Scores On This Historic Day: philadelphia phillies

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Wednesday, November 23, 2022

November 23, 1943: Baseball Bans an Owner

November 23, 1943: Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the Commissioner of Baseball, does something shocking: He bans a team owner for life.

William Drought Cox was born on November 8, 1909 in Manhattan. A Yale University graduate who built a fortune as a lumber broker, in 1941 he was President of the 3rd American Football League, and the owner of its New York Americans. Under the rules of that league, that was legal. But the manpower drain of World War II killed the league.

In 1943, he bought the bankrupt Philadelphia Phillies. At age 33, he was the youngest owner in Major League Baseball. He was a hands-on owner, who invested in the team's farm system, brought in a Yale classmate who was a conditioning coach, and, by July 25, they were 39-50, having won just 3 fewer games than they had won all through 1942. And their per-game attendance had doubled.

But manager Bucky Harris, once the "Boy Wonder" manager of the 1924 World Champion Washington Senators, chafed against his methods. On July 27, Cox fired Harris. On July 28, Harris dropped a bomb: He revealed that Cox had placed bets on the Phillies. To win. That detail didn't matter. Cox freely admitted it. That didn't matter, either. On November 23, having completed his investigation, Commissioner Landis banned Cox for life -- the only owner ever to receive this penalty and have it stand.

The Phillies went 25-40 the rest of the way, under manager Fred Fitzsimmons, a former All-Star pitcher, finishing 64-90, in 7th place, 41 games out of 1st.

Shortly after Cox was banned, the Phillies were taken over by the National League, and sold to Bob Carpenter, who owned them for the next 38 years. He continued the Cox innovations, but not the Cox gambling. As a member of the wealthy Carpenter and du Pont families, he didn't need the money.

The Phillies won the Pennant in 1950, but never came close again, and fell apart by the end of the decade. In 1972, Carpenter turned the operation of the Phillies over to his son Ruly, who thus followed in Cox' footsteps as the youngest operator of an MLB team and as a rebuilder, reaching the Playoffs by 1976, and winning the World Series in 1980.

Cox lived long enough to see these events. In 1960, he created the International Soccer League. In 1967, he founded the National Professional Soccer League. The next year, it was merged with another league to become the North American Soccer League. Cox then left sports for other business interests, and lived until March 28, 1989.

Since Cox, only 2 men have been permanently banned from baseball: George Steinbrenner, who applied for reinstatement after 2 years, and got it; and Pete Rose, who applied for reinstatement and has never had his appeal heard.

UPDATE: Rose died in 2024, and was reinstated in 2025. That same year, I learned something about Cox that I wish I hadn't. In his book FDR, Dewey, and the Election of 1944, David M. Jordan, who has also written books about the Phillies, wrote that Cox had written a letter to Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York, congratulating him on receiving the Republican nomination for President. Cox told him, "Your election in November is the only means of correcting the fabulous mistakes of the past twelve years."

Jordan's narrative didn't say what Cox thought those "fabulous mistakes" were, or even if Cox himself listed any of them. And, to be fair, Jordan's book did treat both campaigns fairly, pointing out both the strengths and the foibles of both candidates, and of the people around them.

But it's easy to see the appeal of Dewey to a man like Cox. Cox was a New Yorker by birth, Dewey one by adoption. (He grew up on a farm in Michigan.) They had both achieved big things at an early age. (Cox was 7 years younger.) And Cox was a man who got rich in spite of the Great Depression, so he felt no debt to the incumbent Democratic President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and wanted to keep his money without government interference.

Given how bad the Phillies were at the time he bought then, though, he probably didn't resent Roosevelt for drafting some of his players. On the other hand, the war effort probably increased the need for Cox's lumber, so he should have thanked FDR for that.

November 23, 1943 was a Tuesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. There was 1 game in the NHL: The Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 8-5 at the Boston Garden. Former Leafs star Harvey "Busher" Jackson scored 2 goals against his former team.

Monday, November 7, 2022

November 7, 2017: The Death of Roy Halladay

November 7, 2017: Roy Halladay is killed in a plane crash off the coast of St. Petersburg, Florida. He was 40 years old. An 8-time All-Star, he won the Cy Young Award in the American League with the 2003 Toronto Blue Jays, and in the National League with the 2010 Philadelphia Phillies. That made him only the 5th pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in both Leagues. There has since been a 6th.

In that 2010 season, he joined Don Larsen as the only pitchers to throw no-hitters in postseason play, and became the 5th pitcher to throw 2 no-hitters in the same season, and the only one ever to throw one in the regular season and the postseason in the same season. If you had told someone then that 81-year-old Don Larsen would still be alive on November 8, 2017, and 33-year-old Roy Halladay wouldn't, no one would have believed you.

Injuries cut his career short: He finished 203-105, for a .659 winning percentage. His ERA was 3.38, his ERA+ 131, his WHIP 1.178. He had 2,117 strikeouts against only 592 walks. The Blue Jays retired his Number 32 and named him to their Level of Excellence, and the Phillies named him to the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019, in his 1st year of eligibility.

November 7, 2017 was a Tuesday. The baseball season had ended 6 days earlier, with the Houston Astros cheating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. Football was in midweek. There were 10 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Charlotte Hornets, 118-113 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Denver Nuggets, 112-104. Nikola Jokić scored 41 points to lead all players on the night.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Washington Wizards, 113-99 at the Capital One Arena in Washington.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the Chicago Bulls, 119-114 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 124-119 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 40 for the Bucks, but it wasn't enough.

* The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Indiana Pacers, 117-112 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (now Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis. Anthony Davis scored 37.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 120-107 at the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Utah Jazz, 104-97 at the Vivint Arena (now again named the Delta Center) in Salt Lake City.

* The Sacramento Kings beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 86-94 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

* And the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 98-97 at the Moda Center in Portland. CJ McCollum scored 36 for the Blazers, but it wasn't enough.

There were 9 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders lost to the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 at the Barclays Center. Connor McDavid scored the winning goal, 38 seconds into overtime.

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the St. Louis Blues, 3-1 at the Prudential Center.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Florida Panthers, 3-1 at the PNC Arena (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh, North Carolina.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Vegas Golden Knights, 3-2 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Washington Capitals, 3-1 at the HSBC Center (now the KeyBank Arena) in Buffalo.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Arizona Coyotes, 3-1 at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Nashville Predators beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-1 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

* The Vancouver Canucks beat the Calgary Flames, 5-3 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* And the Los Angeles Kings beat their neighboring rivals, the Anaheim Ducks, 4-3 at the Honda Center in Anaheimm California. Nick Shore scored the winning goal with 1:09 left in overtime.

