50 Phabulous Phillies (review)

50 Phabulous Phillies has them all—from Grover Cleveland Alexander to Curt Schilling, from Richie Ashburn to Mike Schmidt, from Robin Roberts to Steve Carlton, from Sparky Anderson to—wait a minute, Sparky Anderson was a Phillie? A "Phabulous" Phillie, at that? Sparky Anderson, one of the winningest managers in baseball history with Cincinnati and Detroit—that Sparky Anderson?

All right—technically speaking Sparky Anderson was a Phillie. After all he played his entire career in Philadelphia—in 1959! His inclusion in this compendium of Phillie players, owners, and managers is really a lark, but most of the others in this book deserve inclusion and will probably bring back many happy memories for Phillies Phans (of whom there must be some).

Each of the players is profiled and, in the case of those players still living, interviewed about their careers. Statistics for each player's Philadelphia career are also included, which provide an interesting opportunity to see how they stacked up pre- or post-Phillie career for those who were only briefly seen playing in the city of brotherly love (Bill White) or who split a career almost evenly between teams (Jim Bunning).

Considering the role they often play in the success and character of a team, it's good to see some executives, managers, and others (announcer Harry Kalas) included. They often bring a different and refreshing insight into the game. For example, manager Eddie Sawyer, who quit after losing the first game of the 1960 season, gave as his reason that he was forty-nine years old and wanted to live to fifty.

Authors Clayton and Moeller are lifelong Phillie fans, and it shows in their work. Now if they can only justify including Sparky Anderson as a "Phabulous Phillie"!

This is an enjoyable book for any collection.