Game Thoughts

Off speed. Knee height or lower. Moving away from the hitter. Strike three. Phillies hitters with 14 strikeouts, 10 of those happening with the top 4 in the lineup. It was extremely frustrating to watch time and time again from starting pitcher Grant Holmes with 6 strikeouts from baffled hitters. Trea Turner looked absolutely clueless during his strikeout. Alec Bohm is acting out again when things aren’t going his way. Frustration, not hopes were at an all time high.

The team fought back, and Trea Turner saved the day in the top of the 9th, breaking the 3-3 tie with a solo shot to left field with a majestic swing. When Turner was signed we heard “he wasn’t clutch”, tonight the Phillies proved once again they fought back, and it when things don’t go right they don’t give up. This team fights for every victory, and while they haven’t figured out starting pitching yet, they are 8-3.

Cards

The Card

The 1949 Bowman Sylvester “Blix” Donnelly card called out to me at the first local card show from this year. I was already acquiring the 1965 Topps Phillies team at the show to have the 1964 Phillies Team set. This card called my name as it is now the oldest card in my collection. What is exciting is that this set is the first color set from Bowman, as the 1948 set was just black and white, and it’s also the set that contains the Jackie Robinson card.

The front cover of the card itself is set against a green background, contrasting the bold blue cap with bright red emblem emblazoned on the front. Colors of the cream uniform shine brightly, and my favorite note is that you can see the color of red from the uniform bleed into the brown glove. Bright bold blue text surrounded by a gray border outline the name.

Further Reading on the 1949 Bowman Set:

• Dean’s Cards – 1949 Bowman Introduction
• NET54baseball.com – 1949 Bowman Thread
• PSA – 1949 Bowman Set – 240 or 252 cards?

Blix Donnelly – The Player
Source of information: https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/blix-donnelly/
Career Highlights:
1944 – Pitched in the “All St Louis” World Series – (St Louis Cardinals vs St Louis Browns) for the Cardinals as a relief pitcher, pitched in Game 1 and was declared the Game 2 winner. As the card states he was the “hero of the Cardinals World Series”

 After the World Series he returned home to Olivia, where on the night of October 24 more than 1,000 people honored Donnelly at the Olivia Armory.

1945 – Moved from relief to starting pitcher and was named to the All Star Team

Phillies Career

1946 – Joins the Phillies after put on waivers, and since the Phillies had a worse record than the Giants, the Phillies ended up with Blix Donnelly.

1947 – Career high 38 appearances, 10 starts, 4 wins 6 losses.

1948 – Started 19 games, came out of the bullpen for 7

1949 – 10 starts, 13 bullpen appearances

1950 – Phillies Whiz Kids! Donnelly was hampered by injury, made only 14 appearances for the Pennant winning Phillies during the season and did not pitch in the World Series. He was also the oldest member of the team at 36 years old.

1951 – A firecracker incident injured his pitching hand, and the Phillies sold the contract to the Boston Braves. There he refused to go down to the minor leagues, pitches 6 games and was released by the Braves. Phillies pick him back up and send him to the Orioles.

Card Condition

The card shows significant wear on the borders, and the corners have some ripples and wear. There are some what looks like small dents/damage/pinholes on the front on each side of the player’s face. The color is accurate per the PSA website. The back text is bright and clear, colors pop against the gray background. All the text is legible which is incredible for the small paper product from 1949!

Phils Win!