November 7, 1933: Pennsylvania Legalizes Sunday Sports

November 7, 1933: The Pennsylvania legislature votes to repeal the law banning the playing of professional sports on Sunday. Governor Gifford Pinchot signs the bill into law.

Pinchot was a Republican. He was elected in 1922, but the State Constitution then forbid Governors from serving consecutive terms, so he couldn't run again in 1926. He ran again in 1930, and won, but couldn't run again in 1934. A new Constitution, in 1968, made Governors eligible for 2 consecutive terms, but not 3. It's possible that Pinchot would have lost in the Democratic landslide of 1934, anyway.

For centuries, Christians followed the Commandment of "Remember the Sabbath Day, and keep it holy," defining it as 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM on Sunday, and not doing any work on the day. Of course, there would always be people who tried to get around this. But when professional sports became viable, some people of faith fought to get laws passed banning it on Sundays. They also tried to get laws passed banning other things on Sundays, like shopping. They called themselves "Sabbatarians."

Baseball was the first sport in America to really go professional. And when the National League was founded in 1876, the team owners chose not to challenge the laws: They refused to schedule games on Sundays. But this meant that that, since most people worked a six-day week, and permanent lights at a ballpark were not yet practical, thus making night games any day of the week possible, there would be no day on which the average working man could go to a baseball game.

In 1882, the American Association was founded, and they chose to play on Sunday -- where it was legal. Some teams got around this by playing games outside the city limits, or in neighboring States. A Boston team might play in neighboring Providence, Rhode Island; a Pittsburgh team might play in Wheeling, West Virginia: and a Detroit team might play in Toledo, Ohio.

The AA folded in 1891, but the American League, founded in 1901, adopted this "play on Sunday where and when you can" philosophy. The 1903 National Agreement between the NL and the AL allowed the NL to play on Sunday, where and when legal.

By that point, Saturday had become a non-mandatory workday for many people, allowing big crowds on the day; and professional football had become viable. The National Football League was founded in 1920, and began playing on Sunday because they didn't want to compete with college football, which played on Saturday.

It took until 1929 for Massachusetts to legalize Sunday sports. Right on time: The Great Depression came, and the Boston Red Sox, the Boston Braves, and anyone thinking of funding an NFL team in Boston needed those big crowds badly. (Of course, the big crowds still didn't come for George Preston Marshall's Boston Redskins, so he moved them to Washington in 1937.) Even so, for the 1929 season, the Red Sox made a deal with the Braves to play Sunday home games at Braves Field, because Fenway Park was "too close to a church." People really thought about such ridiculous things at the time.

In 1931, the NFL's Philadelphia team, the Frankford Yellow Jackets, folded. Their Frankford Stadium in Northeast Philadelphia had burned down, and they had trouble securing a new home field, since they couldn't play on Sunday, and most football stadiums of any size in the city had a college team playing there on Saturday afternoons.

In 1933, the rights to a Philly NFL team were bought by Bert Bell (later to be the Commissioner of the NFL) and Lud Wray, and they founded the Philadelphia Eagles. The same year, Art Rooney founded a football team named the Pittsburgh Pirates, which he would rename the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1940. Together, Bell and Rooney lobbied the Pennsylvania legislature to make Sunday sports legal, and they succeeded, making the long-term success of their teams possible.

The Pirates/Steelers debuted on September 20, at home at Forbes Field, and lost to the New York Giants, 23-2. The Eagles debuted on October 15, also against the Giants, and they were nearly strangled in their crib, losing 56-0 at the Polo Grounds. Three days later, playing their 1st home game, at Baker Bowl, home of the Phillies in North Philadelphia, they lost 25-0 to the Portsmouth Spartans, the team that would become the Detroit Lions the next season.

Angelo Cataldi of Philadelphia sports-talk radio station WIP says of the city, "This place is wired for football." That's a little misleading: Philadelphia is a basketball city, but Pennsylvania is a football State. As political consultant James Carville, a graduate of Louisiana State University, said after getting Bob Casey Sr. elected Governor in 1986, "Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, with Alabama in between." He wasn't kidding: In neighboring New Jersey, we call the rural portions of the State "Pennsyltucky." The State is absolutely nuts about football.

In hindsight, legalizing Sunday sports was inevitable. Now, it is impossible to imagine an Autumn Sunday without a big percentage of the State's people in Eagles green and white, and another in Steelers black and gold.

November 7, 1933 was a Tuesday. Baseball season was over. Football was in midweek. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And the NHL season started 2 days later. So there were no scores on this historic day, despite it being a day that made some scores possible.

Friday, November 4, 2022

November 4, 2009: The Yankees "Restore the Universe to Order"

November 4, 2009: Game 6 of the World Series is held at the new Yankee Stadium. Not publicly announced is the fact that, earlier in the day, across 161st Street, demolition began on the old Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-3 at the new Yankee Stadium, and clinched their 27th World Championship, 8 years to the day after they should have.

Andy Pettitte started and won. (His 148 wins during the 2000s -- that is, 2000 to 2009 -- made him the winningest pitcher of the decade.) Mariano Rivera got the save. Hideki Matsui, in what turned out to be his last game with the Yankees, drove in 6 runs, including hitting a home run, a blast, off a "blast from the past," Pedro Martinez. I don't think any Yankee homer -- not by Chris Chambliss, Reggie Jackson, Bucky Dent, Don Mattingly, Jim Leyritz, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, Scott Brosius, Derek Jeter, even Aaron Boone -- has ever made me feel better, because of what Pedro the Punk represents.

Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte and Jorge Posada, the holdovers from 2001, got their rings, Posada his 4th (his 5th title, though I don't think he got a ring for 1996), the others their 5th. For Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia, their 1st. And Pedro never appeared in another major league game.

The slates had been wiped clean. As Hank Steinbrenner, son of team owner George Steinbrenner, requested, the universe had been restored to order. Sports Illustrated named Jeter its Sportsman of the Year, the 1st Yankee ever so honored.

The Yankees had taken Title 27. They have not taken Title 28. What had happened was, George was ill, and would die the next year. His sons Hank and Hal had taken over the running of the team. Hank was a big believer in his father's philosophy of "Winning is second, only to breathing." But he, too, got sick, and Hal won a power struggle. Hal gave general manager Brian Cashman new orders: Do whatever it takes to make the team money. Hal has never accepted that winning championships makes more money than simply filling the ballpark and generating TV revenue.

Look at what has happened in the years since:

* 2009 off-season: Cashman lets Matsui and Johnny Damon go. Keeping one of the other would have helped, but he kept neither. From this point onward, it's Cashman's team, not George Steinbrenner's or Gene Michael's.

* 2010: The Yankees win the American League Wild Card, and beat the Minnesota Twins in the AL Division Series, but lose the AL Championship Series to the Texas Rangers, who had never won a Pennant before.

