#521 Phillies Rookie Stars - Dave Bennett / Morrie Steevens

David Hans Bennett
Philadelphia Phillies
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'5"  Weight:  195
Born:  November 7, 1945, Berkeley, CA
Signed:  Signed as an amateur free agent by the Philadelphia Phillies, May 31, 1963
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 1964

Morris Dale Steevens
Philadelphia Phillies
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  175
Born:  October 7, 1940, Salem, IL
Signed:  Signed as an amateur free agent by the Chicago Cubs, June 2, 1958
Major League Teams:  Chicago Cubs 1962; Philadelphia Phillies 1964-1965

The younger brother of Dennis Bennett (#147), who himself enjoyed seven years in the majors, Dave Bennett pitched in one inning for the Phillies on June 12, 1964, as an 18-year-old, facing five batters.  Bennett spent seven seasons in the Phillies' minor league system, never again getting called back up after his one-inning appearance in 1964.  He was dealt to the Pirates with Michael Everett for catcher Del Bates on January 28, 1970, and he'd play five more seasons in the Pirates' system before retiring.  In 12 minor league seasons, Bennett appeared in 270 games and was 92-68 with a 3.41 ERA in 1,400 innings pitched.  His son, Erik Bennett, pitched in 25 games for the Angels (1995) and Twins (1996).

1964 Topps #561

Morrie Steevens had a decent first stint in the majors with the Cubs in 1962, appearing in 12 games and pitching to a 2.40 ERA over 15 innings of work.  He'd appear in just ten more big league games, all with the Phillies, in 1964 and 1965.  As a September call-up for the then first place Phillies in 1964, Steevens witnessed the team's historic collapse first-hand.  In his Phillies debut on September 19th, Steevens entered the 16th inning of a 3-3 tie game with the Dodgers.  Before he could throw a pitch, Tommy Davis (#370) stole home to give the Dodgers the win.  After a brief stint back with the Phillies in 1965, Steevens spent all of 1966 and 1967 in the minor leagues before retiring.  In 22 major league games, he was 0-2 with a 4.43 ERA in 20 1/3 innings pitched.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime - Fair Lawn, NJ) - Card #496
This is the 12th of 102 cards acquired for our set from the Baseball Card Sports Memorabilia Show, affectionately known as The Philly Show, held in the basement of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia in early March.  We went nuts and left the show needing only 12 more cards to complete our 1965 Topps set, and I wrote about the show in detail over at The Phillies Room.  This Rookie Stars card was a little over $4 and was one of 13 cards purchased from the dealer America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey.  I specifically jumped ahead in the dealer's binder, looking for Phillies cards, as I noticed his late series cards were priced a little higher than I'd be willing to pay.

Depending on my ability to compose five posts a week on the cards acquired at this show, I should be completely caught up by mid-October.  So get used to seeing this passage on the blog!  It's entirely feasible we complete our 1965 Topps set by the end of 2022, although nine of the remaining 12 cards needed are fairly expensive.

The Card / Phillies Team Set
Bennett had previously appeared in the 1964 Topps set, sharing a Rookie Stars card with fellow Phillies pitching prospect Rick Wise (#322).  This is Steevens' only mainstream baseball card release, although he can also be found in the 1978 TCMA The 1960s set.  Steevens is most likely wearing a Cubs jersey here, explaining his hatless-ness and the close crop.

1965 Season - Bennett
Bennett appeared in 25 minor league games - five with the Triple-A Arkansas Travelers and 20 with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts.  Between the two levels, he was a combined 6-9 with a 4.44 ERA, pitching five complete games and one shutout.

Phillies Career - Bennett
Bennett's Phillies career began and ended on June 12, 1964, pitching the ninth inning in a mop-up role in game in which his older brother Dennis was the losing pitcher.  The game was ultimately won by the Mets, 11-3.  Bennett allowed a lead-off triple to Joe Christopher (#495), and Christopher would score on a wild pitch.  His lone big league strikeout victim was Charley Smith (#22).

1965 Season - Steevens
Steevens won a relief job on the Phillies opening day roster, but didn't get many chances to pitch in April.  After five appearances, and sporting a 13.50 ERA, Steevens was demoted to Triple-A Arkansas, where he'd spend the rest of the season until a September call-up.  With the Travelers, Steevens was 7-5 with a 3.02 ERA in 32 games, including 13 starts.  He threw four complete games and one shutout.  His last appearance in the majors came on September 18th.  He faced one batter in the ninth inning, walking the Pirates' Donn Clendenon (#325), with Clendenon ultimately scoring the winning run and saddling Steevens with the loss.

Phillies Career - Steevens
The Phillies acquired Steevens from the Cubs prior to the 1964 season for pitcher Robert Baillargeon.  Over two seasons, Steevens appeared in ten games for the Phillies, all in relief, going 0-1 with a 10.13 ERA in 5 1/3 innings pitched.

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Bennett
First Mainstream Card:  1964 Topps #561
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2):  1964-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #521

3 - Bennett non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/18/22.

Sources - Bennett:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Steevens
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #521
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1978 TCMA The 1960s I #175

3 - Steevens non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/18/22.

Sources - Steevens:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #520 Tony Cloninger - Milwaukee Braves

Next Card:  #522 Hank Aguirre - Detroit Tigers