Greatest Moments in Philadelphia History

SI Staff | Sep 28, 2010

Greatest Moments in Philadelphia History /

Greatest Moments in Philadelphia History

1980 World Series

The top sports moments to happen within the city itself, including neutral-site matchups such as college bowl games, super bowls, NCAA Tournaments, etc. The inception of the "modern-day" World Series came in 1903, and the Phillies headed into the 1980 World Series as the only franchise of the 16 original teams not to have won a championship. That changed when they defeated George Brett's Royals in six games. As reliever Tug McGraw put it: "All throughout baseball history, Philadelphia has had to take a back seat to New York City. Well, New York can take this championship and stick it, because we're No. 1!"

2008 World Series

Game 5 of the 2008 World Series lasted three days thanks to a rain delay-turned postponement. When play resumed, the Phillies took a one-run lead into the 9th, and after allowing a man to reach second base, closer Brad Lidge struck out Eric Hinske in the final at-bat of the Series, sealing the Phillies' second world championship. The win was the first major pro championship for the city since the 76ers won the 1983 Finals.

1960 NFL Championship game

The NFL title game took place at Philadelphia's Franklin Field in 1960, pitting the Green Bay Packers versus the hometown Eagles. Neither team had been to the championship game in more than a decade. With the Eagles leading 17-13 late in the second half, quarterback Bart Starr moved Green Bay down the field. From the Eagles' 22, Starr threw a short pass to Jim Taylor, who headed toward the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown. But Philly's Chuck Bednarik, the oldest player on the field (35), wrestled Taylor to the ground short of the goal line and held him down as the final seconds ticked off the clock. The victory is the Eagles' most recent league NFL title.

1974 Stanley Cup Finals Game 6

The Boston Bruins had won the '72 Cup and had home-ice advantage, while Philly was still trying to fight the stigma of being an expansion franchise building a tradition. That's not to mention the record itself -- the Bruins had taken 17 of the previous 19 matchups with Philadelphia. The Bruins won Game 1 but the Flyers didn't back down and won three straight games before losing Game 5. Only one goal was scored in Game 6 at The Spectrum, by Philly's Rick MacLeish, and it proved to be enough as the Flyers shut out the Bruins for their first-ever Stanley Cup.

Flyers defeat Soviet Red Army team

From December 1975 to January 1976, two of the Soviet Union's best club hockey teams came to the U.S. for an exhibition series against a handful of NHL teams. But these games were treated like anything but exhibitions. One of the teams, CSKA, or the "Red Army," squared off against the defending NHL champion Flyers in a legendary battle. The game is noted for an incident that caused the Soviet coaches to pull their team off the ice after the Flyers' Ed Van Impe delivered a crushing blow to CSKA's top player, Valeri Kharlamov, without a penalty being called. When the Soviets finally returned to the ice, the Flyers continued to dominate. Philadelphia won 4-1, a victory for all the NHL.

Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points

An otherwise mundane regular-season matchup between the Philadelphia Warriors and New York Knicks at Hersheypark Arena on March 2, 1962, instantly became the most legendary non-playoff game in NBA history, thanks to the man known by one name: Wilt. By halftime, he had scored 41 points and his Warriors led 79-68. With about eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, he broke his own single-game scoring record with his 79th point. Despite the Knicks' best efforts to avoid embarrassment, Wilt finished with 100 points, the single-greatest scoring performance in history.

1983 NBA Finals

Thanks in part to the acquisition of star big man Moses Malone, Philadelphia finished the 1982-1983 NBA season with the best record in the league at 65-17 and the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. When Malone was asked for a prediction before the postseason, he replied with the now-famous phrase, "Fo'-Fo'-Fo'," as in, each series would last just four games, in favor of the 76ers. And the Sixers nearly proved him right, providing one of the most dominant performances in playoff history, going 12-1 (including a sweep of the L.A. Lakers in the NBA Finals). Philly fans amended Malone's prediction to "Fo'-Five-Fo'" to honor the last Sixers title team.

1980 NFC Championship Game

The 1980 NFC Championship game pit division rivals against each other in one of the gangliest venues in sports -- Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. On a frigid day, Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski had a terrible day, lobbing two interceptions and completing just 9-of-29 passes for fewer than 100 yards. Thankfully for Philly fans, running back Wilbert Montgomery was on fire. On the Eagles' first drive of the game, Montgomery broke off a 42-yard run for a touchdown, igniting the home team to a 27-10 win over the hated Dallas Cowboys. Montgomery rushed for 194 yards in the game.

2004 NFL Divisional Playoffs

When Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers took a 17-14 lead late in the fourth quarter, things looked dim for Eagles fans. But a miracle happened. A sack, a penalty and an incompletion put the Eagles in a 4th-and-26 situation with just 1:12 remaining and no timeouts. With Philly's season hanging in the balance, quarterback Donovan McNabb dropped back and fired a strike to wide receiver Freddie Mitchell down the middle of the field. Mitchell made a leaping grab just ahead of the first-down marker, extending the Eagles' drive, which ended in a field goal to force overtime. The Eagles won in the extra period, prompting "4th & 26" to become a trademark phrase in Philly sports history.

1996 MLB All-Star Game

Major League Baseball's midsummer classic was held at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium in 1996. The game was Ozzie Smith's last of 15 appearances as an All-Star. The NL won 6-0 thanks to home runs from San Diego third baseman Ken Caminiti and L.A. Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza. Send comments to siwriters@simail.com.

Published Sep 28, 2010

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