* 2011: The Yankees win the AL Eastern Division, but lose the the ALDS to the Detroit Tigers. Pettitte retires.

* 2012: The Yankees win the AL Eastern Division, and beat the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS. But Derek Jeter breaks his ankle in Game 1 of the ALCS against the Tigers, and the Yankees get swept.

* 2013: The Yankees miss the Playoffs for the 1st time since 2008, and only the 2nd time since 1993. Rivera retires.

* 2014: The Yankees miss the Playoffs for the 2nd straight season, which hadn't happened since 1992-93. Jeter retires.

* 2015: There are now 2 Wild Card berths in each League. The Yankees host the AL Wild Card Game, but lose it to the Houston Astros.

* 2016: A-Rod retires. But on July 25, with the Yankees 7 1/2 games out of 1st in the AL East, and 4 1/2 games out of the 2nd AL Wild Card slot, both still reachable, Cashman trades relief ace Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for Gleyber Torres, Adam Warren, Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford. Chapman made the difference for the Cubs, who won their 1st World Series in 108 years, and then his contract ran out, and the Yankees re-signed him.

It got worse: Having already hurt the bullpen by trading Chapman, Cashman wrecked it by trading Andrew Miller to the Cleveland Indians for Clint Frazier, Ben Heller, Justus Sheffield and J.P. Freyereisen. Miller helped the Indians win the Pennant, and then they lost the World Series to the Cubs. Sheffield pitched in 3 major league games in 2018, and then was sent to the Seattle Mariners as trade bait for James Paxton.

Cashman also traded starting pitcher Iván Nova to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Stephen Tarpley and Tito Polo. And he traded slugger Carlos Beltrán to the Rangers for Erik Swanson, Dillon Tate and Nick Green. Beltran helped the Rangers win the AL Western Division. Swanson and Tate never threw a pitch for the Yankees: The former was also part of the package for Paxton, the latter part of the package for Zack Britton.

So, to review: Cashman essentially traded Beltrán, Miller and Nova, and loaned Chapman, for Torres, Happ, Paxton, Britton and Frazier. Torres turned into a star in 2018, but has been inconsistent. And of the players acquired in these deals, he is the only one with any amount of success.

The Yankees did not make the Playoffs in 2016.

* 2017: Justin Verlander turned out to be available, but Cashman didn't trade for him. He went to the Houston Astros. Who also traded for Beltran. The Yankees reached the Wild Card Game, beat the Minnesota Twins, and beat the Indians in the ALDS, before losing the ALCS in 7 games to the Astros, including 2 games won by Verlander. They went on to win the World Series.

* 2018: Cashman trades All-Star 2nd baseman Starlin Castro to the Miami Marlins for one-dimensional slugger Giancarlo Stanton. The Yankees reach the Wild Card Game, beat the Oakland Athletics, and lose the ALDS to the Red Sox, a series in which Stanton absolutely disappeared.

* 2019: Several good starting pitchers are available, at a time when the Yankees really need at least 1, possibly 2. Cashman does nothing. The Astros trade for Zack Greinke. But the "Baby Bombers" plan finally begins to pay off for Cashman. Finally, for the 1st time in 7 years, the Yankees win the Division. They beat the Twins in the ALDS. And then they lose to the Astros in the ALCS.

If you're trying to keep score at home: In the last 4 seasons, Cashman has helped 4 different teams -- the Cubs, the Indians, the Rangers and the Astros -- reach 8 postseason berths, win 4 Pennants, and win 2 World Series. Not only have none of these teams been the Yankees, but the Astros have beaten the Yankees in the postseason twice in that time.

* 2020: Due to the COVID epidemic rearranging the season, 3 AL teams now had Wild Card berths. The Yankees turned out to be one of them. They beat Cleveland in the 1st Round, but lost the ALDS to the Tampa Bay Rays.

* 2021: The Yankees lost the Wild Card Game to the Red Sox.

* 2022: The Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS, but lost the ALCS to the Astros. Again.

Explain to me why Cashman still has a job.

UPDATE: The Yankees missed the Playoffs in 2023. In 2024, they finally won another Pennant after 15 years, but lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 5 games. In 2025, they finally beat the Boston Red Sox in a postseason series, but lost the ALDS to the Toronto Blue Jays. Going into the 2026 season, Cashman still has a job.

Among the Yankees' many traditions is Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. From the 2009 World Champions, they have given Plaques to shortstop Derek Jeter, catcher Jorge Posada; and pitchers Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and CC Sabathia. In 2010, longtime team owner George Steinbrenner died, and they dedicated a Monument to him.

Manager Joe Girardi has not yet been honored -- but then, neither has Cashman.

Pitcher David Robertson retired after the 2025 season, making him the last active player from the 2009 Yankees.

November 4, 2009 was a Tuesday. There were no other baseball games. Football was in midweek. There were 10 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers, 101-90 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Denver Nuggets, 122-94 at the Izod Center in the Meadowlands.

* The Miami Heat beat the Washington Wizards, 93-89 at the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington. Dwyane Wade scored 40 points.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Phoenix Suns, 122-100 at the Amway Arena in Orlando.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the Detroit Pistons, 110-99 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The New Orleans Hornets beat the Dallas Mavericks, 114-107 in overtime at the New Orleans Arena (now the Smoothie King Center). Chris Paul scored 39 points for the Hornets.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 92-90 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Houston Rockets, 103-102 in overtime at the Toyota Center in Houston. Kobe Bryant scored 41 points.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 113-105 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena (then named the Oracle Arena).

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Sacramento Kings, 113-105 at the Power Balance Pavilion (formerly the 2nd ARCO Arena) in Sacramento.

There were 6 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders lost to the Buffalo Sabres, 3-0 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Washington Capitals, 3-2 at the Prudential Center.

* The Florida Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-0 at the BankAtlantic Center (now the Amerant Bank Arena) in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-2 in a shootout at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Calgary Flames beat the Dallas Stars, 3-2 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Jarome Iginla scored the winning goal with 3:25 left in overtime.

* And the Colorado Avalanche beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-1 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

In UEFA Champions League action, Arsenal beat Dutch team AZ Alkmaar, 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium in North London. Liverpool and Olympique Lyonnais played to a 1-1 draw at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon, France. Glasgow, Scotland team Rangers and Unirea Urziceni played to a 1-1 draw at Stadionul Steaua in Bucharest, Romania. FC Barcelona and Rubin Kazan played to a 0-0 draw at the Central Stadium in Kazan, Russia.

Internazionale Milano beat Dynamo Kyiv at the Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine. Sevilla and Stuttgart played to a 1-1 draw at Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán in Seville, Spain. Standard Liège beat Olympiacos of Athens, Greece, 2-0 at Stade Maurice Dufrasne in Liège, Belgium. And Fiorentina beat Hungarian team Debrecen, 5-2 at Stadio Aretmio Franchi in Florence, Italy.

