I’m doomed. I’m doomed to spend eternity as a Philadelphia Phillies fan; a fan of the team that has lost more games than any team in the history of professional sports; a fan of the team that has won just one championship in 123 years of existence. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Yes, I would like to see more wins out of my favorite team, but I accepted long ago my place as a fan of a team with a dismal track record. What I love most about baseball is that even when your team is terrible, it’s still fun to root for them.

Despite a history of losing, the Phillies have had some bright spots here and there over the years. They’ve been to five World Series, but unfortunately won just one of them. In three of those four Series losses, the Phillies failed to win more than a single game. In 1993, the Phillies won two games in the Series, but became the first team in Series history to lead a game but lose the lead and the Series on a “walk-off” home run. It’s a disheartening history for us Phillies fans, but we do have the 1980 World Champion Phillies to hang our hats on. And what a glorious team that was.

Philadelphia Phillies Vintage World Series Films is the latest in a series of releases from A&E Home Video and Major League Baseball. Like the DVDs for the New York Giants and the Oakland Athletics, this is a collection of vintage highlightfilms of each of the Phillies four World Series appearances since 1950. The set is not nearly as comprehensive as the complete World Series sets that A&E and MLB have released (1975 Cincinnati Reds, 1986 New York Mets, 2005 Chicago White Sox), but in a lot of ways, it’s much more enjoyable. The complete game sets are awesome for what they are, but they can be tedious to watch. These vintage highlight films are great because they focus on the highlights and cut out all the slow parts of pre-recorded baseball.

1950 Phillies vs. New York Yankees (31:39) – In many ways this is the most enjoyable of the four films for me. I grew up hearing stories about the 1950 Phillies, but since I was born in 1974, I never had a chance to see them play. The Phillies were swept in four games by the vaunted Yankees who were led by Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra, but it is still very, very cool to see legendary Phillies like Granny Hamner, Del Ennis, Jim Konstanty, Hall of Famers Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts do their thing on the field. It was the Phillies' first World Series in 35 years and just the second in 68 years of existence to that point. I can only imagine the bitterness of Phillies fans after the team managed just five runs in the four games of this World Series.

This film is fun because it’s a genuine period piece; a highlight film from yesteryear. In the days before television took off in popularity, it must have been very cool to see a highlight film like this in a movie theater.

1980 Phillies vs. Kansas City Royals (34:59) – It only took the Phillies 98 seasons to win their first and only World Series. I was six years old at the time and though I was already a fan and remember the games fondly, it saddens me to this day that I wasn’t old enough to really appreciate them. The 1980 Series is especially thrilling for Phillies fans because the championship series is the greatest highlight in the history of the franchise so far.

For me - and I hope any serious baseball fan – it’s fun seeing a film like this because I can relive the memories of seeing players like Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa, Greg Luzinski, Pete Rose, Bake McBride, Lonnie Smith, Bob Boone, Steve Carlton, Dick Ruthven, Marty Bystrom, Bob Walk and Tug McGraw when I was younger. It’s even fun to watch old Royals like George Brett, Willie Aikens, Willie Wilson, Amos Otis, and Hal McRae. Of course, the best highlight was when McGraw struck out Wilson to end the Series and pandemonium erupted in Philadelphia. I will never ever tire of seeing the replay.

One great thing about this film is that the incomparable Vin Scully narrates it. Scully has been a Dodgers broadcaster for over 50 years but he sounds great calling any game, which comes as no surprise since he’s arguably the greatest announcer in the history of the game. Scully’s deep appreciation of the beauty and depth of the game always impresses me. I wish he was my friend.

The 1980 World Series is the one Series remaining that I would like to see released in a complete Series set. If you’re listening, A&E and MLB, hook it up.

1983 Phillies vs. Baltimore Orioles (37:01) – This film actually makes me sad. I was nine years old during this World Series and by this point in my life I’d come to a deeper appreciation and understanding of the beauty of baseball. From that more refined perspective, seeing the Phillies lose four games to one was (and is) not fun. Sure, it’s neat to see guys like Joe Morgan, Al Holland and Tony Perez in Phillies uniforms, but the joy is lost somewhat when they're not even competitive. I don’t even want to think about this Series anymore.

