This is a great time to be a fan of the major Philadelphia professional sports teams.
The surprising Phillies, who were the last National League team to make the playoffs after qualifying for the first time in 11 years, begin the best-of-seven NL Championship Series on Tuesday night against the Padres in San Diego. They are eight wins from the franchise’s third World Series.
Manager Rob Thomson and company dominated the defending champion Braves in the NL Division series after sweeping the Cardinals in the best-of-three first round. They were 22-29 when Thomson succeeded Joe Girardi as manager on June 3.
The Eagles toppled the rival Cowboys 26-17 on Sunday Night Football at Lincoln Financial Field to remain the NFL’s only undefeated team at 6-0 heading into their bye week. They have playmakers on both sides of the ball and are expected to be favored in the final 11 games, though no team has gone undefeated since the 1972 Dolphins (14-0).
The new-look 76ers start the 2022-23 NBA campaign Tuesday night vs. the Celtics in Boston with a deeper roster, more much-needed toughness and higher hopes coming off another second-round postseason defeat.
While it’s early, the Flyers, who are expected to be rebuilding under veteran coach John Tortorella, won their first two games.
And don’t forget the Union, who are the top seed in the MLS Cup playoffs. They host FC Cincinnati in an Eastern Conference semifinal on Thursday evening at Subaru Park in Chester.
How cool is this?
But the Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers will have a tough time matching what happened a little over 40 years ago. That’s when, in order, the Sixers, Flyers, Phillies and Eagles played for championships.
First, rookie Magic Johnson, filling in for the ailing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, put up 42 points, to go along with 15 rebounds and seven assists, in the Lakers’ 123-107 Game 6 victory of the NBA Finals at the Spectrum on May 16, 1980. Billy Cunningham’s Sixers had handled the top-seeded Celtics 4-1 in the Eastern Conference finals to advance to the Finals.
The Flyers lost to the Islanders 5-4 on Bob Nystrom’s goal 7:11 into overtime during Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals eight days later on May 24, 1980, at Nassau Coliseum. Pat Quinn’s Flyers had gone 10-2 in the first three rounds, dispatching the North Stars 4-1 in the semifinals.
Dallas Green’s Phillies beat the Royals 4-1 in Game 6 at Veterans Stadium to win the World Series on Oct. 21, 1980. Closer Tug McGraw struck out Willie Wilson to send the city into a frenzy following an unforgettable NLCS series victory over the Astros.
Finally, Dick Vermeil’s Eagles ousted the Cowboys 20-7 in the NFC Championship Game to reach the Super Bowl. Running back Wilbert Montgomery rushed for a 42-yard touchdown on the Birds’ second play from scrimmage to set the tone. The Raiders, an AFC wild-card team, upended the Eagles 27-10 in the Super Bowl on Jan. 25, 1981, at the Louisiana Superdome.
All of this happened from the end of my junior year in high school through the midpoint of my senior year. I had no idea how special and rare that was.
No other sports city, including New York (which has or had multiple teams in each sport), has experienced all four teams playing for a championship in a row, though there have been double-digit multiple champs from a city in a 12-month span.
While it’s unlikely that four Philly major pro sports teams will wind up playing for titles in succession, we’ve never had two champions in a year’s time. The closest was the Phillies in 1980 and the Sixers in ’83, which really wasn’t that close.
Imagine what Philadelphia would be like if that dream scenario would come true in the next eight months.
Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes; @TomMoorePhilly
