Last night, the Phillies won Game 5 of the 2008 World Series (a completion of a suspended game), and became the 2008 World Series Champs.
Of course, i'm a die-hard White Sox fan. Why should I care about the Phillies?
Well, my son was pulling for them. Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley are favorite players of his. The Phils are his favorite non-White Sox team. (Is that grammatical?).
While I pull for the AL in the World Series as a matter of principle, i do have a soft spot in my heart for the Phils.
Why? Because my Grandfather's cousin was a star pitcher for them many years ago.
His name was Phil Collins. My mother's maiden name is Kolanowski, so I'm not sure why his last name is apparently an Anglicized version of the family name. There is no record that Phil himself ever changed his name, perhaps his parents did when they came over from the old country.
Phil broke in with the Chicago Cubs in 1923, making his debut on the last day of the season, starting and winning the only game he would pitch for the Cubs. But the Cubs didn't have him in their future plans, and sold him to a minor league club. I believe the Cubs still controlled his rights for many years, so efforts by other teams to purchase his contract were thwarted while Phil became a star pitcher for New Orleans in the minor leagues, until the winter of 1928, when he was chosen in the rule 5 draft by the Phillies.
He would spend 6 years there, as an integral part of their pitching staff. He earned the nickname "fidgety Phil." Collins was a master of distraction, as he fidgeted on the mound, pulling on his cap, tugging his trousers and fingering the rosin bag. Some commentators said that this was not a nervous affliction that delayed him; it was apprehension. Pitching in the tiny Baker Bowl, the Phillies home field in those days, he was backed by a team that was last in the league in fielding five of his six years with Philadelphia. Nonetheless, he achieved three winning seasons with them. For a period of time, he had a dual role as a starter and reliever, and by today's standards, he would have been considered one of the premier relief pitchers in the National League.
In 1935, Phil's contract was sold to the Cardinals mid-season, and for the first time in his career, he was on a team that finished higher than 4th. The Dizzy Dean/Gas House Gang era Cardinals finished second, only 4 games behind the pennant winning Cubs. Phil was a big help in the Cardinal bullpen, but was sold to a Pacific Coast League (minor league) team at the end of the season. He chose instead to retire, and went back to Chicago to run a tavern.
"Cousin" Phil was not particularly well liked by my Grandfather's family. My Grandma told me a story that Phil was the center of attention at her wedding reception. She claimed he had pitched a no-hitter that day -- this of course wasn't true, and through my research have never been able to connect the Phillies 1929 schedule to events that would have lined up with Grandma's wedding, but I don't doubt that Phil was able to attend. Grandma remembered until her dying day how Phil Collins "waltzed in like King Tut," preening and showing off. I'm sure it was true. If a major league ballplayer who is in the starting lineup for his team showed up today at a social function, you can be sure people will notice. It was not different in 1929.
My Dad told me at one time that after Phil retired and went into business, he was referred to by family members as the man with "the million dollar arm and the ten cent brain." He evidently wasn't a very astute business man, and died penniless. If only there had been a player's union and a pension fund in those days.
Had Phil played for a better team, like the Yankees or Giants, I am sure he would be remembered today as an all-star. Those Phillie teams of the 30s were really horrible. They regularly led the league in many offensive categories, but were dead last in defense and pitching. Consider this -- the 1930 Phillies finished dead last, with a record of 52-102, 40 games out of first place. They had a potent offense, batting .315 as a team, with an overall slugging percentage of .458. But they led the league in errors, were dead last in fielding percentage, and had a team ERA of 6.71! It makes Collins' record of 16-11 and ERA of 4.78 a tremendous achievement.
Phil also has a place in history because of an event that happened on the second to the last day of the season in 1929, October 5 to be exact.
If you look in the Baseball Hall of Fame record books, the only time a ballplayer has been intentionally walked with the bases loaded occurred twice -- Nap Lajoie of the A's in 1901, and Bill Nicholson of the Cubs, in 1944. But intentional walks were not kept as an official statistic until 1955, and many argue that while the two instances previously mentioned involved the usual manner of an intentional walk, that is, the catcher standing aside so the pitches are obviously out of the strike zone, the case of Phil Collins on the mound and Giants star Mel Ott at the plate on Oct. 5, 1929, arguably fits into this category.
At the start of the game, Phillies slugger Chuck Klein was leading the league in home runs with 43. Mel Ott was one home run behind with 42. In an effort to keep Ott from tying their team mate, Phillies pitchers walked Ott every time he came to bat. But late in the game, the bases were loaded as Ott strode to the plate. According to the newspaper accounts of the
New York American , Collins threw the first three pitches "increasingly wide." The next pitch was described as "even wider," but Ott went after it, swinging and missing. When the same thing happened on the next pitch, Phils second baseman Fresco Thompson protest to the umpires, claiming they should award Ott first base.
In fact, Thomspon's protest was so vehement, he was ejected from the game. The
American described the next pitch as so far outside that "Ott couldn't have reached it with a fishing pole." So, while it took six pitches to complete, it was for all intents and purposes, an intentional walk.
Ott actually had another chance to tie for the home run lead in a make up game against the Boston Braves the next day. The Giants had Ott bat leadoff, but he only managed two singles. Thus, "fidgety Phil" helped Chuck Klein win the Home Run title.
So, that's my connection to Phillies history. If it were possible for my Grandpa's cousin to be watching the game, I'm sure he would be pleased the Phillies won.
Here is a copy of Phil Collin's obituary from the NY Times in 1948. There are some factual mistakes, but its a great tribute.
