Phillies hit Ballantine Blasts at Shibe Park

By Larry (Baron) Shenk

Philadelphia Phillies

I was wrong, sort of. Yep, I posted wrong information about Shibe Park scoreboard.

“It’s all about accuracy,” Phillies radio voices Scott Franzke and Larry Andersen often mention on the air.

Posted the following tweet on my weekly “Flashback Friday” feature:

50-foot tall Ballantine Beer scoreboard was one of the notable features at Connie Mack Stadium. Scoreboard was purchased from the Yankees in 1955 and installed at the Phillies home. Wish I had peeked inside during my early Phillies years.

It triggered a lot of responses, including comments that this was not accurate. Decided to turn the case over to Joe Friday of Dragnet fame. In real life, Bob Warrington, a friend and baseball history aficionado. Bob provided a gaggle of information that should clear the air and let the scoreboard R.I.P.

Quoting Joe Friday, “Just the facts, ma’am.”

_ James L. Ray, in his biographic sketch of Connie Mack Stadium that appears on SABR’s website, writes, “In 1956 he (Bob Carpenter) purchased a 50-foot-high outfield scoreboard similar to the one in Yankee Stadium.” Key word is similar.

_ The Yankee Stadium scoreboard, made by All American Scoreboards in 1950, was not actually replaced until 1959 which meant is was impossible to have been shipped to Philadelphia three years earlier. And, it had a Ballantine beer advertisement across the bottom.

_ The Phillies scoreboard was purchased from All American Scoreboards, information that some followers had kindly posted. The Phillies new scoreboard had the Ballantine beer ad at the top.

But the defining information came from two Philadelphia Inquirer stories uncovered by Warrington, which disputed some of the above bullet points.

_ March 13, 1956, “Phils’ Scoreboard to be 79 Feet High” by Art Morrow. Describes it as a “new scoreboard.” However, the scoreboard is 79 feet high which offsets other information that it was 50 feet.

Hey, it’s all about accuracy.

_ May 16, 1956, “Scoreboard Makes Debut,” again describing it as “new.” First game in operation, May 15, 3-1 win over Milwaukee Braves. However, article says it wasn’t made by All American Scoreboards but Spencer Display Corporation of New York which also constructed the Yankees’ among four other clubs.

Hey, it’s all about accuracy.

So, where did I get my information? Remember reading it somewhere along my baseball trail. With the Phillies offices closed by Covid-19, couldn’t lean on anyone for research assistance. Google led to an Inquirer (10/28/2009) article which confirmed my understanding. Turns out the Inky story this time wasn’t accurate.

Thanks to everyone for their passion. Little does the scoreboard know it got more attention currently than when it was installed.

Back to Joe Friday ... also learned through google, “Joe Friday didn’t get to be a sergeant by beating around the bush. He wanted to get right to the heart of the matter, hence his famous catchphrase when interrogating female suspects: ‘Just the facts, ma’am.’ Except maybe his reputation precedes him in this case, because he never said those exact words!”

Hey, it’s all about accuracy.

Or, as Richie Ashburn used to say, “Hard to believe, Harry.”