#197 Granny Hamner - Philadelphia Phillies

Granville Wilbur Hamner
Philadelphia Phillies
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  163
Born:  April 26, 1927, Richmond, VA
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent, September 1944
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 1944-1959; Cleveland Indians 1959; Kansas City Athletics 1962
Died:  September 12, 1993, Philadelphia, PA (age 66)

Granny Hamner made his debut with the Phillies as a 17-year-old in the middle of World War II, when player shortages pushed teens such as himself into the big leagues.  He played in parts of 16 seasons with the Phillies, serving as the shortstop for the 1950 National League Champion Whiz Kids and earning his way onto three All-Star teams between 1952 and 1954.  Those were his three best seasons.  Manager Eddie Sawyer named Hamner team captain of the Phillies in spring training 1952.  Hamner had at least 30 doubles in each of those three seasons, hitting career highs in home runs (21) and RBIs (92) in 1953.  He batted a career high .299 in 1954.  His production tailed off following the 1955 season and Hamner was dealt to the Indians in May 1959 for Humberto Robinson.  He'd last appear in the majors in 1962, as a pitcher, making three relief appearances with the Athletics.

2006 Toyota Phillies Wall of Fame Postcards

Hamner had a lifetime average of .262 in 1,531 games, collecting 1,529 hits, 104 home runs and 708 RBIs.  Following his playing days, he returned to the Phillies organization working as a manager and instructor in the team's minor league system throughout the 1970s and 1980s.  He was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1987.  Hamner's older brother Garvin, a second baseman, appeared in 32 games for the Phillies in 1945.

Building the Set
May 21, 1989 in Millville, NJ - Card #74
My notes indicate we purchased two cards at the "Millville Baseball Card Show IV" on this day - this Hamner card for $10 and the Willie Jones (#127) card for $7.50.  My memory is hazy here, but I think this was a very small show (maybe 12 tables?) held inside the cafeteria at Millville Memorial Junior High School on Broad Street.  My Dad was a guidance counselor there for 30-plus years, and I would have been a student at the school about to finish up 9th grade at the time.

The Card / Phillies Team Set
I spent a little bit of time trying to identify the catcher presumably tagging Hamner out at the plate in the action photo, but I came up empty.  That appears to be a #6 on the catcher's back and there were two catchers in 1955 who were that number, both with the Reds - Ed Bailey and Matt Batts.  Hamner scored seven runs against the Reds in 1955, and each time the catcher was either Smoky Burgess (#192) or Hobie Landrith (#314).  So I can rule out Bailey and Batts, and the number would appear to be blue anyway, most likely ruling out the Reds altogether too.  The identify of the catcher remains a mystery (for now).

This marks Hamner's return to Topps following a one-year absence.  The cartoon panels on the back highlight his veteran status, despite being only 30 years old, his World Series batting average, and his  league-leading 101 double plays from 1949.

1956 Season

Hamner was once again the opening day shortstop, and he had a new regular double play partner with Ted Kazanski at second base.  Hamner started 101 games at short, losing playing time as the season went on to Roy Smalley, who made 53 starts.  The Phillies were a disappointing 71-83, with Hamner's season-long slump not helping matters much.  He batted .224 with four home runs and 42 RBIs, and a lingering left shoulder injury convinced Hamner to try to resurrect his career as a pitcher.  On July 22nd, Hamner pitched a scoreless inning of mop-up relief, striking out two Braves batters.  He'd pitch three innings of relief on August 26th, and was called upon to make an emergency start on August 31st when scheduled starter Harvey Haddix (#77) went down with an injury.  In his only career start as a pitcher, Hamner threw 4 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits against the Pirates.

Phillies Career
Even though the Yankees swept the Phillies in the 1950 World Series, Hamner cemented his popularity in Philadelphia by batting .429 (6 for 14) with a pair of doubles and triple in the postseason.  Unfortunately, he also had a critical error in the series, with his mishandling of a ground ball in the eighth inning of Game 3 ultimately leading to a Yankees win.  Hamner played 924 games at shortstop for the Phillies, fourth on the all-time franchise list behind Jimmy Rollins (2,058), Larry Bowa (1,730) and Mickey Doolan (1,297).

1950 Bowman #204

1952 Topps #221

1954 Topps #24

1957 Topps #335

1959 Topps #436

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1950 Bowman #204
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1951-1954, 1956-1959
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Topps Archives 1954 #24

56 - Hamner non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/5/22.

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

Wikipedia