Trading the face of a franchise
In what is a surreal moment for Philadelphia fans at the time, the Phillies 64 years ago today trade franchise icon Richie Ashburn to the Chicago Cubs.
The speedy Ashburn has been the Phillies' center fielder since 1948 – as well as their left-center and right-center fielder, too, given Ashburn’s range and the usual lack of it by Philadelphia’s corner outfielders.
Helping prompt the trade is Ashburn's drop in batting average from a major league-leading .350 in 1958 to a pedestrian .266 in 1959.
In return for the future Hall of Famer, the Phillies receive infielders Al Dark and Jim Woods, as well as journeyman pitcher John Buzhardt.
Ashburn plays two seasons with the Cubs before ending his career with the historically bad first-year New York Mets in 1962.
He quickly returns to Philadelphia to begin a second, equally iconic career as a Phillies broadcaster.
Ashburn eventually reaches the Hall of Fame in 1995, just two years before he unexpectedly passes away at the age of 70 after broadcasting a road game in New York.
“Somebody once said I was an institution there,” Ashburn says of his niche in Philadelphia, where he still is revered along with soft pretzels, hoagies and cheesesteaks.
“My reply was it’s better to be one than in one, and the race was close.”
Richie Ashburn in the broadcast booth, calling a Phillies game with fellow Hall of Famer Harry Kalas