Site News - 2005
Note: Site news before 2009 concerns the old Geocities site totally, and before August 2009 partially. The news archive is shown here to give a short history of the website from May 2005. Site news before May 2005 was not archived.
December Update: Sorry that it has been awhile. The aftermath of Hurricane Wilma in Naples was, thankfully, relatively minor. However, it did include a lot of clean-up in my yard that has taken much of my free time in the past several months, and the rest was taken up by illness in the family. Hopefully, with a bit of extra time over the next several weeks, I can get a few new articles out. As a token, I did finally get the Manny Trillo article transcribed from the September 8, 1980 edition of Sports Illustrated.
Hurricane Wilma: As expected, Wilma cut a path just south of Naples, Florida, where my family lives. Unexpectedly, Wilma suddenly strengthened to a Category-3 hurricane with 120+ mph winds just before landing, and the eye of the hurricane passed less than 10 miles from my house. Fortunately, most buildings in Naples are of recent construction, and there was little structural damage beyond a few missing shingles and the like. However, there is still cleanup of yard debris and fallen trees and branches still going on.
Merry Christmas!: 'Tis the week we celebrate the season of Christmas, my favorite of the year (besides baseball season of course). I hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday, whatever you may celebrate.
Thome Traded: As everyone knows by now, Jim Thome was traded, with a bunch of money, to the White Sox for CF Aaron Rowand and a pair of minor league pitchers. Thome was one of my favorites, but the ascension of Ryan Howard last year made him superfluous, and new GM Pat Gillick was able to get value in return.
Gillick New GM: In a move celebrated widely in Philadelphia, the Phillies let go of General Manager Ed Wade and hired Pat Gillick, former GM of the Blue Jays and Orioles, to take his place.
Problems?: If there are any problems getting to a page on the site, please e-mail me at 1980phillies @swfla.rr.com. As of right now, there are pages for every link on the site.
Wanted: Any and all articles that pertain to the 1980 Phillies, or any players on the roster from that year. If you have some to donate/lend/sell/steal please e-mail me. I am particularly interested in newspaper articles about the games themselves. I have a lot of "celebration" articles, but have found that searching for game descriptions can be a headache!
Future Updates: With so little time to work on the website recently, I have not gotten around to fixing those annoying little formatting errors that keep the site from looking its best. I will be (hopefully!) working on that over the next couple of months. I also have new articles to transcribe into the website. If you have any ideas of what you would like to see on the website, please e-mail me.
Go Phillies!
Richard Summers
Note: There was no update for November, 2005, due to the damage caused by Hurricane Wilma.
September Update: Drum roll, please! I have now finished creating the boxscore pages! There is now a boxscore and a game description for every game in the 1980 season. You can find all the boxscores on the day-by-day page on this website. Much thanks to retrosheet.org, whose site was the primary source of information for these pages. I also included a menu that will allow a browser to jump from game to game, or back to the day-by-day page from each game. Lastly, I cleaned up the day-by-day page itself; just small adjustments, cleaning up the html and oh-so-slightly more attractive.
Hurricane Katrina: I am sure that everyone has seen the footage of the destruction in Louisiana and Mississippi that was caused by Hurricane Katrina last week. Both the Red Cross and the Salvation Army are accepting donations geared toward relief efforts for the victims. Links are above, as well as on the graphics to the left.
Phillies in Wildcard Chase: The Phils, who struggled just above the .500 level for so long (not unlike our 1980 team), is currently in first place in the National League Wildcard standings. At 73-62 (actually one game ahead of their 1980 pace), the Fightins are a half-game ahead of Houston and 1½ games ahead of the Marlins, while trailing Atlanta by four games in the NL East. Keep cheering for those Phillies!
Catching Up With Bob Boone: The Phillies' website has a nice article on Bob Boone, who was placed on the Phillies Wall of Fame in August. Click here to see the article on Phillies.com.
Problems?: If there are any problems getting to a page on the site, please e-mail me at 1980phillies @swfla.rr.com. As of right now, there are pages for every link on the site.
Wanted: Any and all articles that pertain to the 1980 Phillies, or any players on the roster from that year. If you have some to donate/lend/sell/steal please e-mail me. I am particularly interested in newspaper articles about the games themselves. I have a lot of "celebration" articles, but have found that searching for game descriptions can be a headache!
Future Updates: I still have to adjust the menus on the boxscore pages for aesthetics. This month, I will begin work to create an individual page for the front office (Ruly Carpenter and Paul Owens) and for Dallas Green. I also have new articles to transcribe into the website. If you have any ideas of what you would like to see on the website, please e-mail me.
Go Phillies!
