Trivia Q for long time Philths fans!

[Maniac]

Any idea what Phillie is in the bullpen watching Yaz robbing Johnny Bench of a home run in the 1969 All Star game. I believe the Met is Jerry Koosman but the only Phillie on the roster was Grant Jackson and it obviously isn't him.

[IronEagle]

Any idea what Phillie is in the bullpen watching Yaz robbing Johnny Bench of a home run in the 1969 All Star game. I believe the Met is Jerry Koosman but the only Phillie on the roster was Grant Jackson and it obviously isn't him.

I'm thinking it is Al Widmar. He was a Phillies pitching coach that year. Maybe he was invited to be on the coaching staff.

If you do a search on him (in particular an image search) it certainly could be him.

P.S. After viewing the following page, I'm almost certain it is him.

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ed5eb551

[Ellsworth]

Kent Tekulve

[Maniac]

I'm thinking it is Al Widmar. He was a Phillies pitching coach that year. Maybe he was invited to be on the coaching staff.

If you do a search on him (in particular an image search) it certainly could be him.

P.S. After viewing the following page, I'm almost certain it is him.
http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ed5eb551

Great job of deduction! I looked at the all star coaches but couldnt find any listed other than Durocher and Dave Bristol. Never thought to come at it from that angle.

How bout those hops on Yaz?

[IronEagle]

Great job of deduction! I looked at the all star coaches but couldnt find any listed other than Durocher and Dave Bristol. Never thought to come at it from that angle.

How bout those hops on Yaz?

I'm thinking Al was positioning himself to catch that ball if Yaz missed it and it went out.

[slag]

Ken Holtzman

[Irish George]

Not Al Widmar

I'm thinking Al was positioning himself to catch that ball if Yaz missed it and it went out.

He was a lot older than this guy who I'm pretty sure is Irish Mike Ryan. He was probably the bullpen catcher. Not on the roster or coaching staff but there with the BP pitchers bat boys and other support personnell.

[IronEagle]

He was a lot older than this guy who I'm pretty sure is Irish Mike Ryan. He was probably the bullpen catcher. Not on the roster or coaching staff but there with the BP pitchers bat boys and other support personnell.

I respectfully disagree.

Widmar would have been 44 in 1969. Not THAT old. Pics of him from baseball cards look like the guy in the photo. Especially how his face seems asymmetrical. Like on his right how it is concave.

Need to check out Mike Ryan pics. It is unclear if person in question is not wearing a catcher's mitt.

Also if he is a bullpen catcher, why isn't the person in the photo wearing a chest protector, shin guards, etc?

[Maniac]

Ryan is a great call. I wouldn't want a gun to my head on this one.

[IronEagle]

Ryan is a great call. I wouldn't want a gun to my head on this one.

I'm sticking with my original call. I think it looks like Widmar from the shape of the face. Concave on the right side.

Ryan would have beeb 27 that year... not a young kid so I don't buy the age argument.

P.S. Who the hell knows?!? All I know is it's a good fun offseason debate.

[Irish George]

I'm 99.5 percent sure that is Irish Mike Ryan

I respectfully disagree.

Widmar would have been 44 in 1969. Not THAT old. Pics of him from baseball cards look like the guy in the photo. Especially how his face seems asymmetrical. Like on his right how it is concave.

Need to check out Mike Ryan pics. It is unclear if person in question is not wearing a catcher's mitt.

Also if he is a bullpen catcher, why isn't the person in the photo wearing a chest protector, shin guards, etc?

...but I'm 10,000 percent sure its not Al Widmar.



Not sure why you're not buying the age argument but Widmar was skinny with big ears and he pitched for the St. Louis Browns, fer crissakes. He was clearly older than the guy in the picture. Ryan was a good-looking, buff 200-pounder. You really think pictures of Al Widmar look more like the guy in the photo than the photo of Ryan's card?

Regarding the "tools oif ignorance" it was very common practice in those days for the bullpen catcher or catcher of guys warming up in between innings to wear no catching equipment other than the glove.

Like you say, it doesnt matter, but I just know. That summer of 69 I knew the Phils pretty intimately. Went to at least a dozen home games. A sports store near my home ran a bus to and from every home game. It was the next to last year at Connie Mack stadium, it was Richie Allen's last year as a Phillie in his first stint, the year he went AWOL and the year he scrawled messages in the dirt at first base. it was the last year they wore those classic uniforms, it was the summer of the first lunar landing, the summer I worked as a lifeguard at my town's municipal pool, the summer I got laid for the first time, the summer before my senior year in high school. I might not remember what night to put my trash out, but I remember that summer like it was yesterday.

I cant' prove it, but I just know.

[Irish George]

Hahahahah!!! Check this out

Ryan is a great call. I wouldn't want a gun to my head on this one.

I would absolutely make this call with a gun to my head, but I'm looking for PROOF, so I google "Mike Ryan bullpen catcher 69 all star game" and this exact question came up last year on this beisbol forum. And at least one other guy agrees with me. No mention of Al Widmar.

Again, not proof. They came to the same dead end we did.

But I just know!

https://www.baseball-fever.com/forum/national-league/philadelphia-phillies/94411-help-identifying-a-phillies-player-from-1969

[IronEagle]

I would absolutely make this call with a gun to my head, but I'm looking for PROOF, so I google "Mike Ryan bullpen catcher 69 all star game" and this exact question came up last year on this beisbol forum. And at least one other guy agrees with me. No mention of Al Widmar.

Again, not proof. They came to the same dead end we did.

But I just know!

https://www.baseball-fever.com/forum...ayer-from-1969

The pic on this page does look like the guy in the picture.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ryanmi02.shtml

I guess to get a definitive answer you would have to contact Ryan or someone else that was there.

According to Wikipedia Ryan is still around and living in New Hampshire!

[Drama Queen]

[Irish George]

Sounds like a plan

Will have to see if there's a way to contact ole Irish Mike. Couple things about him: he has the second lowest career BA in beisbol history for guys with the minimum number of ABs, something like .195. He was always in the middle of the braw whenever a fight broke out on the field and this includes when he was a coach.

Also, he was an excellent defensive catcher and was the guy designated to catch a ball thrown from a helicopter in a Bill Giles stunt when the Vet opened. So it makes sense that he would be the ball hawk in the photo!