The one thing I really like about this film is Mel Allen’s narration. It’s great hearing his voice as it brings back fond memories of him hosting This Week In Baseball when I was a little kid.

And by the way… Cal Ripken was overrated. Deal with it, Orioles fans.

1993 Phillies vs. Toronto Blue Jays (1:05:34) – For Phillies fans, the 1993 World Series is sad and disheartening, but for different reasons than the 1983 Series. In this one, the upstart Phillies were extremely competitive and if breaks had gone their way in just a couple places, the result would have been different. It’s tough to watch Joe Carter destroying my hopes and dreams with a Series-ending home run. That’s just not cool.

The summer of 1993 was a magical experience for me. The Phillies for years had been awful, having finished in last place in 1992, but somehow this group of castoffs and misfits all came together for a truly glorious summer of fun. By the time the World Series came around that fall, I was a sophomore in college and with years of being a fan of a terrible team under my belt, I was truly able to appreciate the beauty and drawing power of a serious championship run.

The Phillies were underdogs in this series, but led by the miraculous hitting of Lenny Dykstra and the brilliant pitching of Curt Schilling, they won a couple games and headed back to Toronto with a chance to even out the Series in Game 6. The Phils fell behind 5-1 in the fifth inning, but scratched and clawed their way to a five run seventh inning to take a 6-5 lead. I thought the Phillies might have a chance to force a decisive seventh game. I’d seen every inning of the Series at this point, but then I had to go to work. Who has to work at 11 o’clock on a Saturday night? Me. I worked at my college arena and had to go help with the staging for a Tag Team concert - yes, Tag Team of Whoomp! (There It Is) fame. I never saw Carter’s home run. I don’t know who I should hate more, Joe Carter or Tag Team. I think I’ll with Tag Team because Carter seems like such a nice guy, but damn him for killing my dreams of a Game 7.

Okay, I’ve certainly gone off on a tangent here, but I hope you’ll indulge me. Everyone has his or her regrets and I have to get this one off my chest. Mine is the decision not to call in sick for work that night. The Phillies were more important than the $4.75 an hour I was making at that job.

Video
It’s a bit of a mixed bag, which is almost entirely a result of the source materials. The 1950 film isn’t good by any means, with lots of print flaws and a washed out picture, but it is a little better than the 1954 Giants film of the same era. The 1980 film also has its share of flaws, but is very watchable. Just remember that it was filmed for television 26 years ago and you won’t be disappointed. The 1983 film is a little better, but again it won’t blow your socks off. The 1993 film is the best looking of the bunch as you might expect. It looks just like it did 13 years ago when I watched it live. Overall, these films look fine, but they’re not going to tax your new HDTV.

Audio
The 2.0 Stereo tracks on these films do their job just fine. Dialogue is generally clear and discernible and that’s really all you need. Again, this isn’t a new action film release so it doesn’t really matter.

Yet again, A&E has failed to provide subtitles or closed captions. When will they learn?

Extra Features
There are none. I would have liked to see is present-day interviews with living players from any of these World Series, but it isn’t a glaring omission. These films are fine the way they are.

Packaging
Similar to the other A&E baseball releases, this disc comes in a clear keep-case. On the inside of the case, there is an index titled Vintage World Series Films of all the Series from 1943-2004. Why 2005 is not included is beyond me. I would have preferred to see this space used to give player stats from this Series in a manner similar to what the complete World Series releases have had, but really, this is a minor complaint.

Parting Words
As a devoted Phillies fan, I’d consider this DVD a winner at any price. It has a little of everything that makes being a Phillies fan good and bad and with a street price of under $20, I think it’s safe to recommend Philadelphia Phillies Vintage World Series Films to any baseball enthusiast. This is a nice collection of four enjoyable vintage highlight films. I wish there were more Phillies highlights on this disc, but that’s the Phillies' fault, not the filmmakers.