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In honor of the Philadelphia Phillies playing host to the 2026 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park, we here at The Good Phight are launching a yearlong series that focuses on the history of the Phillies and the All-Star Game. Check back regularly for posts about the Phillies participation (or lack thereof) in the Midsummer Classic over its history.
We’re back to wrap up the rest of the long list of one-time All-Stars on the 1940s Phillies teams. Here’s part one of the 1940s, and here’s part one of this series with the 1930s. Without further ado, let’s wrap up this collection of good individual player seasons wasted on horrific teams.
Babe Dahlgren, 1943
The story of Ellsworth Tenney Dahlgren is one of a player who lost his chance to play in the majors in no small part due to something completely out of his control. His career started with the Boston Red Sox who purchased Dahlgren from the Mission Reds of the Pacific Coast League in 1934. The 23-year-old first baseman debuted with Boston in 1935, playing in 149 games and hitting a respectable .263 with nine home runs. Nevertheless, Dahlgren was sent to Triple-A Syracuse early in 1946 as future Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx arrived in a trade from the A’s and took his spot at first. Dahlgren made his displeasure of the trade known, as he claimed he was too valuable to be sent back to the minors and would rather be traded if Foxx was to have the first base job.
Fortunately for Dahlgren, his wish to find a new club was granted in the spring of 1937. But the monkey’s paw curled, as he was bought by the Yankees who were looking for insurance because their first baseman, Lou Gehrig, was in the middle of a holdout. Dahlgren found a new home but was still blocked for any significant playing time. When Gehrig and the Yankees eventually bridged the $19,000 gap in his contract, Dahlgren was once again sent to the minors, but this time with the task of learning third base. He would find his way back to the Yankees in 1938 but only appeared in 27 games. Dahlgren finally became the Yankees starting first baseman on May 2nd, 1939, notably the game that ended Lou Gehrig’s iron man streak of 2,130 consecutive games played. Gehrig, deteriorating due to ALS, requested to be taken out of the lineup, and Dahlgren was ready to step in to the enormous shoes, going 2-5 on the day with a home run.
But Dahlgren’s life would forever change in 1940. Despite Dahlgren appearing in every regular season game and hitting .264 with 12 home runs, Yankees manager Joe McCarthy blamed the first baseman for costing New York the pennant and pointed to a particular loss to Cleveland where Dahlgren committed an error. McCarthy told John Drebinger of The New York Times that “Dahlgren doesn’t screw up that play if he wasn’t a marijuana smoker.” That comment started a lifetime of unsubstantiated rumors that Dahlgren was a frequent marijuana user, something he vehemently denied.
Dahlgren was released by the Yankees despite a good 1940 season and spent the next two seasons playing for four different teams. He ended 1942 with the Dodgers who then traded him to the Phillies prior to the 1943 season. The impetus of the trade was a dispute with Brooklyn that involved Branch Rickey asking Dahlgren in a meeting if he was a marijuana smoker, something that outraged Dahlgren. So, Rickey traded him to Philadelphia, where he became an All-Star for the first and only time in his career after hitting .323 in the first half. Dahlgren didn’t start in the All-Star game at his shared home stadium of Shibe Park, but he did appear as a pinch hitter in the sixth and grounded into a double play. He ultimately went 0-2 as his NL team fell 5-3 to the AL in the first All-Star game played in Philadelphia and the first one to be played at night under the lights.
Dahlgren went back to the Phillies and finished the year hitting .287 across 136 games. But 1943 was his only season in Philadelphia, as he was traded to the Pirates following the season. Rampant rumors of his marijuana usage continued to follow Dahlgren, so much so that he went to Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis in 1944 and asked to be drug tested, becoming the first player to do so. Landis was not able to do much to help end the rumors though, as he died on November 25th, 1944.
Dahlgren played two more years in the Majors before embarking on a postretirement career that involved ownership of a minor league team, scouting, bringing Little League Baseball to Arcadia, California, and song writing. However, he was never able to escape the marijuana rumors, leading his grandson to write a book entitled “Rumor in Town: A Grandson’s Promise to Right a Wrong” in 2007 to try and put an end to the rumor once and for all.
Ken Raffensberger, 1944
Stop me if you’ve heard something like this before, but Ken Raffensberger was an above average pitcher who was cursed to play for losing teams, especially the 1940s Phillies. Perhaps this was the cosmic payment his Pennsylvania Dutch father had to pay for receiving his wish of a lefthanded pitcher for a first born. Despite playing for a high school without a baseball team that he dropped out after his junior year, Raffensberger signed a professional contract with the Cardinals in 1937 after pitching American Legion and semi-pro ball. It wasn’t long before Raffensberger found himself at the highest level of the Cardinals minor leagues in Rochester, and he was soon invited to big league spring training in 1939. He made his MLB debut not much later, pitching a scoreless inning of relief on April 25th, 1939, at the age of 21.
