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Shibe Park Photos

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Shibe Park, Stan Musial at bat with bases loaded, Sept. 1, 1963

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This is a beautiful 12 x 18 color photo from the Luber Collection of Shibe Park Photos.  This is a first generation color copy, produced from the original 35 mm color slide taken by my brother in 1963.  The slides from this collection have been tucked away for almost 40 years in a slide tray and were only recently rediscovered.  The slides were all in pristine condition, and the color prints are absolutely gorgeous. 

Buy now and receive the following bonus material to go along with the photo:

Bonus #1!   A signed certificate of authenticity describing the date and circumstances of the game and the situation depicted in the photo.  This document will certify that the photo is an authorized, genuine first generation copy produced by the owner of the original photo.

Bonus #2!  You will also receive a separate document providing the starting line ups, the inning by inning play by play, and the box score from this game.  

Bonus #3! You will also receive a copy of a write up of the game from the New York Times.

The Story Behind The Luber Collection

The date is September 1, 1963, less than three months before our innocence will be shattered forever by the assassination of President Kennedy.  But for now, and for a while longer, all is well with the world.

Future Hall of Famer Stan "The Man" Musial has announced that he will retire at the end of the year, and the Cardinals are in town to play the Phillies.  

My brother is 15 and I am 12.  We hop on the 59 bus in Northeast Philadelphia and take it to the Frankford elevated.  We get the train to the Somerset station, and take the number 54 bus to 21st and Lehigh.  It's a beautiful summer day, and we are not going to miss Stan the Man's last appearance at Connie Mack Stadium.

Because this is to be Stan Musial's last game ever at Shibe Park / Connie Mack Stadium, my brother brings his camera along to take pictures of the game, and he takes a series of spectacular color shots from our seats in the upper deck behind home plate.

This Picture

This picture was taken in the top of the first inning at about 1:50 P.M.   There is one out, and Stan "The Man" Musial is up with the bases loaded.  That's Julian Javier on third base, Dick Groat on second, and Ken Boyer on first.

In the field for the Phillies, that's Ruben Amaro at third, Bobby Wine at short, Tony Taylor at second, and Roy Sievers at first.  Chris Short is on the mound, and Bob Oldis is behind the plate.

That's Curt Flood in the on deck circle.

The count is 1 and 0.  Short unleashes a fastball and <CRACK!> Musial sends a screaming line drive down the first base line. You can clearly see the ball in the picture, and you can see catcher Bob Oldis's head following the flight of the ball.   Roy Sievers has yet to react, but let's face it folks -- we're talking about a player who had a career total of 14 stolen bases over a career spanning 18 years and 6,387 at bats.  Heck, Roy Sievers was so slow to react that had they not torn down Shibe Park in 1976 he would still be in his crouch at first base.  The Phillies were not exactly fleet of foot in 1963.  Rumor has it that if left fielder Wes Covington and first baseman Roy Sievers had a foot race, nobody would win.

But I digress.  Where were we....oh, that's right....Stan Musial has just hit a line drive down the first base line.

I wish I could tell you Cardinal fans that Musial's line drive went for an extra base hit.  In truth, it was a foul ball, Musial eventually struck out, and the Cards did not score that inning, although they did win the game 7-3.

The bottom of the scoreboard is very clear in this shot and can easily be read with the naked eye.  The outfield billboards are also very clear in this shot.

Here are the line ups for the game that day:

The Cardinals starting line up is as follows:

The Phillies starting line up is as follows:

The red seats in the lower half of the upper deck in left field are clearly visible.

The outfield distance signs:  420 to left center, 447 to center, and 405 to right center are clearly visible.  The word "Philco" under the 405 sign can be seen.  This is where the daily Philco lucky numbers were posted.