1964 PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

There was no love in the City of Brotherly Love in 1964: the Phillies had blown it and big time! The last time Philadelphia saw a pennant was 1950, all looked good in 1964 as the Phillies had played 150 games and were poised to clinch with just 12 games to go and a 6.5 game lead over the Cardinals and Reds. Half of the remaining games were with the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals!

Manager Gene Mauch reassessed his pitching staff and did a little tinkering to ensure the final triumph down Broad Street. But something happened: the Phillies lost 10 in a row! They won the last two games finishing 92 - 70, but the damage was done, they finished in a tie for second place, one game back of the Cardinals, who would go on to win the World Series against the Yankees.

DICK ALLEN

Seasoned veterans comprised a good deal of the pitching staff with: Jim Bunning, Bobby Shantz, Ed Roebuck and Johnny Klippstein and everyday players such as Vic Power, Roy Sievers, Frank Thomas and Bobby Wine. Along with the veterans was a third baseman who would precede Mike Schmidt, by the name of Dick Allen, who could hit baseballs far, once hitting a home run on a line drive against the batting eye at Shea Stadium!

Here is an interesting aside about the team: the starting lineup salary was $148,000!

Wes Covington $30,000.00

Tony Taylor $30,000.00

Ruben Amaro $20,000.00

Tony Gonzalez $20,000.00

Dick Allen $15,000.00

Dennis Bennett $14,000.00

Johnny Briggs $7,500.00

Danny Cater $6,000.00

Costen Shockley $5,400.00

And so one of the most storied collapses in baseball occurred, this time the Phillies did indeed lose the pennant, with those 10 of 12 and 12 of 15 losses for the end of their season!

That’s all I wrote, folks!