Presented by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
What a comeback by the Phillies last night in DC. The Sixers drafted a guard who they didn’t expect to be there. I’ve watched him for the past couple of years at Alabama, he’s a solid player but everything will hinge on the big guy’s health. June 24 some big moments in Phillies history, the end of an era and a Rocky like story.
Before There was Rick Wise
We said that yesterday was Rick Wise day but before Wise was hitting two homers in a game, there was Jack Knight. In 1926 the Phillies lost both ends of a doubleheader to the Giants, 12-7 and 7-2. In game one Jack Knight came on in relief of Jack Willoughby. He didn’t pitch the greatest but accounted for almost all of the Phillies offense. Knight went 2-4 with 5 RBI including two homers. He was the first Phillies pitcher to hit two in a game and the first in MLB history to do and get credit for the loss. Since Knight did it, Phil Collins, Rick Wise, Larry Christenson, Randy Lerch, Robert Person and Randy Wolf have each hit two in a game.
The Real Life Rocky
On this day in 1963, an underdog boxer from South Philly took on a former champion and pulled off the upset. No, this is the plot to Rocky. Joey Giardello took on Sugar Ray Robinson at Convention Hall. Giardello won the 10-round fight by Unanimous Decision to become the #1 contender to the undisputed middleweight championship. Giardello would win the title in December of that year by beating Dick Tiger. He’d hold the title for 2 years before losing it back to Tiger. He is believed to be one of the real-life inspirations for the Rocky character.
The End of the Era
After the Phillies asked him to retire gracefully due to struggling because of injury and age, Steve Carlton said no. He thought he still could pitch and was chasing 4,000 strikeouts. On this day the Phillies were forced to outright release their ace of so many years. Father time and injuries led to Carlton to start the season with a 4-8 record and 6.18 ERA. The Phillies, who were trying to keep pace with the Mets in 1986, were left with little choice but to let Carlton go. They called up Don Carmen to replace him in the rotation. Carlton meanwhile bounced around a couple of teams and did get to the 4,000 strikeout milestone.
Trivia – Which teams did Carlton play for after being released by the Phillies. (Answer Below)
Shout-out to Phillies Fans
The Phillies beat the Marlins 7-4 on this day in 2014 at Citizens Bank Park. After returning from Bereavement leave to mourn the passing of his Hall of Fame dad, Tony Gwynn Jr. came up as a pinch-hitter. The fans gave him an emotional and long standing ovation, showing that Philly fans are not as horrible as everyone thinks we are.
1-3-5 is the Number
The Phillies beat the Tigers 8-1 in Detroit on this day in 2024. They pulled off a rare 1-3-5 triple play, Nola to Harper to Bohm on a hit by former Phillie Matt Vierling. It was the first time in almost 95 years that that a 1-3-5 triple played was pulled off in the Majors. Harper and Bohm both homered in the game.
Trivia Answer – Carlton played for the Giants, White Sox, Cleveland and the Twins after being released by the Phillies.
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