Presented by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
Aaron Nola pitched well and the bats seemed to wake up a bit as the Phillies beat the Padres 4-3 last night. Cristopher Sanchez looks for the sweep today. May 27 saw the Flyers go back-back, Dr. J got his MVP, and Steve Carlton set a milestone.
Walk Together Forever…Again!
Hound Dog Bob Kelly and Bill Clement each scored third period goals and Bernie Parent saved all thirty-two shots he saw as the Flyers beat the Sabres 4-2 in Game 6 of the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals. The win secured Parent his second consecutive Conn Smythe Trophy and secured the Flyers their second straight Stanley Cup Championship. Little did we know that we’d be 51 years and counting for the third.
MVP! MVP!
Dr. J was named NBA MVP on this day in 1981, slightly edging Larry Bird for the award. Dr. J averaged 24.6 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and almost 2 blocks per game en route to the award. It was his first in the NBA after winning three in the ABA. Unfortunately for the Sixers they blew a three games to one lead to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals that year.
Trivia – Which 76ers players have won the MVP award for the regular season? (Answer Below)
Home Court Stolen
One year later the Sixers took on the Lakers at the Spectrum in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Lakers had been off for eleven days and the Sixers rode the home crowd momentum to build a 15-point lead midway through the third quarter. Then the Lakers woke up going on a 40-9 run and cruising to a 124-117 victory. Dr. J led all scorers with 27 points, but the Lakers successfully stole homecourt advantage and beat the Sixers in six games.
Carlton Sets Lefty Record
The Phillies beat the Giants 6-2 at the Vet in 1986. Mike Schmidt had a two-run homer and Greg Gross hit a pinch-hit two-run double to pace the Phillies. On the mound that day was Steve Carlton who made his 666th career start breaking Warren Spahn’s National League record for starts by a left-hander. Carlton currently holds the Major League record for lefties with 709 starts.
First Time for Everything
In 2014 the Phillies lost to the Rockies 6-2 at Citizen’s Bank Park. Ben Revere and Darin Ruf accounted for the Phillies runs with homers. For Revere it was his first career homer after 1,466 career at-bats. He ended up with two for that season and finished with seven for his career. For those keeping score at home Emil Verban holds the MLB record for consecutive at-bats before hitting his first career home, coming in 1948 while playing for the Cardinals.
Trivia Answer – Wilt Chamberlain (1966, 1967, and 1968), Dr. J (1981), Moses Malone (1983), Allen Iverson (2001), and Joel Embiid (2023).
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