Presented by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
The Phillies’ winning streak was snapped yesterday, but it was still a successful road trip. Andrew Painter looked dominant, but the Phillies couldn’t give him any run support. They’re off today before opening a huge four-game series at Citizens Bank Park against the Braves.
September 3 has seen dingers, pickle juice, a legend honored, and a huge playoff win.
Philly Five – 0
On this day in 1932, the A’s were playing the Red Sox at Shibe Park. Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Jimmie Foxx hit a home run to tie the game—his second of the day.
The very next batter, Eric McNair, hit a walk-off home run to give the A’s a 4-3 victory.
For Foxx, it was home runs number 50 and 51 of the season, making him just the third player in MLB history to reach the 50-homer mark. He was also the first—and, for the next 74 years, only—Philadelphia baseball player to hit 50 home runs in a season.
Then came 2006.
Seventy-four years to the day after Foxx made history, the Phillies and Braves were playing a doubleheader at Citizens Bank Park. In the first game, Ryan Howard homered in each of his first three at-bats, hitting numbers 48, 49, and 50 on the season. He had a chance at number 51 but settled for a single.
The Phillies would walk it off when Shane Victorino drove in Chooch for an 8-7 victory.
Howard became the first Phillie and just the second Philadelphia baseball player to reach the 50-homer plateau. Both Foxx and Howard won the MVP Award in the seasons they hit 50.
Kyle Schwarber joined the club in 2025.
That means only three players in Philadelphia baseball history have hit 50 home runs in a season—and two of them did it on the exact same date, 74 years apart, in games where the home team won on a walk-off.
Foxx did it against the Boston Red Sox. Howard did it against the Atlanta Braves, who originated in Boston.
Sometimes baseball is almost too good at writing its own history.
For Who, For What
On this day in 1995, the Eagles opened the season at the Vet against the Buccaneers. It was the debut of both head coach Ray Rhodes and running back Ricky Watters.
Watters did not have a great day.
With the Eagles trailing 21-6 in the fourth quarter, Watters alligator-armed a Randall Cunningham pass that could have been caught but would have meant taking a hit – much to the dismay of the home crowd.
When asked about it after the game, Watters famously responded, “I’m not going to trip up there and get knocked out. For who? For what?”
The comment went over like a ton of bricks in Philadelphia, especially when coupled with the way the Eagles’ prized free-agent acquisition had played. Watters finished with just 37 yards on 17 carries and a fumble.
He had also alligator-armed another pass earlier in the game, something that often gets lost in the “For Who? For What?” narrative.
To make matters worse, the Eagles’ other running back, Charlie Garner, looked far more explosive.
But Watters and the Eagles would turn things around.
Watters rushed for more than 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns that season, while the Eagles made the playoffs and beat the Lions in the Wild Card round.
It turned out to be a good season—but it certainly wasn’t the best first impression for Ricky Watters in Philadelphia.
Pickle Power
On this day in 2000, the Eagles opened the season in Dallas. At game time, the air temperature was 109 degrees, and on the field it felt like 130-150 degrees.
To help keep the players hydrated, Eagles trainer Rick Burkholder implemented an original strategy. The night before the game, he had the players load up on pickle juice—and then had them drink it during the game as well.
Like spinach to Popeye, the pickle juice gave the Eagles superpowers.
Andy Reid called for an onside kick to start the game, surprising the Cowboys. The Eagles recovered and marched down the field to take an early 7-0 lead.
The rout was on.
Duce Staley led the way with 201 rushing yards and a touchdown. The defense knocked quarterback Troy Aikman out of the game and held the Cowboys to just 167 total yards while forcing two turnovers and recording five sacks.
The Eagles won 41-14, and the victory set the tone for an 11-5 season and the franchise’s first playoff berth since the Ray Rhodes era.
Rick Burkholder may have been the real MVP of the season.
Trivia – Who came in to play quarterback in the Pickle Juice Game after Aikman was knocked of it? (Answer below)
Covid Double Dip
On this day in 2020, the Phillies retired Dick Allen’s number 15, breaking with their tradition of only retiring the numbers of players in the Hall of Fame.
It was a much-deserved honor for Allen, who would eventually be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024. The ceremony took place in front of Allen’s family and former teammates, with no fans in attendance because of COVID restrictions. It also came on the 57th anniversary of Allen’s MLB debut.
Later that night, in the NHL Bubble in Toronto, the Flyers took on the Islanders. After winning Game 5 in overtime, 4-3, the Flyers needed a win to force a Game 7 in their second-round playoff matchup.
They jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead thanks to goals from Kevin Hayes and James van Riemsdyk. The Islanders would battle back, taking leads of 3-2 and 4-3 before Scott Laughton tied the game and sent it to overtime.
In double overtime, Ivan Provorov scored the game-winner, and the Flyers lived to skate another day. Unfortunately that day they’d lose 4-0 getting eliminated from the Playoffs.
Trivia Answer – Former Eagle Randall Cunningham finished the Pickle Juice Game for the Cowboys.
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