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Del Ennis’ first taste of big league baseball came as a 20-year old rookie with the Phillies in 1946. He made an immediate impact.

An All Star in his initial season, Ennis’ 17 homers, 73 RBI, .313 average, and 144 OPS+ earned him a eighth-place finish in MVP voting. The following year he upped his RBI total to 83. In 9 of his next 10 campaigns he had at least 20 homers and 95 RBI.

From the time he debuted in ’46 until the start of the ’58 season he averaged 24 homers and 102 RBI. At the height of his career from 1949-1957, only inner-circle Hall of Famer Stan Musial had more runs batted in among big league batters.

Ennis’ finest year came in 1950. That season he led the NL with a career-high 126 RBI. The performance pushed the Phils to their first pennant in 35 years.

In 1956 he established a new franchise record for career home runs and held the mark until Mike Schmidt surpassed it in 1980. The respected left fielder received votes in MVP balloting in 8 of his 14 seasons, twice finishing in the top ten, once in the top 5. Ennis left the game with the 10th most outfield appearances in National League history.

According to BaseballReference.com, Ennis still ranks third on the franchise home run list. Only Schmidt (548) and Ryan Howard (382) have hit more in the history of the franchise that has played since 1883. Ennis remains 5th on the team’s hit list, 4th in RBI, and 8th in doubles.

During his day, the Phillies great was one of the game’s most prolific run-producers. Now largely forgotten, Del Ennis had a career worth remembering.

Shown here is an Ennis’ autograph from 1950.

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Pictured here is the back of the Del Ennis autographed postcard. Notice the Philadelphia postmark from February 1, 1950. Ennis and the Phillies were just two months away from starting a historic season.

The 1950 campaign was a great one for Ennis. He established career highs in hits (185), homers (31), RBI (a league-leading 126), on-base percentage (.372), slugging percentage (.551), and total bases (328).

His offensive output helped the “Whiz Kids” win the National League pennant for the first time since 1915. Ennis’ performance was rewarded with a fourth-place finish in MVP voting.

Though Ennis’ signature is by no means rare, examples such as this one from the early part of his career are highly sought after.

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At the end of each season, baseball writers vote on year-end honors. The most prestigious of those honors is the Most Valuable Player Award. From 1946 through 1957 writers recognized Del Ennis’ greatness by naming him on their MVP ballots 8 times.

In his rookie season of 1946 the Pennsylvania native made the All Star team and placed 8th in the MVP race. That year he also led all Phillies position players in WAR. Two years later in 1948 Ennis began a three-year stretch in which he hit .301 and averaged 29 homers and 110 RBI per year. All three years he received MVP consideration, leading the team’s position players in WAR twice and finishing second once.

Ennis drove in 107 runs in 1952 then followed it up with 125 RBI in ’53. He garnered the writers’ attention in both seasons. In his third All Star campaign in 1955 Ennis drove in 120+ runs for the third time to again earn MVP votes.

His 8th and final season gaining consideration for the Most Valuable Player Award came in 1957. Ennis slugged 20+ bombs for the 9th time. His 105 RBI marked his 7th season with triple-digit totals.

While Del Ennis will never have a plaque in Cooperstown, he was one of the most respected run-producers of his time.

Shown here is a 1947 Exhibit card signed by Ennis.