But Raffensberger found himself back in Rochester for the rest of the 1939 season where he posted his second straight season of 15 wins. The Cardinals decided to trade him to the Cubs in December however, in exchange for two players and cash considerations. Raffensberger was pleased by the trade, as he told his hometown York, Pennsylvania newspaper The Gazette and Daily that he was “tickled” and added “You see I know they’re short on left handers and I confidently feel that with exception of Larry French, I’m as good as any left hander the Cubs will have in camp this spring.”
Raffensberger appeared in just 49 games with the Cubs in 1940, mostly being used as a relief pitcher. His 3.38 ERA across 114.2 IP was impressive for a 22-year-old, but it wasn’t good enough to earn Raffensberger more than 10 games with the Cubs the following season, as he spent most of 1941 in the Pacific Coast League. Raffensberger remained with Los Angeles Angels of the PCL for another two full seasons despite winning a total of 36 games and sporting ERAs of 3.46 and 2.14.
Luckily(?) for Raffensberger, his performance did finally earn him another crack at the Majors, except now it was in Philadelphia with the Phillies. He was acquired by the Phillies along with Cubs first baseman Glenn David Russell in exchange for cash and two players to be named later. It was originally planned for both newly acquired players to not make their Phillies debut until 1944, but Raffensberger was called up on September 29th for a start against the Reds. He performed well, going eight innings and allowing only one run on seven hits, but Cincinnati’s Johnny Vander Meer, of two consecutive no-hitters fame, was better, hurling a complete game shutout with nine strikeouts, sending the Phillies to a 3-0 loss.
When the calendar turned to 1944, the Phillies were looking to continue their upswing, as they improved from being dead last with 109 losses in 1942 to only 90 losses and next to last in 1943. Raffensberger was primed to be a big reason for said theoretical improvement. He held up his end of the bargain, turning in the best season of his career to date and making the 1944 All-Star team at Forbes Field as the Phillies lone representative.
Raffensberger ended up pitching two scoreless innings in the game while allowing one hit with two strikeouts. He actually earned the win for that performance, as he left in the top of the fifth when the score was 1-0 AL, but the NL plated four in the bottom of the fifth and went on to win 7-1. Unfortunately for Raffensberger, the Phillies did not hold up their end of the improving angle, as the 1944 Phillies settled back into last place with 92 losses and even saddled Raffensberger with a league high 20 losses despite a 3.06 ERA across 258.2 IP.
The now 27-year-old lefty returned to the Phillies for just five games in 1945 after a quick five-month service with the Navy. Raffensberger turned in another solid effort for a losing team in 1946 before a slow start to 1947 earned him a trip out of Philadelphia and to Cincinnati. That’s where he would pitch the final full seven seasons of his MLB career. Over that span, Raffensberger went 83-94 with a 3.60 ERA for the Reds. In return, the Phillies received catcher Al Lakeman who appeared in 87 career games with the Phillies and hit .160.
Andy Seminick, 1949
A mainstay catcher for the 1940s Phillies, Seminick would probably be remembered as more of the Phillies lifer he was if he played in an era where there was more winning in Philadelphia. Nicknamed “The Mad Russian” due to his aggressive playing style and his status as the son of two Russian immigrants, Seminick spent twelve seasons total with the Phillies from 1943-1951 and from 1955 to 1957. The team averaged just under 70 wins per season during his tenure.
He dropped out of high school at 17 to play semi-professional baseball and work in the mines of his Muse, Pennsylvania town rather than attend Duquesne University and play football. Despite his father and brothers working for the same mining company, Seminick was the only one of his family who physically worked inside the mines. He suffered a back injury after stepping on some coal in 1940 and decided to be done with mining and focus solely on baseball.
Seminick spent the next few years playing independent ball and working various jobs including as a meatcutter and running a bulldozer at a defense plant after a knee injury disqualified him from the military. The Phillies tried to purchase Seminick’s contract from his semipro team the Knoxville Smokies in 1943, but Bill Veeck, then with the Triple-A Milwaukee Brewers, obtained Seminick’s rights first for $15,000. But Veeck then immediately sold Seminick to the Phillies anyway for $35,ooo. It must also be noted, the reason Seminick started playing catcher in Knoxville despite originally being a utility infielder is that the Phillies purchased Knoxville’s starting catcher Bob Finley earlier in 1943.
Seminick made his MLB debut on September 14th, 1943, in a game against the Giants that ended in a 4-4 tie after ten innings, quickly acquainting him to what life would be like with the Phillies. He collected his first big league hit with a home run to left in the second half of a double header the next day, snapping an 0-8 to begin his career. Seminick followed his Knoxville teammate Finley’s lead once again, as both catchers collected their first hit in the second day of their career with home runs to left field. However, Seminick broke a bone in his wrist a few days later after falling over the mound while tracking a pop-up. He did not tell his manager and convinced the team trainer to keep it quiet so he could finish his rookie season. Seminick ultimately played 22 games in 1943 and hit .181.
