell made his major league debut on April 22, 1948, at age 19-270 days. The Phillies wanted Bicknell to spend more time in the minors, but Major League rules for "bonus babies" required he stay on the big-league roster for 1948. In his debut, Bicknell pitched one scoreless inning of relief in a blowout loss to the Boston Braves, walking one. He was used almost exclusively in relief and in mop-up roles throughout 1948. In his one start, against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field, he walked the first two batters, allowed an RBI single to Ralph Kiner, and was pulled from the game without retiring a batter. Bicknell also spent the entire 1949 season with the Phillies, appearing in just 13 games and pitching to a 7.62 ERA. The Phillies waived Bicknell after the 1949 season and the Boston Braves picked him up. Charlie spent the next seven years bouncing around the minor leagues, eventually becoming a decent AAA level pitcher. He never pitched in the major leagues again.
Tom Qualters - It is hard to imagine that a player could have been handled more poorly by a team than was pitcher Tom Qualters. Signed in June 1953 for a $40,000 bonus out of McKeesport High School in Pittsburgh, Qualters, as was required by the ever changing "bonus baby" rules, was brought straight to the big leagues. Unfortunately for him, he took the roster spot of veteran utility man Jackie Mayo, who was very popular with his Phillies teammates. Qualters was dubbed "Money Bags" by his resentful teammates and was given a pretty much permanent and isolated seat in the bullpen. He pitched in only one game for the Phillies that year, making his debut at the age of 18-165 days on September 13 against the St. Louis Cardinals. The first batter he faced, Steve Bilko, homered. Altogether he gave up four hits and six runs, while recording one out before he was mercifully pulled by manager Steve O'Neill. Qualters spent the next three seasons in the minor leagues, was called up to the Phillies for six games in 1957 and was sold to the Chicago White Sox in 1958. In 26 games with the Sox, he was decent as a middle reliever posting a 4.16 ERA. Qualters finished his career with four more years in the minor leagues.
Dave Bennett - Dave was the younger, bigger, harder-throwing brother of Phillies pitcher Dennis Bennett. The 6'5", 195 lb. Bennett was a highly sought after prospect out of Yreka Union High School in California. The Phillies signed him in May 1963 for $70,000. After pitching fairly well in the minors in 1963 and early 1964, he was called up to the Phillies in June to be an extra pitcher as the Phillies faced a spate of doubleheaders. He made his Major League debut on June 12, 1964, at the age of 18-218 days, against the New York Mets in a game started by his brother. The Phillies trailed 11-3 when he entered in the ninth. Joe Christopher led off against Bennett with a triple. Bennett then got Ron Taylor to pop out and got his only Major League strikeout when he whiffed Charlie Smith. He then unleashed a wild pitch to score Christopher, before retiring Chris Cannizaro. Dave Bennett never pitched in the Major Leagues again. Arm problems slowed his progress. Eventually, the Phillies removed him from their 40-man roster. Bennett spent 10 more seasons in the minors with some success.
Rick Wise - Wise was signed for the modest bonus of $12,000 dollars out of Madison High School in Portland, Oregon, when he graduated in 1963. This small bonus was still enough to label Wise a "bonus baby" and he was required to remain on the Phillies roster in 1964 after spending one summer in the Minor Leagues at Bakersfield. Wise was used sparingly by manager Gene Mauch as the Phillies fought for a pennant they would not win, but he was surprisingly effective. Wise made his debut on April 18 at the age of 18-218 days, pitching three innings of one-run relief against the Chicago Cubs. Wise started and won the second game of the doubleheader against the New York Mets on Father's Day, after Jim Bunning pitched his perfect game. He ended the year with a 5-3 record and respectable 4.04 ERA. After spending 1965 in the Minor Leagues, Rick eventually established himself as the ace of the Phillies staff. Traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1972, he enjoyed a long productive Major League career with several teams, retiring with 188 career victories.
Larry Christensen - LC, as he was known, was the Phillies first round selection (3rd overall) in the June 1972 draft. The Marysville, Washington native began his career with Pulaski in the Appalachian Rookie League and then made the Phillies Major League roster out of spring training in 1973. Christensen made his Major League debut on April 13 at the age of 19-154 days. He dominated the New York Mets with a complete game five-hitter, winning, 7-1. That would be the only game he won in 1973 and by June he was back in the minors, but the Phillies had gotten a taste of the kind of pitcher Larry Christensen could be. LC eventually became a key complement to Steve Carlton on the great teams of the late 1970 and early 1980s. Arm miseries eventually curtailed his career. He finished with 83 victories in his 11 years with the Phillies.
Mark Davis - Davis was the first overall pick in the January draft secondary phase in 1979. After a great season at Double-A Reading in 1980, Davis was a September callup for the pennant contending Phillies. Davis made his Major League debut on September 12 at the age of 19-329 days. He set the St. Louis Cardinals down allowing just a walk over two innings. Davis struggled in a brief stint with the 1981 team and the Phillies seemed to lose interest in him. In December of 1982, the Phillies traded Davis and Mike Krukow to the San Francisco Giants for Al Holland and Joe Morgan. Davis eventually emerged as a top line reliever for the San Diego Padres. He won the Cy Young Award in 1989, leading the league with 44 saves. Davis returned to the Phillies for a brief and ineffective cameo in 1993.
I can't end this report on Phillies teenaged pitchers without a mention of the immortal Hilly Flitcraft. Hilly was a Quaker dairy farmer from Woodstown, New Jersey. After starring in several sports in high school, the 6' 2" 180 lb. Hilly enrolled in the New Jersey Agricultural School that was a part of Rutgers University. During the summer break from college in 1942, Hilly was playing on the Salen County team with Woody Litwhiler, who was the brother of Phillies outfielder, Danny Litwhiler. Danny got Flitcraft a tryout with the Phillies. After the two-week tryout the Phillies signed Hilly to a contract for $250 a month. Hilly made his major league debut on August 31 in Cincinnati against the Reds. He had just turned 19 ten days prior. Entering in the seventh inning, with the Phillies down 7-1, Hilly pitched a perfect inning getting three groundouts. Flitcraft's next two outings did not go as well, and he ended his Major League career with an 8.10 ERA in 3 and 1/3 innings. He did record one major league strikeout. Hilly resurfaced with the Wilmington Blue Rocks in 1945 and posted a fine 15-4 record, but a back injury suffered on his dairy farm brought an end to his career.
Maybe a spring game in 2023 will bring the next Phillies' teenage sensation to the mound. If it does, we'll have to keep our fingers crossed that the Phillies brass has not brought him to the big-leagues too soon.
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