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

November 2, 2022: A Combined No-Hitter In the World Series

November 2, 2022: For only the 2nd time, a no-hitter is pitched in the World Series. This being the 21st Century, it took 4 pitchers to do it.

The heavily favored Houston Astros went into Game 4 of the World Series having lost Game 1 to the Philadelphia Phillies, then won Game 2, then got clobbered with 5 home runs in Game 3. They needed a good pitching performance. They got a great one, the 2nd-greatest in Series history, behind the perfect game pitched by Don Larsen for the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Yankee Stadium in Game 5 in 1956.

Cristian Javier started, and went 6 innings, allowing only 2 baserunners, a leadoff walk to Bryce Harper in the 2nd, and a 1-out walk to Brandon Marsh in the 3rd. He struck out 9 batters. But Astro manager Dusty Baker took him out. Javier had thrown 97 pitches -- the same number Larsen had thrown in 9 innings in his perfecto.

Aaron Nola started for the Phillies, and he was pretty strong over the 1st 4 innings, allowing just 3 singles and hitting a batter. But he imploded in the 5th, allowing 3 straight singles to start the inning, to Chas McCormick, José Altuve and Jeremy Peña. José Alvarado not only couldn't stop the bleeding, he aggravated the wound, hitting Yordan Álvarez to let in a run, allowing a double by Alex Bergman that scored 2, a sacrifice fly by Kyle Tucker that scored another, and a single by Yuli Gurriel to score yet another. It was 5-0 Astros.

Bryan Abreu pitched the 7th for the Astros, and struck out the side, using only 15 pitches. But Baker didn't send him back out for the 8th. Instead, he sent Rafael Montero, who sent the Phils down 1-2-3. Finally, he sent Ryan Pressly out for the 9th. He struck Marsh out to start, then walked Kyle Schwarber. There was a little bit of hope. But Pressly got Rhys Hoskins to fly to right, and got J.T. Realmuto to ground to 3rd.

The Astros had a no-hitter, by 5 pitchers, the 1st in World Series play in 66 years. Total pitches: 141, or 45 percent more than Larsen threw. More importantly, it tied the Series at 2-2. The Astros never looked back, and won the Series in 6 games.

November 2, 2022 was a Wednesday. Football was in midweek. There were 11 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Atlanta Hawks, 112-99 at Madison Square Garden. Dejounte Murray of the Hawks led all scorers on the night with 36 points.

* The Washington Wizards beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 121-111 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Miami Heat beat the Sacramento Kings, 110-107 at the FTX Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Houston Rockets, 109-101 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz, 103-100 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the San Antonio Spurs, 143-100 at the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics, 114-113 at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Charlotte Hornets, 106-88 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons, 116-91 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 120-117 in overtime at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

* And the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 111-106 at the Moda Center in Portland.

And there were 2 games in the NHL. The Buffalo Sabres beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-3 at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo. And the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Saturday, October 29, 2022

October 29, 2008: The End of the Curse of Billy Penn

October 29, 2008: After a 2-day delay for rain, Game 5 of the World Series is resumed at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. It ends a 25-year drought for the City of Philadelphia. It also ends the Curse of Billy Penn.

In 1894, a 37-foot-high statue of Pennsylvania founder William Penn was placed atop Philadelphia City Hall. At 548 feet high, this made the Hall the tallest building in the world until 1908. While many American cities embraced the concept of the skyscraper, a "gentlemen's agreement" forbade any structure in Philadelphia from rising above the hat on the Penn statue. The idea was that Penn could look out over his city, in any direction, without his view being blocked. (The statue, of course, is in a fixed position, facing northeast.)

With that agreement in place, the World Series was won by the Philadelphia Athletics in 1910, 1911, 1913, 1929 and 1930, and the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980; the NFL Championship was won by the Frankford Yellow Jackets in 1926, and the Philadelphia Eagles in 1948, 1949 and 1960; the NBA Championship was won by the Philadelphia Warriors in 1947 and 1956, and the Philadelphia 76ers in 1967 and 1983; and the Stanley Cup was won by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1974 and 1975.

On May 27, 1987, One Liberty Place broke the gentleman's agreement, rising to 945 feet. For the first time, something in the city could "block Billy Penn's view." And, apparently, he didn't like this, because:

* May 31, 1987: Just 4 days after One Liberty Place opened, the Flyers lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals to the Edmonton Oilers.

* December 31, 1988: The Eagles were in an NFC Divisional Playoff against the Chicago Bears, when a fog rolled off Lake Michigan and enveloped Soldier Field. Eagle fans still blame the fog for their 20-12 loss, ignoring the fact that the Bears already led 17-6.

* October 1993: The Phillies lost the World Series. This included blowing a 14-9 lead in the 8th inning of Game 4, on October 20, at home, before Joe Carter of the Toronto Blue Jays hit a Series-winning home run in Game 6, on October 23.

* June 11, 1995: The Flyers were tied 2-2 with the New Jersey Devils in the NHL Eastern Conference Finals, but lost Game 5 in the last minute of regulation, and then lost Game 6.

* June 7, 1997: The Flyers were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals.

* May 26, 2000: The Flyers led the Devils 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals, and lost 3 straight, including losing Eric Lindros to a concussion.

* June 15, 2001: The 76ers won the NBA Eastern Conference title, but lost the Finals to the Lakers. This remains their only Finals appearance since 1983.

* January 27, 2002: The Eagles lost the NFC Championship Game to the St. Louis Rams.

* January 19, 2003: In their last game at Veterans Stadium, before moving into Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles lost the NFC Championship Game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Since entering the NFL in 1976, the Bucs had never won a Playoff game on the road, and had never won when the temperature was less than 32 degrees Fahrenheit. With this game, they had done both.

If that could happen, and it could happen to the Eagles, then, it was reasoned, larger forces could be at work. This is when the idea of a "curse" began to be discussed. People looked to the last title won by a Philly team, and it was the 1983 76ers, so it had to be something after that.

Between that title and the rise of Liberty Place, the Flyers had lost the 1985 Stanley Cup Finals, but that was while Liberty Place was still under construction, so it's not counted. Nor was the death, early the next season, of Flyer goaltender Pelle Lindbergh, from drunk driving. There was the 76ers' 1986 Draft Day debacle, but that was also before Liberty Place was topped off. So a Curse of Howard Katz, or a Curse of Pelle Lindbergh, was possible. The city's media decided, instead, on Penn, for "blocking his view." (The fact that the two Liberty Place skyscrapers are behind his back, and weren't in his line of sight, seems not to have occurred to them.)