1944 began with Seminick breaking camp with the Phillies but ultimately being demoted to Double-A on June 18th due to his weak hitting. That is where he excelled with the Buffalo Bisons, hitting .273 with 14 home runs in 87 games before ending the season once again in Philadelphia. That’s where he would stay for all of 1945 as the backup catcher, quickly becoming the target of new manager Ben Chapman’s frustration. Chapman frequently berated Seminick over his defense behind the plate. But with the arrival of two former catchers to the coaching staff in Cy Perkins and Benny Bengough for 1946, Seminick’s defense improved enough to keep his vastly improving hitting in the lineup. He secured the starting catcher’s job that year and ran with it, hitting .247 with 38 home runs from 1946-1948. Nevertheless, he was frequently booed in Philadelphia due to his defensive lapses, so much so that three local teenage girls started the official “Andy Seminick 21 Fan Club,” producing their own newsletter and hosting various days of celebration for Seminick at the ballpark.
Their attempt at positive reinforcement seemed to help Seminick in 1949, as he started on a torrid pace, hitting .274 with 13 home runs through the first half of the year, earning him a selection to the NL All-Star team. The 28-year-old catcher was in the starting lineup that day at Ebbets Field for the NL, batting eighth in a lineup that featured Pee-Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Stan Musial, and Ralph Kiner. On the mound throwing to Seminick was Warren Spahn who only lasted 1.1 innings and surrendered 4 runs. Seminick had two plate appearances in the contest, getting hit in the elbow by a pitch in the second and grounding out in the third with the score tied 4-4. Roy Campanella then replaced Seminick as the NL ultimately went on to lose 11-7 thanks in part to Joe DiMaggio’s three RBIs.
Seminick cooled off a little after the break, hitting .212 with 11 home runs. But the Phillies finished in third place with an 81-73 record. It was Philadelphia’s first winning record since 1932 and the first time they crossed 80 wins since 1917. The team and Seminick continued to improve in 1950, as the Phils’ backstop hit a career-high .288 with a career-best .925 OPS and had his second straight seasons of 24 home runs while helping lead the Phillies to their first NL pennant since 1915. Seminick, then 29-years-old, was an elder statesman on the “Whiz Kids” but was third on the team in home runs and guided a pitching staff that featured young starters like Robin Roberts and Jim Konstanty to the best ERA (3.50) in all of baseball. Unfortunately for Seminick and the Whiz Kids, they were quickly dispatched in a sweep at the hands of the Yankees in the World Series.
Seminick regressed in 1951 and so did the Phillies, who finished the season in fifth place. He was then traded along with Dick Sisler to the Reds in a seven-player deal in December. That’s where Seminick would spend the next three and a half seasons before being traded back to the Phillies in April of 1955 where he would reassume starting catching duties. However, Seminick was relegated to a backup role by 1956 behind the better hitting and younger Stan Lopata. He started 1957 as a coach on the Phillies staff but was activated as a player in September due to injuries, appearing in eight games as a 36-year-old.
Seminick then embarked on a coaching career that led him back to the Phillies in 1967 and saw him manage a young Double-A MVP Greg Luzinski with the Reading Phillies in 1970. He later managed Mike Schmidt and Bob Boone with the Eugene Emeralds of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in 1972. It was Seminick who moved Boone to catcher after the latter was originally an infielder. Seminick then converted into a role as a scout after being passed over for the Phillies manager job in favor of Danny Ozark in 1973. He would remain with the Phillies in his new role as a scout until his retirement in 1986 at the age of 66. Seminick is third among all Phillies catchers in career home runs with 123 and fifth in career WAR with 16.4.
Sources
Bill Nowlin, Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) biography for Babe Dahlgren
Gerry Moore, The Boston Globe, April 4th, 1935
James C. O’Leary, The Boston Globe, Jan. 28, 1936
Bill King, The Atlanta Constitution, Jan. 14, 1936
James C. O’Leary, The Boston Globe, February 18th, 1937
Stan Baumgartner, The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 13th, 1943
Warren Crobett, Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) biography for Ken Raffensberger
The Gazette and Daily, Dec. 28th, 1939
The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 5th, 1943
The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 30th, 1943
Orlo Robertson, The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 12th, 1944
C. Paul Rogers III, Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) biography for Andy Seminick
The Gazette and Daily, Sept. 16th, 1943
The Daily Item, Jun. 24th, 1944
Art Morrow, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jul. 13th, 1949
Mike Capuzzo, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Mar. 27th, 1992
Stan Baumgartner, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 11th, 1951