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Del Ennis




Delmer Ennis ( June 8 , 1925 - February 8 , 1996 ) was a Right / Left Fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Phillies (1946-56), St. Louis Cardinals (1957-58), Cincinnati Redlegs (1959) and Chicago White Sox (1959). Ennis batted and threw right handed. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was signed out of Olney High School in 1942.


CAREER

In a 14-season career, Ennis compiled a .284 Batting Average with 288 Home Run s and 1284 RBI in 1903 Games .

Ennis broke into the major leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1946 after one season of low Minor League ball in the Interstate league in 1943 and followed by Naval service in the South Pacific in World War II. He was signed by scout Jocko Collins in 1942.

Discharged from the Navy on April 5, 1946 and eleven weeks after his debut in 1946, Ennis became the first Phillies Rookie ever to make an All-Star team. He also became the original ''TSN'' Rookie Award winner in 1946, after hitting .313 with 17 home runs and 73 RBI.

Ennis showed his power in 1948, hitting 30 home runs and 95 RBI. A year later, he hit .302 with 25 homers and 110 RBI. But his most productive season came in 1950 , when he hit .311 with a career-high 31 home runs and led the National League in RBI with 126 (also a career high). That year, he was a member of the team dubbed the '' Whiz Kids '', helping the Phillies to win their first pennant since 1915 in an exciting finish that saw Philadelphia beat out the powerful Brooklyn Dodgers in the last day of the season. But the team was swept in the World Series by the Yankees .

From 1952-55, Ennis collected four 20 homers-100 RBI seasons, with a high 29-125 in 1953. He was also named to the All-Star Game in 1951 and 1955. Traded to the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1957 season for "Rip" Repulski, Ennis responded with a .286 average, 26 home runs and 105 RBI batting behind Stan Musial. After two years in St. Louis, he finished his career in 1959 playing for Cincinnati and the White Sox.

Following his retirement as a player, Ennis operated a Bowling Alley and bred Greyhound Race Dogs . He remembered his 1950 Phillies days in his sports enterprise, calling three dogs scheduled to run in Florida Racetracks ''Whiz Kids Ennis, Whiz Kids Ashburn'' and ''Whiz Kids Roberts''. In 1983 , during the Phillies' 100th anniversary year, he was selected for the Philadelphia Phillies Centennial Team.

Ennis died in Huntingdon Valley , Pennsylvania , at 70 years of age from complications of diabetes.


HIGHLIGHTS

  • 3-time All-Star (1946, 1951, 1955)

  • ''TSN'' Rookie of the Year (1946)

  • Led National League in RBI (1950)

  • Set a record as the Phillies' all-time home run leader with 261 (surpassed by Mike Schmidt in 1980)

  • Had a 3 HR-game (1955)

  • Spoiled three No-hitter games



1950 SEASON


  • July 30 - In the first game of a double header, hit his second grand slam in three days in a 10–0 win over Pirates . He added a two-run homer as the Phillies won the second game, 4–2. His seven RBI in two games gave him 41 for the month, a new Phillies mark.


  • August 16 - Phillies beat the 2nd place Braves 5-1 on Robin Roberts three hitter. Phils score 4 runs in the 4th inning off Vern Bickford including Ennis' 26th HR of the season.


  • August 21 - The Phils beat the NY Gaints as Ennis gets 3 hits and drives in his 100th run of the season to bolster Curt Simmons 4 hit shutout for his 16th win of the season. The Phils head west with a 5 1/2 game lead in the NL pennant race.


  • September 15 - In a double header against Cincinnati, hits 5-for-10, including a three-RBI double in the 18th inning of game two, as the Phillies won both games.


  • September 24 - As the Phils near the end of a pennant season, Ennis powers the faltering "Whiz Kids" past the Boston Braves with a home run, 3 singles, and 4 runs batted in an 8-7 win.



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