* January 18, 2004: The Eagles made it 3 straight NFC Championship Game losses, 2 straight at home, losing to the Carolina Panthers.

* June 5, 2004: It appeared that the curse even extended to horse racing. Smarty Jones, a horse bred and trained in suburban Chester County, Pennsylvania, won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, but fell short of the Triple Crown when he lost the Belmont Stakes by blowing a late lead.

* February 6, 2005: Finally winning an NFC Championship Game on their 4th straight try, the Eagles beat the Atlanta Falcons. But, despite threatening late, they could not beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.

Someone must have decided that enough was enough. On June 18, 2007, ironworkers helped raise the final beam in the construction of the 974-foot Comcast Center. In addition to the Philadelphia tradition of finishing a building with an American flag and a small evergreen tree, they attached a statue of William Penn. Now, atop the new tallest building in town, his view was, again, unblocked.

Did it work? Not yet: Three months later, the Phillies came from 7 games back in the National League Eastern Division with 17 games to go, surged past the New York Mets, and won the Division title. But lost the NL Division Series to the Colorado Rockies -- the 1st postseason series win for the Rockies, who began play in 1993, the year of the Phillies' most recent Pennant.

But it all came together in 2008. The Phillies beat the Mets out for the Division again, beat the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS, and then beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series for their 1st Pennant in 15 years. It was on to the World Series, with a first: A father and son broadcasting for the opposing teams, Harry Kalas for the Phils, and Todd Kalas for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Phillies won Game 1 in St. Petersburg, 3-2, before losing Game 2, 4-2. Coming home to Citizens Bank Park, they won Game 3, 5-4; and Game 4, 10-2. Game 5 began on Monday, October 27, but it rained throughout. The Phillies led 2-1 after 5 innings. Under normal conditions, games are considered to be official games after 5 innings, or 4 1/2 if the home team is leading at that point. However, both Rays and Phillies management knew before the first pitch that Commissioner Bud Selig, who was responsible for the scheduling of post-season games, would not allow a team to clinch the Series by winning a rain-shortened game.

The umpires let the game continue, and the Rays tied the game in the top of the 6th. When that half-inning ended, as Phils 2nd baseman Chase Utley remembered, "The infield was basically underwater." The umpires suspended the game. Rain continued to fall in Philadelphia on Tuesday, October 28, further postponing the game to Wednesday, October 29.

Game 5 was resumed in the bottom of the 6th, with the Philadelphia Phillies batting, and needing 1 run plus 9 outs to win the World Series. Geoff Jenkins doubled, was bunted to 3rd by Jimmy Rollins, and was driven in by a Jayson Werth single.

Rocco Baldelli tied the game with a home run in the 7th. Later in the inning, Utley took a grounder, faked a throw to 1stn base, then threw Jason Bartlett out at home for the 3rd out in a play later described as having saved the Series for the Phillies.

In the bottom of the 7th, Pat Burrell led off with a double. Eric Bruntlett, pinch-running for Burrell, scored on a single by Pedro Feliz to put the Phillies up by a run again, 4–3.

In the 2004 NLCS, pitching for the Houston Astros, Brad Lidge had given up a tremendous home run to Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals, to lose a game. It was said that he was never the same after that. That wasn't true: The Astros won the Pennant the next year. In 2008, Lidge was the Phillies' closer, and, going into Game 5, was 47-for-47 in save opportunities over the season. For fans still traumatized by the 1993 World Series, he was no Mitch Williams.

In the top of the 9th, Lidge gave up a single and a stolen base, but faced Eric Hinske with the chance to give the city its 1st World Series win since 1980, and its 1st World Championship in any sport since the 1983 76ers. Harry Kalas, the Hall of Fame voice of the Phils, had the call:

One strike away, nothing-and-two to Hinske. Fans on their feet. Brad Lidge stretches. The oh-two pitch: Swing and a miss! Struck him out! The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 World Champions of baseball!

Brad Lidge does it again, and stays perfect for the 2008 season, 48-for-48 in save opportunities! And let the city celebrate! Don't let the 48-hour wait diminish the euphoria of this moment and celebration! Twenty-five years in this city that a team has enjoyed a World Championship, and the fans are ready to celebrate. What a night! Phils winning, 4–3, Brad Lidge gets the job done once again!

Harry would die early the next season. He deserved that title.

Three months later, the Eagles reached the NFC Championship Game, with a shot at Super Bowl XLIII, but lost to the Arizona Cardinals, a team that hadn't reached an NFL Championship Game, under any name, since 1948. That was embarrassing.

The Phils won the Pennant again in 2009, but lost the World Series to the New York Yankees. They won the NL East again in 2010 and 2011, then fell apart for a few years. The Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2010, but lost to the Chicago Blackhawks. It was beginning to look like the Phillies had broken a curse that had been put on them sometime after 1980, and the other teams in town were under seaprate curses. But in 2018, the Eagles broke a 57-year drought, beating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.

Also in 2018, a new tallest building in the city opened: The Comcast Technology Center, at 1,121 feet, making it the tallest building in America not in either New York City or Chicago. As with its predecessor and sort-of namesake, a small statue of William Penn was put on top, just in case.

UPDATE: In 2022, the Phillies won the Pennant, but lost the World Series to the Houston Astros. Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union, who began play in 2010, after the Curse of Billy Penn was ended, reached their 1st MLS Cup Final in 2022, but lost to Los Angeles F.C. And the Eagles reached Super Bowl LVII, but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. The 76ers are still looking for their 1st Finals berth since 2001, and their 1st title since 1983; the Flyers, 2010 and 1975, respectively.

From the 2008 World Champions, the Phillies have elected the following figures to their Wall of Fame: Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Pat Burrell, manager Charlie Manuel, executives Pat Gillick and Ed Wade, team owner David Montgomery, and broadcaster Harry Kalas. Roy Halladay, who was a part of the 2010 and '11 Division Champions, but not the 2008 World Champions or the '09 Pennant winners, has also been elected. Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge will, presumably, be elected in the next few years.

Rollins, Utley, Howard, Manuel, Montgomery, Kalas, Jamie Moyer, Carlos Ruiz, team owner Bill Giles, and Veterans Stadium public address announcer Dan Baker have also been elected to the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.

The Rays also now have a team Hall of Fame. From their founding era, as the "Tampa Bay Devil Rays," they have inducted 1st baseman Fred McGriff and 3rd baseman Wade Boggs. From their 2008 Pennant, they have inducted left fielder Carl Crawford, 3rd baseman Evan Longoria, coach Don Zimmer and broadcaster Dave Wills -- but not, as yet, manager Lou Piniella.

McGriff, Boggs and Piniella are Tampa natives; while Zimmer, a Cincinnati native, made Tampa his off-season home due to the Cincinnati Reds using it as their longtime Spring Training home.

