Philadelphia Baseball's Whiz Kids
1950 Phillies Were the Youngest National League Champs in History
Oct 13, 2008
The 1950 Phillies gave baseball fans in Philadelpia their first National League pennant in thirty-five years. They were a team built on pitching, speed, defense, and above all, youthful energy and exuberance.
The players' average age was 26, which made the Phillies the youngest team in baseball. Some of their brightest stars were barely old enough to drink: centerfielder Richie Ashburn was 22 when the season started; fellow outfielder Del Ennis was 24, and pitcher Robin Roberts was 23. Third baseman Willie "Puddin' Head" Jones was also just 24. Because of their youth, and the rapid ascension that many of the team's players made through the minor leagues, local writers soon began referring to the team as "the Whiz Kids." It was a nickname that stuck.
A Remarkable Season for the Whiz Kids
The Phillies got off to a strong start in April and May, winning 16 of their first 25 games. Over the next two months, they played solid (but not brilliant) baseball, and remained neck and neck with the defending National League Champions, the Brooklyn Dodgers. Then the Whiz Kids got hot. They won 34 of their next 50 games, and by September 20th, had extended their National League lead over the Dodgers to seven and a half games. The Phillies had just eleven games left, and the Dodgers had only fourteen to play. The lead seemed insurmountable.
A Near Collapse Down the Stretch
However, after dominating the National League for almost two months, the Whiz Kids promptly lost seven of their next nine games. The Dodgers took advantage of the Phillies slump by winning nine of their next twelve, which cut the Phillies lead to a mere two games going into the final weekend of the season. As the baseball gods would have it, the Phillies and Dodgers were scheduled to play a two-game series at Ebbets Field on those last two days of the season. Only if the Dodgers won both games could they force a playoff to determine the National League champion.
On Saturday, the Dodgers beat the Phillies, 7-3. The lead was now down to one game.
On Sunday, Robin Roberts faced Brooklyn's Don Newcombe, a 19-game winner, and yet another future Hall of Famer. Both men were brilliant, pitching to a 1-1 tie through nine innings. In the top of the tenth inning, however, Philadelphia's Dick Sisler broke the tie with a three-run shot over the left field wall that broke the game open.
Roberts retired the Dodgers in the ninth inning. The Phillies won 4-1, and for the first time since Woodrow Wilson was in the White House, they were National League Champions.
Who Were The Stars For the Whiz Kids?
The offense was driven by Ashburn (who hit .303), Puddin' Head Jones (25 HR, 88 RBI, 100 runs), and Del Ennis, who hit .311 with 31 home runs and a National League-leading 126 RBI.
The two studs of the Phillies starting rotation were Robin Roberts, who won his 20th game of the season in the clincher against Brooklyn, and Curt Simmons, who won 17 games and lost only eight.
But it was 33-year old reliever Jim Konstanty who was the team's -- and indeed the National League's --Most Valuable Player. The veteran righthander made 74 appearances, which set a new National League record. He won 16 games, all in relief. He racked up a National League best 22 saves, and posted a 2.66 ERA. He was the first relief pitcher in baseball history to win the MVP award, and he was undoubtedly the grizzled veteran that held the young team together.
The 1950 World Series: The Whiz Kids Face the Bronx Bombers
In the World Series, the Phillies faced the defending champion New York Yankees, whose lineup featured four future Hall of Famers: Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Johnny Mize, and that year's American League MVP, Phil Rizzuto.
In a surprise move, Philadelphia manager Eddie Sawyer started Jim Konstanty in the first game against 21-game winner Vic Raschi. Although he had not started a single game all year, Konstanty was superb, allowing just one run on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. But Raschi was even better. He threw a complete game shutout as New York took the opener 1-0.
Allie Reynolds faced off against Roberts in Game 2. The Yankees jumped out to a one run lead in the top of the second inning on a Gene Woodling RBI single. The Phillies tied the game in their half of the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Ashburn. Neither team could manage a run over the next four innings.
Then, in the top of the tenth inning, Joe DiMaggio led off with a home run to left that put New York ahead 2-1. Reynolds shut down the Phillies in the bottom of the inning, and the Yankees took a two games to none lead in the Series.
Game 3, played at Yankee Stadium, was another nail-biter. After eight innings, the teams were knotted at two runs apiece. In the top of the ninth inning, Granny Hamner led off with a double, but was stranded at second base by his teammates. In the bottom of the ninth ining, with two outs, Jerry Coleman's RBI single off Russ Meyer gave the Yankees a 3-2 win.
DiMaggio and Berra combined for four hits and three RBI in Game 5, and rookie lefthander Whitey Ford held the Phillies to two runs over 8 2/3 innings as the Yankees put the Phillies away rather easily, by a final score of 5-2.
Although they had lost in a sweep, even Casey Stengel acknowledged that the Series was hard fought, and the teams were more evenly matched than the 4 games to 0 final tally might suggest.
