Presented by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
The Phillies season is over. The same issues that have plagued this team over the past five years continued to be their downfall. It will be an interesting offseason in many ways.
The Eagles look to bounce back against the Rams, but they could be very shorthanded.
October 2 has seen postseason heroics, the debut of a wartime necessity, and a record crowd at the ballpark.
Pennsylvania’s Team
On this day in 1943, the Phil-Pitt Steagles played their first game.
Due to player shortages caused by World War II, the Eagles and Steelers were forced to combine forces for the season.
They split their games between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and even shared head coaches. Eagles coach Greasy Neale handled the offense, while Steelers coach Walt Kiesling coached the defense.
And they didn’t exactly like each other.
Despite the unusual arrangement, the Steagles got off to a good start, beating the Brooklyn Dodgers 17-0.
They went on to finish 5-4-1, giving the Eagles their first winning season in franchise history.
The Steagles only lasted one season. The Eagles went back to being the Eagles in 1944, while the Steelers combined with the Chicago Cardinals.
Strikeout Machine
On this day in 1965, the Phillies and Mets played a doubleheader at Shea Stadium.
The Phillies won the opener 6-0 behind a complete game from Jim Bunning.
Then came one of the strangest pitching performances in Phillies history.
Chris Short took the mound in Game 2 and pitched 15 scoreless innings, striking out a Phillies-record 18 batters.
Unfortunately, Phillies wasted the effort and couldn’t get anything going offensively. After 18 innings, the game ended in a 0-0 tie.
Trivia – Who holds the Major League record for strikeouts in a game? (Answer below)
Aloha Means Goodbye
On this day in 2008, the Phillies hosted the Brewers in Game 2 of the NLDS.
Brett Myers walked in a run in the first inning, putting the Phillies in an early hole. Milwaukee had C.C. Sabathia on the mound, pitching on short rest.
In the bottom of the second, back-to-back doubles by Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz tied the game.
Then Brett Myers came to the plate with two outs.
He quickly fell behind 0-2, but Myers battled back and worked a nine-pitch walk, getting the crowd fired up in the process. He fouled off pitch after pitch, much to the delight of the home crowd.
After Jimmy Rollins walked, Shane Victorino stepped up and hit a grand slam off Sabathia.
The Phillies held on to win 5-2, with Victorino becoming the hero.
His grand slam remains one of the lasting memories of the magical 2008 championship run.
Lost in the excitement was what Brett Myers did that night.
He settled down after the first inning and pitched seven strong innings. He also contributed at the plate with a single and another 10-pitch at-bat later in the game.
Brett Myers wasn’t known for his hitting, but he played a major role in one of the most memorable victories of the 2008 postseason.
Red October
On this day in 2011, the Phillies hosted the Cardinals in Game 2 of the NLDS in front of a Citizens Bank Park baseball-record crowd of 46,575 fans.
The Phillies got the scoring started early, putting up three runs in the first, thanks in part to a two-run Ryan Howard single.
They eventually built a 4-0 lead before Cliff Lee proved to be human.
Lee allowed an uncharacteristic five earned runs, and the Phillies fell to the Cardinals 5-4, allowing St. Louis to even the series at a game apiece.
Trivia Answer – Tom Cheney struck out 21 Baltimore Orioles in 1962 while playing for the Washington Senators.
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