The Florida Sports Hall of Fame has inducted McGriff, Boggs, Piniella, and Jim Morris, the pitcher who was the subject of the film The Rookie.

October 29, 2008 was a Wednesday. Football was in midweek. It was the opening night of the NBA season. The Oklahoma City Thunder, who for the previous 41 years had been the Seattle SuperSonics, made their debut. Kevin Durant was not yet the superstar he would become, and scored only 12 points. Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva and Michael Redd each scored 20 points, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Thunder, 98-87 at the Ford Center (now the Paycom Center).

There were 11 other games in the NBA that night:

* The New York Knicks beat the Miami Heat, 120-115 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Nets beat the Washington Bullets, 95-85 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 95-84 at the Wachovia Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia. Given the Phillies' win, I doubt too many people cared much.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Orlando Magic, 99-85 at the Amway Arena in Orlando.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 82-71 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the San Antonio Spurs, 103-98 at the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Indiana Pacers, 100-94 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Sacramento Kings, 98-96 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Utah Jazz beat their arch-rivals, the Denver Nuggets, 98-94 at the EnergySolutions Arena (as the Delta Center was then known) in Salt Lake City.

* The New Orleans Hornets beat the Golden State Warriors, 108-103 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena (then named the Oracle Arena).

* In the "Tunnel Series," the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 117-79 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in what was, officially, a home game for the Clippers.

There were 3 games played in the NHL:

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-5 in a shootout at the Prudential Center.

* The Dallas Stars, formerly the Minnesota North Stars, beat their replacements, the Minnesota Wild, 4-2 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* And the Anaheim Ducks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-4 at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Francois Beauchemin scored the winning goal with 3:21 left in overtime.

Also on this day, a North London Derby is played at the Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal. Their arch-rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, took an early 1-0 lead. David Bentley, a member of Arsenal's 2003-04 "Invincibles" who never quite panned out, scored against them for Tottenham. But Arsenal came back, and, on goals by Mikael Silvestre, William Gallas, Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie (the first 2 considerably more surprising as scorers than the second 2), led 4-2 in the 88th minute. Darren Bent, always a problem for Arsenal, scored the other goal for "Spurs," but Arsenal were in command.

And they blew it. Jermaine Jenas scored in the 89th, and, with more stoppage time given than necessary, Aaron Lennon scored in the 94th. It's a 4-4 draw.

Within 12 hours, before the last chorus of "Four-two, and you fucked it up!" could stop ringing around North London, Tottenham released a DVD of this match. That's right, they released a video of a draw. True, Arsenal celebrated a draw at White Hart Lane in 2004, but that draw gave them the 1 point they needed to clinch the League title away to their arch-rivals. What did "Spurs" get out of this draw? Not bragging rights: They still hadn't won a League game against Arsenal in 9 years. (That streak would end in 2010.)

Because they were both young black Englishmen who played on the right wing, Lennon (from Leeds in West Yorkshire) and Arsenal's Theo Walcott (from the Stanmore section of Northwest London) often got compared to each other. Tottenham fans called Walcott "a shit Aaron Lennon." No, Aaron Lennon was a shit Aaron Lennon. (That refers only to his performance. He is regarded by all as a man of fine character.)

Sunday, October 23, 2022

October 23, 1993: The Joe Carter Game

October 23, 1993: Game 6 of the World Series, at the SkyDome in Toronto. The Toronto Blue Jays lead the Philadelphia Phillies 3 games to 2, but trail 6-5 in the bottom of the 9th.

Mitch Williams comes in to close it out for the Phils, but allows 2 runners, before Joe Carter comes to bat. Carter would go on to hit 396 home runs in regular season play, so he was no Bucky Dent, or Bernie Carbo, or Geoff Blum. He hit more home runs in his career than Chris Chambliss, or Bobby Thomson, or Kirk Gibson, or Carlton Fisk did in theirs. So giving up a home run to him was no shame, though you don't want to lose the World Series on any pitch to any player.

Carter sends a screaming liner down the left-field line, just clearing the fence, and just fair. Home run. Toronto 8, Philadelphia 6. The Jays have won back-to-back World Championships.

Only Bill Mazeroski, who ended a World Series Game 7 with a home run in 1960, has ever hit a bigger home run than this.

That night, on Saturday Night Live, Chris Farley played Phillies 1st baseman John Kruk during "Weekend Update," and was asked by anchorman Kevin Nealon why he wasn't in Toronto with his team. He said he'd forgotten, and asked what happened. When Nealon told him Toronto won 8-6, Farley-as-Kruk got up, looked deflated, and said, "I shoulda been there." In reality, Kruk went 0-for-3, although he did draw 2 walks.

Williams, a.k.a. the Wild Thing, has often been blamed for losing the Series. But it was Game 6, so if the Phils had won, they still would have had to play Game 7, on the road, against the defending World Champions. The rest of the Philly bullpen hadn't been much better in this Series. Where the Phils really lost the Series was in Game 4, when they blew a 14-9 lead at Veterans Stadium and lost 15-14. The Jays were very experienced, already accomplished, at home, and the better team. Besides, the Phils wouldn't have gotten into the World Series without Williams.

This game has been cited as part of "The Curse of Billy Penn": From 1983, when the Philadelphia 76ers won the NBA Championship, until 2008, when the Phillies won their next World Series, no Philadelphia professional sports team won a World Championship. The suggestion was that the construction of One Liberty Place in 1987, making it taller than the statue of William Penn atop City Hall, caused Penn's spirit to put a curse on the city's teams.

When the Vet closed in 2003, Williams was one of the in-uniform attendees, and was cheered, rather than subjected to the well-known venom of "the Philadelphia Boo-Birds." All was forgiven.

And in the 21 years from 1994 to 2014, the Phillies played 46 postseason games. The Jays, none. It took the Jays until 2015 to get back into the Playoffs; until they did, they'd gone longer without making the Playoffs than any other team. From 1994 to 2021, the Phillies have won 2 Pennants and 1 World Series. The Blue Jays have gotten to the ALCS twice, but have not won a Pennant.

In 2010, the MLB Network listed this game at 14th on their list of MLB's 20 Greatest Games -- limited in scope, due to the availability of surviving videotape, to 1975 onward.

In 1978, the Philadelphia Phillies instituted a team Wall of Fame. From the 1993 "Macho Row" squad, they have elected Darren Daulton, John Kruk, Curt Schilling, coach John Vukovich, broadcasters Richie Ashburn and Harry Kalas, and executives Paul Owens and David Montgomery. They have not elected manager Jim Fregosi. Schilling, Kalas, Owens, Montgomery, team owner Bill Giles, and Veterans Stadium public address announcer Dan Baker have also been elected to the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.

