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Florian Fritz Ackley
St. Louis Cardinals
Pitcher
Born: April 10, 1937, Hayward, WI
Signed: Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before 1954 season
Major League Teams: Chicago White Sox 1963-1964
Died: May 22, 2002, Duluth, MN (age 65)
Steven Norman Carlton
St. Louis Cardinals
Pitcher
Born: December 22, 1944, Miami, FL
Signed: Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent, October 8, 1963
Major League Teams: St. Louis Cardinals 1965-1971; Philadelphia Phillies 1972-1986; San Francisco Giants 1986; Chicago White Sox 1986; Cleveland Indians 1987; Minnesota Twins 1987-1988
Hall of Fame Induction: 1994
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| 2006 Toyota Phillies Wall of Fame Postcards |
After almost 10 years in the minor leagues, Fritz Ackley finally got his chance with the White Sox in 1963, making it into a pair of games and impressing with a 2.08 ERA over 13 innings pitched. That same year, Ackley was named the International League Pitcher of the Year after going 18-5 with a 3.21 ERA for the Indianapolis Indians. He had three more appearances in Chicago in 1964 before he was sold to the Cardinals before the 1965 season. Ackley never pitched for the Cardinals, and after three more seasons in the minors, he retired in 1967. Ackley's counterpart on this Rookie Stars card made out slightly better with his big league career.
Steve Carlton was one of the best left-handed pitchers in the history of the game. He found early success with the Cardinals, making three All-Star squads and earning his first World Series ring in 1967. After the Phillies acquired him in February 1972 for Rick Wise (#322), he took his career to the next level. Lefty led the league in strikeouts five times, wins four times and he clinched an ERA title in 1972 with a 1.97 mark to go along with his 27-10 record and 30 complete games. That was also the year he won the first of his four Cy Young Awards, winning the honor again in 1977, 1980 and 1982. His pitching helped the Phillies win their first World Championship in 1980.
Carlton currently ranks 11th on the all-time wins list (329) and 4th on the all-time strikeouts list (4,136) with only Warren Spahn (#205) with more wins in baseball history (363) among all left-handed pitchers. He briefly held the top spot for all-time strikeouts before being ultimately overtaken by Nolan Ryan in 1984, and along with Ryan, Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens he's one of only four players with over 4,000 strikeouts in major league history. That mark also puts him atop the all-time National League leaders list for strikeouts. His #32 was retired by the Phillies in 1989, and he was an easy first ballot Hall of Famer in 1994.
Building the Set
December 25, 2020 from Prospect, KY - Card #180
Growing up, I could always count on Santa to bring me one "big" card each and every Christmas and I've enjoyed keeping that tradition going now that I have kids of my own. I was happy to see our oldest son Doug genuinely surprised and happy to find the Steve Carlton rookie card under the tree on Christmas morning, along with his new collection of PlayStation games. To complement the rookie card, Doug also received a Carlton signed Phillies Wall of Fame baseball which he later listed as one of his favorite presents along with the Spider-Man: Miles Morales game. Santa purchased this card from eBay seller somersetvelvet, located in Prospect, Kentucky.
Previous Card: #476 Billy O'Dell - Milwaukee Braves
December 25, 2020 from Prospect, KY - Card #180
Growing up, I could always count on Santa to bring me one "big" card each and every Christmas and I've enjoyed keeping that tradition going now that I have kids of my own. I was happy to see our oldest son Doug genuinely surprised and happy to find the Steve Carlton rookie card under the tree on Christmas morning, along with his new collection of PlayStation games. To complement the rookie card, Doug also received a Carlton signed Phillies Wall of Fame baseball which he later listed as one of his favorite presents along with the Spider-Man: Miles Morales game. Santa purchased this card from eBay seller somersetvelvet, located in Prospect, Kentucky.
It was a strange Christmas as we kept extended family interactions to a minimum with either masked up short visits or FaceTime calls, but it was wonderful nevertheless as our family continues to be safe and healthy. From a collecting standpoint, I did a little surrogate shopping for my wife Jenna and she along with our boys ended up giving me the rest of the cards needed to complete the first series of our 1965 Topps set. Including this Carlton rookie card, we added 33 cards to our 1965 set on Christmas day, putting us over the 200-card mark and giving us a little over 35% of the set.
