The "One Of My Favorite Baseball Players: Part I - Richie Ashburn" Story

Snickerdoodle, my baseball watching buddy!

It was an ordinary day.  Watching the Phila- delphia Phillies on the TV in the living room with my good friend Snicker- doodle sitting on the back of the sofa behind my right shoulder.  He enjoys the games and cheers with me when the Phils are doing well.  I have been following the Phils since I was a young boy and had the chance to ride on the train to Connie Mack Stadium to see the Phils play during the Grocer's Picnic weekend.  One of my all-time favorite players was Richie Ashburn who played center field for the Phils.  

Richie Ashburn, one of my favorite Phillies.

Richie was one of the famous "Whiz Kids" who were the National League Champions in 1950.  Richie grew up a farm boy and became a major league baseball player where he spent 12 of his 15 major-league seasons as the Phillie who patrolled centerfield.  He ended his career with a .308 lifetime batting average and led the National League twice in batting average.  I can still remember his fantastic catch he made in centerfield during the annual All-Star Game.  He brought the Detroit Stadium crowd to their feet with a brilliant leaping catch in the sixth inning to rob Vic Wertz of a homer.  He caught the ball in front of the right centerfield screen 400 feet from home plate after a long run.  

Ashburn's 1952 Bowman baseball card.

Richie was a singles hitter rather than a homer hitter.  In 1951 he hit eight singles in a double-header against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  But, one of his most memorable games took place on August 17, 1957 when he fouled off a ball in Connie Mack Stadium that hit a woman in the stands, breaking her nose.  After a brief delay for the medical staff to reach her and begin to carry her off on a stretcher, Richie hit the next pitch in the same direction, hitting her one more time as she was laying on the stretcher, breaking a bone in her leg.  The woman's name was Alice Roth, wife of the sports editor for the the Philadelphia Bulletin newspaper.  They later became friends and her name seems to appear in every story written about Richie Ashburn on the Internet.  

This was a large framed collage I did for my
brother.  It features a poster and cards
from every year Richie played baseball.

Richie was traded to the Chicago Cubs following the 1959 season for three players.  Anticipating a future career as a sports announcer, he would conduct post-game instructional clinics at Wrigley Field for the benefit of the youngsters in Chicago.  He spent his final year as a New York Met before retiring.  Throughout his career he spent the off-season as a basketball official doing high school games.  In 1963 he became a radio and TV color commentator for the Phillies.  He first worked with Bill Campbell and later with Harry Kalas.  Richie also wrote columns for The Philadelphia Bulletin and The Philadelphia Daily News.  On September 9 (my birthday), 1997 in New York City, after broadcasting the Phillies-Met game at Shea Stadium, Ashburn suffered a heart attack and died.  He was buried in the Gladwyne Methodist Church Cemetery, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.  Richie was eventually inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995.  He was a real inspiration to me as I was growing up and playing baseball.  I never became the player that he was, but still enjoyed my playing days.  I now get a chance to relive my playing days...but, through my grandson who has become a fine player in a much larger body than I had.  He is 15 and 6'1" tall and about 180 pounds.  Twice the power thet I ever had with a fastball about 10 miles an hour faster than mine.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The Richie Ashburn statue at Citizens Bank Park.