Presented by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
Writing this early due to a golf trip so I don’t know what happened in last night’s Phillies or USA World Cup game. June 26 saw a couple of monumental Sixers draft picks and some miscellaneous Phillies moments.
You’re Outta Here
In a 1985 game between the Clearwater Phillies and Osceola Astros at Jack Russell Stadium one of the odder ejections occurred. In the bottom of the 3rd umpire Kevin O’Connor called a Clearwater player out at first on a bang bang play, much to the dismay of the crowd. Without missing a beat the organist, Wilbur Snapp played 3 Blind Mice. O’Connor didn’t like it, pointed to the press box and ejected Snapp. It became a national story. Snapp, who was a WWII vet, couldn’t read sheet music. He ran a music store and taught himself. Upon retiring he moved to Clearwater and worked for the Phillies.
The Answer
Allen Iverson was drafted on this day in 1996 #1 overall.
Foreshadowing
The Phillies beat the Rays 7-0 in their first ever meeting. The Rays, known then as the Devil Rays, were in their first year of existence in 1998. In this game at the Vet, Rico Brogna went 3-5 with two doubles, a triple and 3 RBI. Tyler Green pitched 7 shutout innings.
Trivia – Since the advent of interleague play, which American League teams do the Phillies have a winning record against? (Answer Below)
Chooooch
The Phillies beat the Reds 11-4 on this day in 2007 at Citizens Bank Park. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Shane Victorino all homered. Carlos Ruiz went 3-4 with two doubles and 4 RBI. He also stole a base, home plate as a part of double steal. Kyle Kendrick picked up the win, going 6 solid innings. The stories in the paper centered around the Phillies closing in on 10,000 losses. It was their 4th win out of 6 games since iron workers put a small William Penn figurine on the top of the Comcast Tower.
The Process Begins
The Sixers selected Joel Embiid with the #3 overall pick on this day in 2014.
Walk it Off
The Phillies beat the Mets 5-4 in 10 innings on this day in 2019 when Jay Bruce doubled in Roman Quinn for the walk off win. He went 2-5 with 2 doubles and the game winning RBI. Jean Segura tied in the 7th with a 2-run double, 2 of the 3 RBI he had that day.
Trivia Answer – The Phillies have a winning record against the Rays, White Sox, Guardians, Tigers, Royals, Astros, and A’s. They are also .500 against the Mariners.
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