Presented by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
The Phillies are doing a Tom Petty impersonation and free falling. They are in Iowa to play in the Field of Dreams game today. August 13 has seen a lot of runs, a high wire act and a couple of mixed Eagles memories.
Don’t Make Them Angry
On this day in 1939, the Philadelphia A’s split a doubleheader with the Yankees at Shibe Park. In Game 1, with the score tied in the bottom of the ninth, Frankie Hayes hit a three-run walk-off homer to give the A’s a 12-9 win.
Apparently, that fired up the Yankees, because they came out for Game 2 on fire. New York held the A’s to just three hits while pounding out 23 of their own and scoring 21 runs.
And somehow, they didn’t even play nine innings.
The game was called after eight innings because of Philadelphia’s 7 p.m. curfew, thanks to the Pennsylvania Blue Laws. The Yankees’ 21-0 victory tied an MLB record for the most lopsided shutout and remains the worst loss in A’s history at Shibe Park.
Trivia – What is the Phillies’ modern-era record for their most lopsided loss? (Answer below)
Keep Them Coming
On this day in 1948, after giving up three runs in the top of the first, the Phillies stormed back in a big way. The first ten batters reached safely, resulting in nine runs before the Giants recorded an out.
When the dust settled, the Phillies had scored 10 runs in the inning, turning a three-run deficit into a seven-run lead. The nine runs scored before recording an out set an MLB record that would stand for 55 years, until the Red Sox scored 10 runs before recording an out in 2003.
The nine runs without an out are still tied for the National League record, and the Phillies held on to beat the Giants 12-7.
The Circus Invades the Vet
On this day in 1972, 67-year-old Karl Wallenda walked across Veterans Stadium on a 600-foot-long cable stretched from foul pole to foul pole between games of a doubleheader against the Expos.
Wallenda was 140 to 150 feet above the turf and the stands, with no safety net. About halfway across, he shocked the crowd by stopping to do a headstand.
But it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. Wallenda realized the cable wasn’t as taut as he wanted and briefly considered quitting. The stunt came just two weeks after he had lost his son-in-law in a tightrope accident.
Near the end of the walk, Wallenda even told fans in left field to move in case he fell. He eventually made it safely across.
Wallenda was paid $3,000 for the stunt, which was part of an effort to put some entertainment in the Vet while the struggling 1972 Phillies took the field. The Phillies split the doubleheader, winning the opener 2-1 before losing the nightcap 8-3.
It’s a Dump, but It’s Our Dump
On this day in 2001, the Eagles and Ravens were scheduled to play a preseason game at Veterans Stadium. Unfortunately, the Vet had other ideas.
During the transition from baseball to football, heavy rain left huge soft spots and divots in the field, particularly around the areas where the bases had been. After a brief delay, the game was cancelled.
Then things got even uglier. Some frustrated fans smashed the will-call window, while a press elevator got stuck, trapping several reporters for 40 minutes.
The fiasco prompted Eagles executive Joe Banner to call the situation “an embarrassment to the City of Philadelphia.”
The cancellation became another example of the Vet’s deteriorating condition and helped justify the construction of both Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field.
Vick Returns
On this day in 2009, the Eagles shocked the NFL world. During the second quarter of a preseason game against the Patriots, word began circulating around Lincoln Financial Field that the Eagles had signed Michael Vick, who had recently been released from prison after serving time for his role in a dogfighting operation.
The announcement was especially surprising because the Eagles had repeatedly said they had no interest in signing Vick. The reaction was mixed. Some fans reportedly tore up their season tickets, while others rushed to buy his jersey.
On the field, the signing worked out pretty well for the Eagles. Vick went from being out of football to becoming one of the NFL’s biggest stories in 2010. He made the Pro Bowl, was named Comeback Player of the Year and finished second in MVP voting.
His numbers that season were also comparable to what he had produced during his Atlanta career, despite playing one fewer game.
But perhaps the best part of the story is what happened after his playing career. Vick was able to resurrect his career, rebuild his reputation and eventually move into coaching. Today, he is the head coach at Norfolk State.
It’s a story that began with one of the most controversial signings in Eagles history but ultimately became a testament to second chances—and to the culture the Eagles helped create around Vick.
Trivia Answer – The Phillies lost to the Mets 24-4 in 2018.
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