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10/13/2006 11:16 AM ET
Johnny Callison dies
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Johnny Callison, a three-time All-Star outfielder with the Phillies (1962, 1964-65), died Thursday night (Oct. 12) in Abington Hospital following a long illness. He was 67 years of age.
A left-handed hitter with a smooth swing, Callison came to the Phillies from the Chicago White Sox in a Dec. 8, 1959 trade for third baseman Gene Freese. He made his debut with the White Sox on Sept. 9, 1958, as a 19-year-old.
"He can run, throw, field and hit with power. There's nothing he can't do well on a ball field," the late Gene Mauch once said of Callison.
Callison played for the Phillies from 1960 through the 1969 season. He was traded by the Phillies to the Chicago Cubs, November 17, 1969, for reliever Dick Selma and outfielder Oscar Gamble. After two years with the Cubs, Callison ended a 16-year major league career playing the 1972-73 seasons with the New York Yankees. In 1,886 career games, Callison batted .264 with 321 doubles, 89 triples, 226 homers and 840 RBI. He scored 926 runs.
While with the Phillies, he was the regular right fielder for eight years. He ranks fourth on the Phillies' all-time list for games played in the outfield, 1,379. Defensively, he led the National League in assists four consecutive years starting in 1962. His high was 26 assists in 1963.
Callison led the NL in triples twice, (10, 1962 and 16, 1965) and doubles once (40, 1966).
He played every game during the 1964 season, the one in which the Phillies saw the pennant disappear during a 10-game losing streak with 12 games left on the schedule and a six and one-half game lead. During loss number seven, Callison, playing even though he had a severe case of the flu, homered three times and drove in four runs during a 14-8 loss to Milwaukee at Connie Mack Stadium on September 27.
Callison was third in the NL in homers (31) and fifth in RBI (104) that year while hitting .274 and scoring 101 runs. He led the league by driving in the winning run 12 times, five by homers. He finished second to St. Louis Cardinals' third baseman Kenny Boyer in the NL Most Valuable Player race. Had the Phillies won the pennant, he probably would have been the league's MVP.
He was the first and only Phillies player to win the MVP Award in an All-Star Game following his dramatic, three-run homer with two out in the bottom of the ninth that gave the NL Stars a 7-4 win at Shea Stadium in 1964.
The following season, Callison hit a career-high 32 homers, scored 101 runs and drove in 93 while leading the league in triples (16). He also had his second three-home run game in 1965.
Among the Phillies' career batting top 10 categories, Callison ranks fifth in triples (84); seventh in extra base hits (534); ninth in homers (185) and total bases (2,426) and tenth in at-bats (5,306) and doubles (265).
Funeral arrangements are pending.
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