It says something about the Phillies that, between their 1983 and 1993 Pennants, the only player elected to the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame has been Juan Samuel; and that, between their 1993 and 2008 Pennants, the only players elected have been Mike Lieberthal, Jim Thome, Bobby Abreu and Scott Rolen. And Thome and Rolen were basically elected only because they were elected to the main Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, and those elections were mainly on the basis of what they did with other teams.

October 23, 1993 was a Saturday. Florida State was then ranked Number 1 in both major college football polls, but did not play that week. These notable college football games were played:

* Number 2 Notre Dame beat USC, 31-13 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame would beat Florida State 3 weeks later, in one of those occasional "Games of the Century," but lost the following week to Boston College, costing them the National Championship.

* Boston College beat Army, 41-14 at Alumni Stadium in the Boston suburb of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They would rise to Number 13 in the postseason poll, so their stunning 41-39 win away to Notre Dame was no fluke.

* Number 3 Ohio State beat Purdue, 45-24 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana. The next week, Penn State, idle on this day, walked into Ohio Stadium in Columbus ranked Number 12, and walked out defeated by the Buckeyes, 24-6.

* Number 4 Alabama, the defending National Champions, coming off a tie against Tennessee that dropped them from Number 2, beat Mississippi (a.k.a. Ole Miss), 19-14 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi. 'Bama finished 9-3-1, but would eventually have to forfeit all but 1 of their wins, and the tie with Tennessee, due to NCAA rule violations that got them put on probation.

Ironically, 'Bama's arch-rivals, Auburn, were on probation that season, but went undefeated. They did not play on this day, but did beat 'Bama to finish 11-0 and ranked Number 6. But they were ineligible to improve upon that in a bowl game.

* Number 5 Nebraska beat Missouri, 49-7 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska rose to Number 2, and played Florida State for the National Championship in the Orange Bowl. For once, Florida State, known for missing late field goals, made one, and Nebraska missed one on the final play, giving Florida State an 18-16 victory. But Nebraska won the next 2 National Championships.

* Number 6 Miami beat Syracuse, 49-0 at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

* Number 13 Michigan was upset by Illinois, 24-21 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. But after starting the season 4-4, the Wolverines recovered, winning their last 4 games, including beating Ohio State.

* Minnesota upset rival Wisconsin, then ranked Number 15, 28-21 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, to win the trophy known as Paul Bunyan's Axe.

* Princeton beat Harvard, 21-10 at Harvard Stadium in Boston.

* And Rutgers lost to Virginia Tech, 49-42 at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia. Rutgers played all its home games at the Meadowlands that season, as the 1938 Rutgers Stadium was being demolished and replaced with a new stadium, now named SHI Stadium. In spite of this, the only "home" crowd they got that wouldn't have fit in the old Rutgers Stadium was the 37,035 they got against Boston College, who brought so many fans, it felt like an away game for Rutgers. (The Meadowlands is 36 miles from SHI Stadium.)

The NBA season didn't start until November 5. But there were 11 NHL games played that day:

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Florida Panthers, 2-1 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands. Devils Captain Scott Stevens scored the winner, shorthanded, 3:12 into the 3rd period. The Devils had now started the season 7-0, but would lose their next game.

* The New York Islanders played the Ottawa Senators to a tie, 5-5 at the Nassau Coliseum. (The New York Rangers did not play that day.)

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 9-6 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The defending Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadiens beat the expansion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 4-1 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Dallas Stars, 3-2 at the Colisee de Quebec.

* The Buffalo Sabres and the Hartford Whalers played to a tie, 3-3 at the Hartford Civic Center. (Now the PeoplesBank Arena Center.)

* The St. Louis Blues and the Pittsburgh Penguins played to a tie, 3-3 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-0 at the ThunderDome in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Now Tropicana Field.)

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat their arch-rivals, the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Boston Bruins and the Calgary Flames played to a tie, 3-3 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the San Jose Sharks, 6-4 at the San Jose Arena. (Now the HP Pavilion.)

Also, my former high school, East Brunswick in Middlesex County, New Jersey, beat J.P. Stevens of nearby Edison, 35-0 at Jay Doyle Field in East Brunswick.

And Arsenal could only manage a draw with Oldham Athletics, 0-0 at Boundary Park in Oldham, outside Manchester.

Friday, October 21, 2022

October 21, 1980: The Philadelphia Phillies Phinally Win a World Series

October 21, 1980: After 98 seasons of play, the Philadelphia Phillies are 1 game away from finally winning their 1st World Championship. They are the last of the "Original 16" teams not to have won a World Series.

It's Game 6 against the Kansas City Royals at Veterans Stadium. Steve Carlton starts. In 1972, when the Phillies won only 59 games all season, Carlton won 27 of them. He would tell his teammates, "It's Win Day." He was never that good again, but he was still as good as any pitcher in baseball. Now, he was ready to pitch the clincher. It was Win Day. Or so they hoped.

The game was scoreless in the bottom of the 3rd when catcher Bob Boone -- son of Ray, and father of Aaron and Bret -- walked to lead off. Lonnie Smith reached on an error. Pete Rose, despite being 39 years old, not only bunted the runners over, but beat it out. The bases were loaded with nobody out. And Mike Schmidt, so often ripped in the Philadelphia media for not coming through when it matters, singled home Boone and Smith.

The Phillies got another run in the bottom of the 5th when Smith doubled, Rose hit a sacrifice fly to center to move him to 3rd, Schmidt was walked sort-of-intentionally, and Bake McBride hit a grounder to short to bring Smith home. In the bottom of the 6th, Larry Bowa doubled to left, and was singled home by Boone. Smith flew to center. Phillies 4, Royals 0.

In the 8th, Carlton tired, and the Royals scored a run. John Wathan drew one of those dangerous leadoff walks, and Cardenal singled to left. Green had seen enough: He pulled the great Carlton, who got a big hand, and replaced him with Tug McGraw. Tug finished the inning without further damage.

To start the 9th, McGraw struck Amos Otis out looking. 2 more. But he walked Willie Aikens. With Aikens a bit pudgy and not fleet of foot, Frey sent Onix Concepcion in as a pinch-runner. Wathan singled to right. Cardenal singled to center, but it was too short, and Maddox too good a center fielder, for Concepcion to risk being thrown out at the plate.

Then came a play that had Phillies fans -- remembering the collapse of the last 2 weeks of the 1964 regular season, the shocking 9th inning of Game 3 of the 1977 NL Championship Series, and he NLCS losses of 1976 and 1978 -- thinking, "Oh no, here we go again." Frank White popped up, and the ball drifted toward the Phillie dugout along the 1st base line. Boone chased it. He was normally a good fielder. But it popped out of his glove...

