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Eldon John Repulski
St. Louis Cardinals
Outfield
Born: October 4, 1928, Sauk Rapids, MN
Signed: Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams: St. Louis Cardinals 1953-1956; Philadelphia Phillies 1957-1958; Los Angeles Dodgers 1959-1960; Boston Red Sox 1960-1961
Died: February 10, 1993, Waite Park, MN (age 64)
Rip Repulski spent parts of nine seasons in the majors, enjoying his best seasons in the mid-1950s with the Cardinals. He appeared in a career-high 153 games in his rookie season of 1953, earning the everyday center fielder's job in spring training. Batting .275 with 15 home runs and 66 RBIs that season, Repulski finished fourth in the league's Rookie of the Year voting. He'd drive in a career high 79 runs in 1954 and connect for a career-high 23 home runs in 1955. Repulski was named to the 1956 National League All-Star team, and he popped out to the catcher in a pinch-hitting appearance in the fourth inning, batting against Whitey Ford (#240). Traded to the Phillies following the 1956 season, Repulski would see his playing time dwindle in each successive year that followed.
He went to the World Series with the Dodgers in 1959 as a pinch-hitter and back-up outfielder, and he walked in his only postseason plate appearance. The Dodgers would defeat the White Sox in six games. Repulski finished out his career in Boston, hitting a pinch-hit grand slam on May 10, 1960, in his first American League at-bat. The Red Sox released him in June 1961. For his career, Repulski batted .269 with 830 hits, 106 home runs and 416 RBIs.
Building the Set
July 30, 1994 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #131
My Dad and I bought this card at the annual Ocean City baseball card show held within the famous Music Pier during the summer between my sophomore and junior years in college. We spent $41 on six cards for our 1956 Topps set at this show, with the most expensive card being (for some reason) this Repulski card for $9.
From the flyer (right), it looks as if The Eastern Pennsylvania Sports Collectors Club (EPSCC) had abandoned its sponsorship of this baseball card show by 1994. Honestly after they pulled out, the show was never quite the same and the quality definitely suffered. My Dad would have grumbled at the fact that comic books were now encroaching on the floor space of his beloved baseball card show. 1994 and 1995 were strange years for the baseball card hobby as the player's strike that prematurely ended the 1994 season chased a lot of fans away from the hobby, and some of them have never come back.
Johnny Callison was back signing autographs though, and the former Phillies player was ubiquitous at these events back in the 1980s and early 1990s.
The Card / Cardinals Team Set
Repulski is one of only a handful of players to make appearances in the 1954 and 1955 Bowman sets, as well as the 1954 and 1955 Topps sets. The photo used here is the same as used for his 1955 Topps card. The cartoons on the back of the card play up Repulski's power abilities and to that point in his career he had increased his home run tally each season. Unfortunately, he dropped to only 11 home runs in 1956 after the 23 he had hit in 1955.
1956 Season
In his All-Star season, Repulski was the Cardinals' most frequently used left fielder, making 93 starts at the position. He batted .277 in 112 games with 11 home runs and 55 RBIs, a drop in production from his prior two seasons, as mentioned above.
Phillies Career
On November 19, 1956, Repulski and Bobby Morgan (#337) were traded to the Phillies for fan favorite and former Whiz Kid Del Ennis (#220). Repulski resented the trade, as he did not want to leave St. Louis or the bar he co-owned within the city. He also resented the Phillies fan base, as his SABR biography notes Repulski said, "They would boo the Pope." As the club's regular right fielder in 1957, he batted .260 with 20 home runs (tops on the team) and 68 RBIs. He'd slump in 1958, losing playing time throughout the season to Wally Post (#158) and Harry Anderson. On December 23, 1958, the Phillies shipped Repulski, Jim Golden and Gene Snyder to the Dodgers for infield prospect Sparky Anderson. In two seasons and 219 games with the Phillies, Repulski batted .255 with 33 home runs and 108 RBIs.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1953 Topps #172
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1953-1961
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Topps Archives 1954 #115
36 - Repulski non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/6/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Building the Set
My Dad and I bought this card at the annual Ocean City baseball card show held within the famous Music Pier during the summer between my sophomore and junior years in college. We spent $41 on six cards for our 1956 Topps set at this show, with the most expensive card being (for some reason) this Repulski card for $9.
From the flyer (right), it looks as if The Eastern Pennsylvania Sports Collectors Club (EPSCC) had abandoned its sponsorship of this baseball card show by 1994. Honestly after they pulled out, the show was never quite the same and the quality definitely suffered. My Dad would have grumbled at the fact that comic books were now encroaching on the floor space of his beloved baseball card show. 1994 and 1995 were strange years for the baseball card hobby as the player's strike that prematurely ended the 1994 season chased a lot of fans away from the hobby, and some of them have never come back.
Johnny Callison was back signing autographs though, and the former Phillies player was ubiquitous at these events back in the 1980s and early 1990s.
The Card / Cardinals Team Set
Repulski is one of only a handful of players to make appearances in the 1954 and 1955 Bowman sets, as well as the 1954 and 1955 Topps sets. The photo used here is the same as used for his 1955 Topps card. The cartoons on the back of the card play up Repulski's power abilities and to that point in his career he had increased his home run tally each season. Unfortunately, he dropped to only 11 home runs in 1956 after the 23 he had hit in 1955.
1956 Season
On November 19, 1956, Repulski and Bobby Morgan (#337) were traded to the Phillies for fan favorite and former Whiz Kid Del Ennis (#220). Repulski resented the trade, as he did not want to leave St. Louis or the bar he co-owned within the city. He also resented the Phillies fan base, as his SABR biography notes Repulski said, "They would boo the Pope." As the club's regular right fielder in 1957, he batted .260 with 20 home runs (tops on the team) and 68 RBIs. He'd slump in 1958, losing playing time throughout the season to Wally Post (#158) and Harry Anderson. On December 23, 1958, the Phillies shipped Repulski, Jim Golden and Gene Snyder to the Dodgers for infield prospect Sparky Anderson. In two seasons and 219 games with the Phillies, Repulski batted .255 with 33 home runs and 108 RBIs.
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First Mainstream Card: 1953 Topps #172
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1953-1961
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Topps Archives 1954 #115
36 - Repulski non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/6/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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