We will remember where we were and what we did – the leap out of a chair, the fist pump, the high-five – the moment it happened.
For Citizens Bank Park eyewitnesses, the memory, and no doubt the sound, will be particularly indelible.
Bryce Harper’s two-run, eighth-inning, go-ahead homer unleashed “bedlam at the Bank!,” Phillies radio voice Scott Franzke gushed to listeners, as Harper rounded the bases with darkness and light rain falling Sunday.
It was a signature moment in Philadelphia pro sports history, setting the stage for the Phillies to complete a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres and win the National League Championship Series four games to one.
The Phillies, who captured their eighth National League pennant, begin the World Series Friday night against the American League champion Astros in Houston.
“It’s for this whole team. It’s for this whole organization,” Harper said afterward of his clout. “We haven’t been here for a long time. It’s for every single fan that’s here now and that isn’t here.”
His heroics will permanently endear Harper, in the fourth year of his 13-year, $330 million contract, to devoted Philadelphia fans. And the moment already is etched among the greatest in the city’s pro sports history over the past 50 years. See where it ranks among our top 15:
15. Fourth-and-26
The situation appeared bleak for the Eagles in the 2004 NFL divisional playoff game against the Green Bay Packers at Lincoln Financial Field. There was just 1:12 on the clock when they faced fourth-and-26 at their own 26-yard line, down 17-14. But Freddie Mitchell, the first-round draft pick who had an otherwise disappointing NFL career, got free and made a leaping catch on a pass from Donovan McNabb covering 28 yards. David Akers later kicked a 37-yard field goal to force overtime, in which Brian Dawkins’ interception set up Akers’ game-winning 31-yard field goal in a 20-17 win.
14. Rare comeback
The Flyers became the third NHL team to win a best-of-seven series in which they lost the first three games, then capped the drama by erasing a 3-0 deficit in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals to beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 on Simon Gagne’s third-period power-play goal in Boston.
13. Stairs’ NLCS pinch homer
The score was 5-5 at Dodger Stadium when pinch-hitter Matt Stairs stepped to the plate with a runner on first in the top of the eighth inning in Game 4 of the 2008 National League Championship Series. Shane Victorino had just tied it with a two-run homer and Carlos Ruiz singled. Stairs then launched a 3-1 pitch from Jonathan Broxton into the right-field seats, sparking the Phillies to a 7-5 win. They won the series the next night with Cole Hamels on the mound.
12. Miracle at the Meadowlands II
The Eagles had already done what seemed impossible, scoring 21 points in the last eight minutes to tie the Giants 31-31 as the hosts lined up to punt from their 30 with 12 seconds left in 2010. But punter Matt Dodge failed to, per coach Tom Coughlin’s orders, kick the ball out of bounds, instead lining it to DeSean Jackson, who caught and then dropped the ball at his 35-yard line before retreating five yards to regain control. He then zipped up the middle between tacklers and then in the clear down the Giants’ sideline before loping laterally along the goal line to run out the clock – and no doubt extend the Giants’ embarrassment – in a 38-31 win. It sent the Eagles to the NFC East title and ruined the Giants’ playoff chances.
11. Miracle at the Meadowlands I
On Nov. 19, 1978, the Giants seemed to be running out the clock on a win over the Eagles, who had no timeouts left. But New York quarterback Joe Pisarcik bobbled a snap and failed to successfully hand the football off when he turned to give it to running back Larry Csonka. Eagles cornerback Herman Edwards scooped up the loose ball and ran 26 yards for a touchdown and a 19-17 win that paved the way to a wild-card playoff berth.
10. Halladay playoff no-hitter
Cincinnati’s Brandon Phillips hit a dribbler in front of home plate that catcher Carlos Ruiz quickly fielded and threw to first base to complete Roy Halladay’s no-hitter, just the second in Major League Baseball’s postseason history, and a 4-0 win in the first game of the 2010 National League Division Series at Citizens Bank Park.
9. Garry Maddox’s victorious ride
After playoff losses in 1976, ’77 and ’78, the Phillies finally secured their third National League pennant with a decisive fifth-game win over the Houston Astros – then a National League team – at the Astrodome 8-7 in 10 innings in 1980. Doubles by Del Unser and Garry Maddox in the 10th inning inched the Phillies ahead. After Maddox, who earned the moniker Secretary of Defense for his work in center field, snared the last out with starter-turned-reliever Dick Ruthven pitching, manager Dallas Green and teammates carried him from the outfield during the giddy celebration.
8. Harper’s homer rates
The Phillies had just fallen behind 3-2 and only had six outs left when Harper stepped to the plate. J.T. Realmuto led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a single for the Phillies. Harper, who had just told Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long “Let’s give them something to remember,” then delivered. With a 2-2 count, Harper quickly jumped on a sinker over the left side of home plate from Roberto Suarez and belted it into the seats in left-center field.
7. Super Bowl strip sack
The Eagles’ Super Bowl win earns two spots. Brandon Graham stripped Tom Brady of the football and Derek Barnett recovered for the Patriots’ only turnover in Super Bowl 52, leading to Jake Elliott’s 46-yard field goal that gave the Eagles a 41-33 lead and closed the scoring with 1:05 left.
6. Stanley Cup lands on Philly ice
Philadelphia was starved for a sports champion in 1974 when the Flyers, one of six 1967-68 National Hockey League expansion teams, became the first to snare the title. Legendary Flyers TV/radio announcer Gene Hart repeated “The Flyers win the Stanley Cup! The Flyers win the Stanley Cup! The Flyers have won the Stanley Cup!” as they completed a grueling 1-0 Game 6 win over the Boston Bruins at the Spectrum. Rick MacLeish scored the lone goal in the first period and goalie Bernie Parent delivered the shutout.
5. 76ers finish sweep of Lakers
After three losses in the NBA Finals in six years, the 76ers added Moses Malone in 1982-83 and won 12 of 13 playoff games. They finished off a four-game sweep of the vaunted Lakers, with Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, as Maurice Cheeks swooped in for a game-ending dunk at the Great Western Forum in a 115-108 win.
4. Wilbert Montgomery touchdown run
The Dallas Cowboys brought their championship pedigree and “America’s Team” moniker to chilly Veterans Stadium to face the upstart Eagles in the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 11, 1981. But All-Pro running back Wilbert Montgomery thrilled the crowd of 70,696 with a 42-yard touchdown sprint on the Eagles’ second play from scrimmage. He ultimately ran for 194 yards on 26 carries and the Eagles soared to their first Super Bowl as 20-7 winners.
3. Philly special
On fourth-and-goal at the Patriots’ 1-yard line in Super Bowl 52, a direct snap went to running back Corey Clement after quarterback Nick Foles stepped behind the right tackle. Clement then pitched to tight end Trey Burton, who threw a touchdown pass to the wide open Foles. The Eagles took a 22-12 lead into halftime and had to make other big plays before finally securing their first Super Bowl victory in their third try, winning 41-33 over the New England Patriots at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
2. Lidge whiffs Hinske
The Phillies’ second World Series win came in 2008 at Citizens Bank Park, where Brad Lidge sank to his knees in a heap of joy after firing strike three past Tampa Bay Rays Eric Hinske’s swing. It completed a 4-3 win that, because of rain suspending the game in the sixth inning Oct. 27, was completed on Oct. 29.
1. Final out of first World Series win
Willie Wilson struck out swinging at a fastball and Phillies relief pitcher Tug McGraw leaped off the mound at Veterans Stadium, where third baseman Mike Schmidt soon jumped onto him with teammates swarming into the celebratory fray for the franchise’s first World Series victory in their often-sad history on Oct. 21, 1980.
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