Presented by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
A big Philly sports weekend is on tap. The Phillies have their final showdown with the Braves, the Eagles open their season in South Philly, the Union look to stay hot, and Temple welcomes Penn State to the Linc.
September 11 has seen some major milestones, a record for futility, and the debut of a Dream Team.
Running Wild
On this day in 1912, the A’s beat the Tigers in Detroit, 9-7.
Eddie Collins stole six bases, setting the modern Major League record. He had a chance at a seventh, but was thrown out.
Later that month, he stole six bases in a game again and remains the only MLB player to steal six bases in game twice.
Record Futility
On this day in 1948, the Phillies lost both games of a doubleheader to the Braves at Shibe Park, 3-1 and 13-2.
In the process, the Phillies clinched their 16th consecutive losing season, the longest streak of futility in Major League history at the time.
The streak had started in 1933, and over those 16 seasons, the Phillies posted a combined winning percentage of just .358.
These teams were putrid and that prolonged stretch of losing played a major role in the Phillies eventually becoming the first team in professional sports history to lose 10,000 games.
Trivia – Who currently holds the record for consecutive losing seasons? (Answer below)
Dream Team
On this day in 2011, the Eagles’ “Dream Team” looked pretty impressive as they opened the season with a 31-13 win over the Rams.
Michael Vick threw two touchdowns and added 97 yards rushing. LeSean McCoy had a huge day, running for 122 yards with a rushing and receiving touchdown, while DeSean Jackson went over 100 yards and added a touchdown.
It looked like the Dream Team was living up to the hype.
Of course, we can thank Vince Young for that hype. During training camp, Young famously referred to the Eagles as the “Dream Team,” and apparently angered the football gods in the process.
The Eagles would lose their next four games and limp to an 8-8 finish.
So much for the dream.
1000 Club
On this day in 2021, Jean Segura, Brad Miller, and Bryce Harper homered as Zack Wheeler pitched 6⅔ innings, striking out eight and picking up the win.
In the process, Wheeler recorded his 1,000th career strikeout. He joined teammates Aaron Nola and Kyle Gibson, who had also reached the 1,000-strikeout mark earlier in the season.
It was the first time in Phillies history that three pitchers recorded 1,000 career strikeouts in the same season.
Ironically, Wheeler is poised to join Nola later this season in reaching the 2,000-strikeout mark, which would also be a Phillies first.
Trivia Answer – The Pittsburgh Pirates had twenty consecutive losing seasons from 1993 to 2012.
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