I hope your Christmas was healthy and enjoyable and that you found a few cards under your trees as well!
The Card / Cardinals Team Set
I clearly remember seeing this card for sale at various baseball card shows throughout the 1980s and thinking (a) that card looks really old and (b) there's no way I'll ever own such an iconic card. I know my family doesn't quite understand it, but it's awesome to me that I've now added this historic rookie card to our collection.
The Card / Cardinals Team Set
I clearly remember seeing this card for sale at various baseball card shows throughout the 1980s and thinking (a) that card looks really old and (b) there's no way I'll ever own such an iconic card. I know my family doesn't quite understand it, but it's awesome to me that I've now added this historic rookie card to our collection.
Ackley is wearing a White Sox jersey in his photo. As the back of the card mentions, he was optioned down to Jacksonville at the start of the 1965 season and way before this card reached collectors' hands. Carlton's 10-1 mark came as a member of the Rock Hill Cardinals in 1964.
Of the reprint versions of this card available, only one features Ackley - the 1985 Baseball Cards Magazine Repli-Cards Reprint version. The Carlton half of the card has been reprinted as part of the 1996 Phillies All-Star Game FanFest promotion set and the 2001 Topps Archives releases.
1965 Season - Ackley
Ackley spent the entire season with the Jacksonville Suns, the Cardinals' top farm team. In 41 games (22 starts), he went 8-11 with a 3.92 ERA with 101 strikeouts and 71 walks over 163 innings pitched.
Ackley spent the entire season with the Jacksonville Suns, the Cardinals' top farm team. In 41 games (22 starts), he went 8-11 with a 3.92 ERA with 101 strikeouts and 71 walks over 163 innings pitched.
1965 Season - Carlton
Carlton made his debut with the Cardinals on April 12th and he'd appear in a total of 15 games for the club, going 0-0 with a 2.52 ERA over 25 innings pitched. His first career start came on June 14th against the Pirates, and he lasted 4 1/3 innings before getting pulled in a tie game.
Phillies Career - Carlton
Carlton put together a Hall of Fame career as the greatest left-handed pitcher in Phillies team history. He was an All-Star in 1972, 1974, 1977 and 1979 through 1982. Carlton was the winning pitcher in the World Series clinching game against the Royals in 1980. He's the franchise's all-time leader in games started (499), wins (241) and strikeouts (3,031). A statute of Carlton stands at Citizens Bank Park, the current home of the Phillies, along with statues of the other members of the franchise's Mount Rushmore - Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn and Mike Schmidt.
Carlton made his debut with the Cardinals on April 12th and he'd appear in a total of 15 games for the club, going 0-0 with a 2.52 ERA over 25 innings pitched. His first career start came on June 14th against the Pirates, and he lasted 4 1/3 innings before getting pulled in a tie game.
Phillies Career - Carlton
Carlton put together a Hall of Fame career as the greatest left-handed pitcher in Phillies team history. He was an All-Star in 1972, 1974, 1977 and 1979 through 1982. Carlton was the winning pitcher in the World Series clinching game against the Royals in 1980. He's the franchise's all-time leader in games started (499), wins (241) and strikeouts (3,031). A statute of Carlton stands at Citizens Bank Park, the current home of the Phillies, along with statues of the other members of the franchise's Mount Rushmore - Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn and Mike Schmidt.
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Other Notable Baseball Cards - Ackley
First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #368
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2): 1964-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #27
9 - Ackley non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/25/20.
Sources - Ackley:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #368
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2): 1964-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #27
9 - Ackley non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/25/20.
Sources - Ackley:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Other Notable Baseball Cards - Carlton
First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #477
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (22): 1965, 1967-1987
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2020 Topps Update Decades' Best #DB-39
1,978 - Carlton non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/25/20.
Sources - Carlton:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database
First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #477
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (22): 1965, 1967-1987
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2020 Topps Update Decades' Best #DB-39
1,978 - Carlton non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/25/20.
Sources - Carlton:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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