Richard Summers
October Update: I got on a bit of a roll this week, and I was able to finish the coaches pages! There is now a separate page for each member of the coaching staff of the 1980 Phillies, as well as manager Dallas Green, general manager Paul Owens and owner Ruly Carpenter. These pages have also been made with pictures- often of older cards, since pictures of some of the coaches are hard to come by on the internet. You can find each of the coaches pages on the newly redesigned, and streamlined, Front office and Coaches page! Other updates have been slow in coming, as school and "real life" issues have taken a chunk of my time recently.
Hurricane Wilma: I have been nervously following the path of the newest Atlantic hurricane, Wilma. As of right now, Wilma is off the coast of the Yucatan in Mexico, packing 140 mph winds. Right now, my current residence of Naples, Florida is right in the center of the expected path. Prayers for my family and neighbors, and especially for the poor folks in Mexico currently under seige, are greatly appreciated.
Phillies Fall Just Short: They put up a heck of a run, but the Phillies came one game short of the playoffs, as the Houston Astros exact some revenge a quarter of a century after the 1980 NLCS by sweeping the season series with the Phils and beating them by one game for the Wild Card slot. The Astros made the most of their opportunity, as they prepare to face the Chicago White Sox in the first World Series in the history of the Houston franchise. Phils fans have to be content with the memories of the Phils great comeback win against the Astros in Game 5 of the NLCS.
Problems?: If there are any problems getting to a page on the site, please e-mail me at 1980phillies @swfla.rr.com. As of right now, there are pages for every link on the site.
Wanted: Any and all articles that pertain to the 1980 Phillies, or any players on the roster from that year. If you have some to donate/lend/sell/steal please e-mail me. I am particularly interested in newspaper articles about the games themselves. I have a lot of "celebration" articles, but have found that searching for game descriptions can be a headache!
Future Updates: In deciding to finish adding the coaches' pages to the website, I put on the backburner the continuing attempt to fix mistakes (aesthetic flaws mostly, the pages work fine) on the backburner. I will be working on that over the next couple of months. I also have new articles to transcribe into the website. If you have any ideas of what you would like to see on the website, please e-mail me.
Go Phillies!
Richard Summers
August Update: With my school schedule picking up again, my progress on completing the boxscores has slowed a bit. I have finished the boxscores through September 14, 1980, which completes the Phils' series against the St. Louis Cardinals. You can find all the boxscores on the day-by-day page on this website.
Boone Inducted: The Phillies' inducted former catcher Bob Boone on the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame at Citizens Bank Park on August 6. Boone, a catcher for 19 seasons, played for the Phillies from 1972-1981. A four-time all-star and seven-time Gold Glove winner, Boone completed his career with a .254 batting average to go with 105 home runs and 826 RBI.
Alumni Night: The Phils, along with honoring Boone, had many former players at CBP for Alumni festivities. Participating in the event were 1980 Phils Dallas Green, John Vukovich, Marty Bystrom, Dickie Noles, Larry Christenson, Greg Luzinski, and Bob Boone along with Phils greats Dick Allen and Hall-of-Famer Robin Roberts.
Bowa on XM/ESPN: For those who don't know about former Phils shortstop and manager Larry Bowa's whereabouts, he is active in the broadcasting business. He works the morning show on XM Radio's MLB channel, and also works on Baseball Tonight for ESPN.
Problems?: If there are any problems getting to a page on the site, please e-mail me at 1980phillies @swfla.rr.com (address obselete). As of right now, there are pages for every link on the site.
Wanted: Any and all articles that pertain to the 1980 Phillies, or any players on the roster from that year. If you have some to donate/lend/sell/steal please e-mail me. I am particularly interested in newspaper articles about the games themselves. I have a lot of "celebration" articles, but have found that searching for game descriptions can be a headache!
Future Updates: I'm aiming to finish the regular season boxscored for the next monthly update. Afterward, I will work to create an individual page for the front office (Ruly Carpenter and Paul Owens) and for Dallas Green. I also have new articles to transcribe into the website. If you have any ideas of what you would like to see on the website, please e-mail me.
Go Phillies!
Richard Summers
July Update: I was able to rip through those August games pretty quickly, and they are now up on the website. The 1980 season Day-by-Day page is now complete through the August 31 game against the San Diego Padres.
Philly.com coverage of 25th Anniversary: The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News are featuring several articles on the 1980 Phillies. They are too new to post here for now, but they are available on their website. Registration is required to view the articles.
Website Upgraded: I have just upgraded my website on Geocities. It will be the same address, but upgrading the site gives me the space I need to continue to add content (I ran out of space after adding the August 9th boxscore). It also has the added bonus of eliminating the annoying ads that Geocities likes to run!
1980 Phillies DVD Set: In case anyone wanted to order the 1980 Phillies 25th Anniversary DVD Collection, it is available on Amazon.com. People in the greater Philadelphia area can probably also get it wherever you can buy DVDs.
