It’s no secret that we here at PSH are stadium geeks as well as history geeks, who love the architecture of the greatest stadiums in Philly history (early Shibe, Franklin Field, the Palestra), and are pretty honest about the lamest places the home teams have played. (The Vet was an absolute disgrace, essentially a parking […]
Only one player has ever won the US Open as a teenager. It wasn’t Jack Nicklaus. Nor Arnold Palmer. Nor Tiger Woods. The only teenager to ever win the US Open was Johnny McDermott, a teen from West Philadelphia who rocketed to the top of the golf world at age 18, but crashed to earth […]
You never know what you might find when you’re trolling the internet after googling “Shibe Park”, but I will tell you this…it usually turns up something interesting. Today was no exception, as I came across Steve Wolf, who makes miniature stadiums for a living, complete with light fixtures. He’s only done a few of them […]
Of all the baseball monikers used to describe impressive achievements, the Immaculate Inning is my favorite. An Immaculate Inning requires a pitcher to record three straight strikeouts in a half inning throwing only 9 pitches. The feat has been accomplished a total of 45 times in major league baseball; the first in 1889 by John […]
On June 14, 1949, the Phillies played the Chicago Cubs on the road and won by a convincing score of 9-2. Newly acquired Phillies first-baseman, Eddie Waitkus, continued his solid season by going 1-4 with 2 runs scored. After the game, he joined his roommate Monk Meyer for dinner and returned to the team hotel at […]
Former Phillie ballplayer Dick Allen was more than just a disgruntled slugger. He was also quite a decent singer. Here he is heard singing his song “Echoes of November” with his group the Ebonistics. According to wikipedia, he once sang at halftime of a Sixers game while a member of the Phillies and got quite […]
Here’s a rather unusual photo of Matty McIntyre, who played for the A’s in 1901. Funny how it looks like he has shattered the glass with the throw. Matty played just one season for the A’s before he was shipped to Detroit. The photo was possibly taken at Columbia Park at what is now 29th […]
With beer week going down this week, here’s a short but sweet history of beer in Philly ballparks. Most of this info comes from this excellent piece on the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society. I also got some info from a book by David Nemec called the Beer and Whiskey League and from a book called the Baseball […]
In honor of the legendary #20, take 20% off your Mike Schmidt t-shirt with the discount code, “Astrodome”. In the first inning of a June 10, 1974 road game in Houston, a 2nd-year Phillies third-baseman hit the longest single in the history of the game. After a Dave Cash leadoff walk and a Larry Bowa […]
Beer Week rolls on. We came across this somewhat ridiculous beer can featuring none other than Phillies great, Richie Ashburn. As you can see, one side features a drawing of the center fielder, while the other quotes Ashburn on his self-described greatest moment: “The Throw.” Released in 1980 by the Valley Forge Brewing Company, the […]
Had a chance to sit down with local author and Penn prof Bruce Kuklick recently and ask him about his excellent book, To Every Thing a Season. To read Part One of that Interview, where Bruce talks about who was better the 1929 A’s or 2011 Phillies, click here. To read Part Two, where he […]
On this day in 1989, Pirates play-by-play man Jim Rooker wrote a check in the bottom of the first inning of a Pirates/Phillies game at Veterans Stadium that he never thought he’d have to cash. Obviously, the old sports adage that “anything can happen” wasn’t on his mind. Before Rooker made his now famous quip, the Pirates […]
