100 Greatest Phillies: 16 – Del Ennis

Del Ennis
Outfielder
1946-1956

Career w/Phillies: .286 AVG / 259 HR / 1124 RBI / 44 SB

Born in Philadelphia, Del Ennis got to live a boyhood dream by playing for the Philadelphia Phillies. And boy, did he make it work. Recruited out of Olney High School, Ennis flew right away with a solid rookie season. He hit .313, driving in 73 while hitting 30 doubles at age 21. His career took off from there, scoring six total top-15 finishes in MVP voting as a Phillie while boasting big numbers – eight seasons of 20 or more homers, including two 30-homer years. His best, of course, was that magical 1950 season, when at age 25, Ennis hit .311, hitting 31 homers and driving in a career-high 126. That total led the league; he’d score nine top-10 finishes in RBI over his Phillie career. He ended his Phillie career after being traded to the Cardinals for Bobby Morgan and Rip Repulski in 1956. At the time, he was the all-time franchise home run king; he’d give up that throne to Mike Schmidt 25 years later. He died in 1996 after complications with diabetes. He is buried in Roslyn.

Comment: We continue to straddle the line with guys who aren’t quite Hall of Famers, but boast impressive resumes. Ennis was a standout, pure and simple. He could hit anything; of course, he was overshadowed by some legends who played during his time. And he was a Philly boy. Utmost respect for Ennis.

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Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.

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