But Rose was right there to catch it. What could have been a disaster was prevented by "Charlie Hustle," the heart and soul of the Cincinnati "Big Red Machine" that had won 4 Pennants and 2 World Series in the previous decade, and had been brought to the Phils to teach them a winning attitude.

One out to go. There are 65,838 Phanatics roaring inside The Vet. The batter was Willie Wilson. Now, McGraw was nervous. And he was a bit spoked by the mounted policemen that Mayor Bill Green sent to line the field in foul territory, to keep fans off the field, artificial though it was. No one wanted a repeat of the Phils' last game at Connie ack Stadium, 10 years earlier, when the fans rioted and tore the old ballpark apart.

McGraw got to a count of 1 & 2. He was gassed. But he had all Fall and Winter to rest. He put everything he had into one last screwball. It was 11:29 PM on October 21, 1980. Wilson swung and missed for strike 3.

According to the Nielsen ratings system, this game was watched by 55 million people, making it the most-watched baseball game of all time.

Dallas Green's wild (or, at least, wild-haired) bunch had done it. Boone, Mike Schmidt, Greg Luzinski, Larry Bowa, Garry Maddox, all the rest, after 3 failed trips to the postseason before this, they had their ring at long last. Rose and McGraw, opponents in the '73 NLC,S and each with at least 1 previous ring, add to their collection. So do Carlton, who'd won with the '67 Cardinals; and Manny Trillo, the 2nd baseman who'd won with the '74 A's, and made a huge difference for the '80 Phils, particularly as the MVP of the NLCS.

The next day’s Philadelphia Daily News filled up their entire front page beneath the masthead with the words "We Win!" A parade went down Broad Street from City Hall to the Sports Complex, and a massive rally at John F. Kennedy Stadium, whose 105,000 seats was a lot more than the Vet's 65,000. Tug held the Daily News up for all to see. It remains the greatest moment in the history of Philadelphia sports.

The Phillies won another World Series in 2008. Again, it ended on a strikeout, Brad Lidge fanning Eric Hinske of the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 at Citizens Bank Park. There was another parade. Jamie Moyer had attended the 1980 parade as a 17-year-old high school senior in nearby Souderton, Pennsylvania. As a 45-year-old Phillies pitcher, he was in the 2008 parade.

In 1978, the Phillies founded the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame. They have elected a Phillies figure every year since, and elected a Philadelphia Athletics figure every year until 2003. From the 1980 team, they have elected Steve Carlton, Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa, Greg Luzinski, Tug McGraw, Garry Maddox, Bob Boone, John Vukovich, Manny Trillo, Bake McBride, Ron Reed, manager Dallas Green, executives Paul Owens and David Montgomery, owner Ruly Carpenter, and broadcasters Richie Ashburn and Harry Kalas. Pete Rose was set to be elected to it, but shortly after the announcement that there would be such a ceremony, allegations were made that forced a cancellation of the honor.

Carlton, Schmidt, Bowa, Luzinski, McGraw, Maddox, Boone, Green, Owens, Montgomery, Ashburn, Kalas, executive Bill Giles and public address announcer Dan Baker have also been elected to the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. Rose would probably be in it as well, if not for those allegations.

October 21, 1980 was a Tuesday. This was also the day of the "October Surprise" that prevented the ending of the Iran Hostage Crisis before the Presidential election on November 4. I have a separate entry for that event. Also, businesswoman/socialite Kim Kardashian was born on this day.

It was midweek for football. There were 8 NBA games played that day:

* The New York Knicks beat the Chicago Bulls, 105-97 at Madison Square Garden. Ray Williams scored 27 for the Knickerbockers.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 121-116 at The Omni in Atlanta.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 115-95 at the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Kansas City Kings, 116-11 at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City. (It's now named the the Hy-Vee Arena.)

* The Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets, 119-117 at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver. Moses Malone had 41 points and 26 rebounds for the Rockets.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the San Diego Clippers, 123-120 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio. The Clippers moved to Los Angeles in 1984.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks, 111-99 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 107-103 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.

There were 4 NHL games:

* The New York Islanders lost to the Vancouver Canucks, 6-3 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 2-0 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-5 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* And the St. Louis Blues beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-3 at the St. Louis Arena.

October 21, 1980: The October Surprise

October 21, 1980: Iranian negotiators, previously offered military equipment by the Carter Administration as part of the exchange for the 52 remaining American hostages from the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran the preceding November 4, turn this offer down.

This followed a meeting with former Republican government officials, including former Deputy Secretary of State William Casey, who told the Iranians that, no matter what, they shouldn't release the hostages before November 4, Election Day.

This denied the last chance of the incumbent President, Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, to get the hostages freed before the election, and assured the victory of the Republican nominee, former Governor Ronald Reagan of California.

Although this was not the 1st use of the phrase "October Surprise," it is the best-remembered example. Still, it's not clear that getting the hostages out between October 21 and November 3 would have saved Carter: There were other issues, such as inflation, interest rates, and Carter's handling of the Cold War.

Oh yeah: Reagan rewarded Casey by naming him Director of the CIA, and he became a key figure in the Iran-Contra scandal. A previous President, Andrew Jackson, would have called that "a corrupt bargain."

Also on this day, Kimberly Noel Kardashian is born in Los Angeles. Unlike her former friend Paris Hilton, another L.A.-based heiress with an embarrassingly released sex tape, Kim is not an "heirhead." She actually works for a living, and not just as a model: She worked for the music-marketing company that was run by her late father, Robert Kardashian, who had given up being a high-powered L.A. lawyer to do it, returning for one last case in 1994-95 (the murder defense "Dream Team" of O.J. Simpson).

She and her sisters Kourtney and Khloé also run high-end women's clothing stores. Kim was often the main focus of the E! reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

What does Kim have to do with sports? Well, after her parents Robert and Kris divorced, Kris married Olympic decathlon Gold Medalist Bruce Jenner, though they split up, and Bruce has "transitioned" into what he, now she, has always considered his, now her, true identity of Caitlin Jenner.

Kim married then-Nets player Kris Humphries, following Khloé's marriage to Los Angeles Lakers player Lamar Odom. However, the Kardashian-Humphries marriage collapsed after 72 days, and Kim later married to Kanye West, and they now have 4 children, but have also split up. Khloé and Lamar split, and Khloé had 2 children with Tristan Thompson, then of the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they have also now split.

Previously, Kim dated, among others, running back Reggie Bush, in a relationship the gossip pages liked to call "Kush." And if "Bush" and "Kush" rhyme with a prominent part of Kim's anatomy, that's not my fault!

October 21, 1980 was a Tuesday. This was also the day the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series for the 1st time, beating the Kansas City Royals, 4-1 at Veterans Stadium in Game 6. I have a separate entry for that event.

Football was in midweek. There were 8 NBA games played that day: