Stan Lopata
1950s-era Phillies Project

Not a ton to report, but got the 1950s-era project back from Stan Lopata on Thursday last week. The return brings the total autographs up to five so far, all members of the 1950 NL Champions. The last one to reach out to will be Paul Stuffel who got limited time in September of that season.

Over the years I have had a few successes with Mr. Lopata. Each time I am reminded of the one time I met him at an area appearance years ago. He was very skeptical about my claim to have being a big fan of the Whiz Kids - despite being born 30 years after the magical season. I was in the middle of telling him how my dad used to buy me cards of the players he watched, and that his 1959 Topps card was one of the first I ever got. He cut me off and said, "I bet. You know how many times I heard that stuff today?" OK, so he was a little grumpy but it was definitely a memorable interaction.