Presented by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
The Phillies remain hot, sweeping the Angels over the weekend. Some dramatics, but more importantly, Andrew Painter and Zack Wheeler seemed to bounce back after rough first innings.
They’re in Arizona this week, a place that hasn’t always been kind to them.
The Eagles’ 53-man roster is set…for now. This is when Howie gets busy.
August 31 has seen the Phillies become involved in a huge MLB scandal, the Eagles get off to a disappointing start, and Ryan Howard make history.
The Phillies Involvement in the Black Sox Scandal
On this day in 1920, the Phillies beat the Cubs 3-0 at Wrigley Field.
The Phillies were in last place and essentially playing out the string. But before the game, something unusual happened.
Telegrams were sent to Cubs president Bill Veeck warning him that the game might be fixed. Large amounts of money were suddenly being bet on the Phillies, raising some serious red flags.
Veeck immediately had the Cubs change their starting pitcher, bringing in their ace and former Phillie, Grover Cleveland Alexander.
The Cubs still lost 3-0.
Veeck was furious and went public with the allegations in early September. A grand jury was called to investigate, and as part of the investigation, they began digging into Chicago’s gambling syndicates.
At the time, sportswriters and baseball officials urged the investigators to look into rumors surrounding the other Chicago team—the White Sox—and their possible involvement in throwing the 1919 World Series against the Reds.
They did.
And they uncovered the Black Sox scandal.
Eight White Sox players were ultimately accused of conspiring with gamblers to intentionally lose the World Series.
Think about that for a second.
A suspicious betting pattern surrounding a meaningless August game involving the last-place Phillies helped lead investigators to uncover one of the biggest scandals in sports history.
Sometimes the biggest stories come from the most unlikely places.
A Change at the Top
On this day in 1979 Mike Schmidt homered and drove in 3 runs as the Phillies beat the Braves 6-2 in Atlanta. Prior to the game, general manager Paul Owens announced that manager Danny Ozark was fired. He was replaced by former farm director Dallas Green on an interim basis. Green guided the Phillies through the final month of the season but we all know what happened the following year.
Not a Great Start
On this day in 1997, the Eagles opened the season in New York against the Giants with high expectations for Ray Rhodes’ team.
The Eagles were coming off back-to-back playoff appearances and were looking to take the next step.
And because Labor Day fell on September 1, the NFL opened the season in August for the first time.
Rookie Tiki Barber made his NFL debut and scored a touchdown as the Giants jumped out to a 24-3 lead.
The Eagles began to mount a comeback thanks to touchdowns from Ricky Watters and Kevin Turner. They were looking to tie the game when Rodney Peete threw a 95-yard pick-six that sealed the victory for the Giants.
Things spiraled from there.
The Eagles finished the season 6-9-1 and dealt with a quarterback controversy all year as Ty Detmer and Rodney Peete failed to separate themselves.
Eventually, that opened the door for Bobby Hoying, who gave Eagles fans a false sense of hope with his strong play down the stretch.
But that’s a story for another day.
Trivia – In 1997 the Eagles had a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver. Who were they? (Answer below)
A New Homerun King
On this day in 2006, the Phillies were walked off by the Nationals 6-5 in Washington in 10 innings.
But the loss was overshadowed by a historic home run.
Ryan Howard hit a solo shot in the top of the fourth inning, his 49th of the season. The homer put Howard ahead of Mike Schmidt for the Phillies’ single-season home run record.
Howard wasn’t done.
He would finish the season with 58 home runs, a franchise record that still stands today.
Trivia Answer – Ricky Watters ran for 1,110 yards while Irving Fryar caught 86 passes for 1,316 yards in 1997.
Check back tomorrow for another edition of This Day in Philly Sports History
For more Philly Sports History, tune in every weekday to This Day in Philly Sports History
Stop by the improved Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame YouTube page for more Philly Sports content. Be sure to subscribe.