Boone Honored August 5: Bob Boone, catcher for the Phillies from 1972-1981, will be honored by being placed on the Phillies' Wall of Fame during the Alumni weekend. Here is the Bob Boone page on this website.
Problems?: If there are any problems getting to a page on the site, please e-mail me at 1980phillies @swfla.rr.com (address obselete). As of right now, there are pages for every link on the site.
Wanted: Any and all articles that pertain to the 1980 Phillies, or any players on the roster from that year. If you have some to donate/lend/sell/steal please e-mail me. I am particularly interested in newspaper articles about the games themselves. I have a lot of "celebration" articles, but have found that searching for game descriptions can be a headache!
Future Updates: I will be plugging away at the September and October boxscores during the next few weeks, as well as "touching up" the NLCS and World Series boxscores. After finishing the boxscores (which may take longer since I will be returning to my teaching job in a couple of weeks), I will create an individual page for the front office (Ruly Carpenter and Paul Owens) and for Dallas Green. Finally, I have located a couple of new sources of articles, and I'll be adding them after completing the other jobs. If you have any ideas of what you would like to see on the website, please e-mail me.
Go Phillies!
Richard Summers
June Update (posted 6/28/2005): I actually had some downtime during my vacation, coupled with internet access (gotta love those hotels with wireless internet!), so I was able to finish the July boxscores. The 1980 season is now compelte through the July 30th game against Houston. I have also begun logging my sitenews updates. You can find them here.
My Son's First Phillies Game: While in the area, my wife and I took my 21-month old son to his first Phillies game at Citizen's Bank Park. The game was, unfortunately, a wipeout of the Phils by the Red Sox, but he totally enjoyed his time there. He looked quite dapper in his Phillies t-shirt!
Phils' 25th Anniversary DVD: I also purchased the 25th anniversary DVD of the 1980 Phillies while in PA. It contains the Phils' 2000 production "Glory Days," the original 1980 season highlight film "The Team That Wouldn't Die," and complete game footage of both NLCS Game 5 and the World Series Game 6. A must-have for us old Phils fan who remember that year!
Boone Honored August 5: Bob Boone, catcher for the Phillies from 1972-1981, will be honored by being placed on the Phillies' Wall of Fame during the Alumni weekend. Here is the Bob Boone page on this website.
Problems?: If there are any problems getting to a page on the site, please e-mail me at 1980phillies@swfla.rr.com (address obselete). As of right now, there are pages for every link on the site.
Wanted: Any and all articles that pertain to the 1980 Phillies, or any players on the roster from that year. If you have some to donate/lend/sell/steal please e-mail me. I am particularly interested in newspaper articles about the games themselves. I have a lot of "celebration" articles, but have found that searching for game descriptions can be a headache!
Future Updates: I will be plugging away at the August boxscores during the next few weeks. I am contemplating upgrading this website on Geocities to an ad-free website. Right now I am using 98% of my allocated space! I am also still desiring to create an individual page for the front office (Ruly Carpenter and Paul Owens) and for Dallas Green. Finally, I have located a couple of new sources of articles, and I'll be adding them after completing the other jobs. If you have any ideas of what you would like to see on the website, please e-mail me.
Go Phillies!
Richard Summers
May Update (posted 6/7/2005): There hasn't been much time since the last update, but my family and I are heading on vacation, so I figured that I would post what I had been able to finish. I now have boxscores through July 13, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Those boxscores are now available through the day-by-day page. I've also notices a minor glitch on that page that I will try to fix while on vacation (I'm thankful for laptops!).
Boone to Be Honored: It was announced last week that Bob Boone, catcher for the Phillies from 1972-1981, would be honored by being placed on the Phillies' Wall of Fame during the Alumni weekend. He will be honored before the August 5 game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Boone, who also played for the California Angels and Kansas City Royals during a 19-year career. A four-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove winner as a catcher, Boone was a lifetime .254 hitter with 105 home runs and 826 RBI. Here is the Bob Boone page on this website.
Problems?: If there are any problems getting to a page on the site, please e-mail me at 1980phillies@swfla.rr.com (address obsolete). As of right now, there are pages for every link on the site.
Wanted: Any and all articles that pertain to the 1980 Phillies, or any players on the roster from that year. If you have some to donate/lend/sell/steal please e-mail me. I am particularly interested in newspaper articles about the games themselves. I have a lot of "celebration" articles, but have found that searching for game descriptions can be a headache!
Future Updates: I will be on Vacation for much of June, so this update is smaller than usual. The next update will not be until early July, as I will not have easy internet access while away from home. For most of the month I will continue to work on the boxscores for July. I am also still desiring to create an individual page for the front office (Ruly Carpenter and Paul Owens) and for Dallas Green. I have also located a new source of articles, and I'll be adding them after completing the other jobs. If you have any ideas of what you would like to see on the website, please e-mail me.
Go Phillies!
Richard Summers
Site news was not archived before May 2005.