JFK Stadium was initially built in 1926, and was known as Sesquicentennial Stadium, it was built for the 150th American birthday party. After the party was over, it was given the rather dull name of Municipal Stadium. The first team to call the enormous (seating 102,000) stadium home was a pro football team called the Philadelphia Quakers. They would fold after one season, then the Frankfort Yellow Jackets would occasionally play there, and later the Eagles would call it home for 4 seasons before moving to Shibe Park. It was best known for hosting the annual Army-Navy game 41 times. In 1974, the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League would call it home.
Municipal Stadium, at the time largest stadium in the country in terms of capacity, wasn't only used for football. In 1926, a crowd of over 120,000 watched Gene Tunney defeat Jack Dempsey in the rain to win the heavyweight boxing title. In 1927, over 100,000 came in to lay eyes on America's newest hero, Charles Lindbergh, who simply did a lap around the track and then made for the exits. In 1957, a NASCAR race was held in the stadium, and it was also where the Broad Street Run ended each year.
In 1964, its name was changed to JFK Stadium, and it is perhaps best known contemporarily as a concert venue. Before the famous Live Aid concert in 1985, it also was where the Beatles held their second US concert, and Judy Garland held her final American concert. Various shows by the Rolling Stones, Peter Frampton, and Pink Floyd each resulted in over 100,000 in attendance. After a Grateful Dead concert in 1989, the stadium was condemned, and it was demolished on September 23rd, 1992. The Wells Fargo Center now stands where JFK used to.
Hall of Fame sports journalist and local native Ray Didinger will be at Shibe Vintage Sports on Saturday, January 30th at 4pm to sign copies of his books and talk sports with fans.
You've seen him on TV and heard him on the radio - now don't miss your chance to hang out with one of the greatest sportswriters in Philadelphia history, and ask him questions about the upcoming Super Bowl, the Doug Pederson hire, the rest of the Eagles' offseason, and about his memories of Eagles teams of the past.
The event is free, liquid refreshment and light snacks will be provided free of charge, and Ray will have copies of his books the Ultimate Book of Sports Movies and The New Eagles Encyclopedia for sale.
Come meet the legendary baseball writer, Jayson Stark. He will be at Shibe on Tuesday, December 15th from 6-8pm signing copies of his recent books including, Wild Pitches, Worth the Wait: Tails of the 2008 Phillies, and The Stark Truth.
He'll also be talking about the new-look Phillies, and taking any questions you have about America's Past time. We had Jayson in the store last year, and as everyone there will attest, it was incredible. Do not miss this opportunity to hang out with one of the greatest sportswriters in America!
RSVP here on the Shibe Vintage Sports Facebook page.
From today's philly.com, Joe Sixpack recommends our collection of vintage brewery shirts:
If you're looking to stuff a stocking with something a little more special than a sixpack (not that there's anything wrong with a sixpack, hint-hint), Joe Sixpack has just what you're looking for - from bottle openers to worldwide travel.
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For the oldtimer
Shibe Vintage Sports, that great Center City collectibles shop, carries a few retro beer shirts, including a classic from Ortlieb's ("Before the game or after the game, it's Ortlieb's Time"). Esslinger and Poth's available, too. Starting at $15. 137 S. 13th St.
Before Bernie Parent and Bobby Clarke brought the Flyers to the promise land, there were a few other hockey teams that played in the City of Brotherly Love. The first of these teams was the Philadelphia Arrows. The Arrows played their games at the Philadelphia Arena at 4530 Market Street in the Canadian-American Hockey League.
The team had past Hart Trophy winner Herb Gardiner coaching the squad and future winner Tommy Anderson playing on defense. The Arrows were affiliated with the Boston Bruins (ugh) until 1935 when they became the Ramblers who were affiliated with the New York Rangers (UGH).
The Arrows would actually stymy the NHL's first attempt to bring a team to Philly. In 1930, the Pittsburgh Pirates moved to town to become the Philadelphia Quakers. The Quakers only lasted one season, going 4-36-4, and were outdrawn by the Arrows as well.
If you want to rep the hockey teams of yesteryear then Shibe has you covered! We have both Arrows and Ramblers tee's, as well as the Firebirds and Blazers!
Most 1st birthday parties involve lots of crying and cake everywhere (Everywhere!). Well since there's no crying baseball and we couldn't agree on a cake flavor, we're just going to roll with drinking beer (free beer, that is, supplied by our good friends at Ommegang) and talking about sports with people that really know sports.
Friday night we've got 1952 AL MVP Bobby Shantz of the Philadelphia A's doing an autograph signing at 6 p.m. If you've ever wanted to make yourself one degree of separation from Connie Mack, now's your chance. Shantz won the 1952 AL MVP, putting up a 24-7 record with a 2.48 ERA. Later in his career he played for the Yankees, winning a World Series in 1958. He finished his career on the infamous 1964 Phillies squad.
On Saturday, we'll have Ray Didinger and Glen Macnow from 2-4. They're going to be signing copies of their book, the Ultimate Book of Sports Movies. We'll also be unveiling a shirt that honors the movie that they picked as #1 of all time.
At 4 p.m., we'll have Bruce Kuklick, author of To Every Thing a Season, talk about the history of booze at the ballpark in Philadelphia.
Finally, on Sunday we've got our afterparty at McGillin's at 4 p.m., with a history of Philadelphia's oldest bar and the unveiling of our new McGillin's t-shirt. We'll also be displaying and talking a bout some of the coolest artifacts on their walls.
And everyone who attends any of the events will be eligible for a $100 gift card. We'd love to see you one day or all three!
Before Modell’s, there was the AJ Reach Company. Before Eastbay, there was the AJ Reach Baseball Catalog (with 100% less dunks). Before David Montgomery, there was AJ Reach himself. Reach would start making moves in the City of Brotherly Love as a second basemen for the Athletic Club of Philadelphia, where he would help them get a pennant in 1971 before retiring in 1975 after ten years of service.
Post-playing-career Reach didn't stray very far from the diamond though, as he would open the premier sporting goods company in the area. His factory was located in Fishtown, and was recently converted into apartments. Yes, a man with a mustache built an empire in Fishtown that now houses a bunch of dudes with mustaches. The company was known for, among other things, producing all of the baseballs that were used in the American League.
Reach would also help found the Phillies, serving as the first president of the team from 1883-1899, with Philly fans calling for his firing around 1884. (Probably.) The man knew how to baseball, and baseball he did, helping his business partner Benjamin Shibe move the Athletics to the American League as well.
The catalogs he produced featured his products, as well as reports on the entire American League. Our shirt features his 1913 catalog, with Chief Bender (real name, promise) as the cover athlete.
The shirts are super-comfy Next Level tees, and are available in store and online!
A few years ago, Philly Love Notes asked me to tell them what my favorite building was in Philly. Without hesitation, I said the Divine Lorraine. So I am really excited to announce that on June 6th, we'll be unveiling our new Divine Lorraine shirts in front of the building itself.
As if by divine intervention (sorry, but I had to), I had just kicked the idea for the Divine Lorraine shirt to graphic design guru Jon Billet (the man behind our insanely popular Stadium Series) when I found out that Hidden City Philadelphia was going to be doing a North Broad tour in a couple of weeks that included a stop at the Lorraine. We put a rush order in for the Divine Lorraine shirts, and they just arrived at the store. We're really excited to unveil them during the tour on Saturday!
There are still a few spots left on the tour. I did the South Broad version of this tour a few weeks ago and it was AWESOME. If you're a fan of Philly history, I highly recommend taking the tour. You'll not only learn a lot, you'll be one of the first people to lay eyes on what is sure to become a best-seller.
