1956 Topps Richie Ashburn Card - Connie Mack Stadium Painting

This 1956 Topps Richie Ashburn card has a surprise on the back - an original painting of Philadelphia's Connie Mack Stadium/Shibe Park. Artist Michael Koser always leaves a little bit of the original card visible through the painting, so you will notice "Richie Ashburn" above and to the left of the scoreboard. This item is 1 of 1.

One of Philadelphia's famous "Whiz Kids", Richie Ashburn was a 6X All-Star 2X NL batting champion and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame (Class of 1995). Ashburn had more hits than any other hitter in the 1950's. 

Leo Durocher once said, “Ashburn is the fastest man I’ve ever seen getting down to first base. Anybody who’s faster than Ashburn isn’t running. He’s flying.”

Hall of Famer and Phillies teammate/pitcher Robin Roberts said, "The only complaint I have about him is he wasn’t tall enough to catch the balls that went into the seats. He caught everything else.”

The Phillies played at Shibe Park (name changed to Connie Mack Stadium in 1953) from 1938-1970. The AL Philadelphia A's played there from 1909-1954. The Negro League's Philadelphia Stars played their homes games there in the 1940's.

The A's played in 7 World Series there! The Phillies played in 1 (1950). Babe Ruth's first hit as a Yankee came at Shibe Park in 1920. 

The giant wall you see to the right of the scoreboard is the infamous "spite fence".  Before the "spite fence", homeowners along 20th street (beyond the RF wall) had a great view into the ballpark. Homeowners would encourage those in the ticket lines to come watch the game from their rooftops for half the price. Losing money and obviously angry, team owner Jack Shibe built the 34 foot tall fence to obstruct their views. (1934-35).

Card is ungraded.