This Day in Philly Sports History

On this day in 2013, Roy Halladay announced his retirement from the major leagues.  The Hall of Famer has his number retired by both the Phillies and the Blue Jays, won 2 Cy Young awards, pitched a perfect game and a no-hitter in the 2010 NLDS.

On this day in 1987, The Flyers beat the Bruins 5-2.  During the game Ron Hextall became the first NHL goalie to be credited with scoring a goal.  He would go on to do it again in the playoffs in 1989.

On this day in 1963 Navy beat Army in the annual Army/Navy game that was delayed a week due to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  Navy, led by Heisman winner Roger Staubach, would go on to play the National Champion Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl to end the season.

On this day in 2003 the #12 ranked St. Joe's Hawks beat the Penn Quakers 67-59 in Big 5 action at the Palestra.  The Hawks would finish the regular season 27-0 and got the #1 seed in the East Regional before losing in the final to Oklahoma St.

On this day in 2005 the Eagles got thumped by the Seahawks 42-0 on Monday Night Football.  The only highlight came at halftime when the Eagles retired Reggie White's #92.

On this day in 1996, the Flyers and Rangers tied 1-1 in an Eastern Conference Final preview.  Eric Lindros who had been out with injury scored his first goal of the season.  The game was also the 3rd in a 17 game unbeaten streak for the Flyers.

On this day in 1950 the Browns beat the Eagles 13-7 in a game where they didn't attempt a single pass and only totaled 68 yards of offense.

On this day in 1991 the Eagles traveled to the Astrodome to take on the Oilers on Monday Night Football.  They beat the Oilers 13-6 in what became known as the House of Pain Game.  The Eagles completely shut down Houston's "Run and Shoot" offense behind Seth Joyner's monster game.

On this day the defending champion Flyers came into the day tied for the lead in the Patrick Division.  They beat the Kansas City Scouts 10-0 behind Bobby Clarke's 5 points.  This was their second game during a 12 game unbeaten streak.  They would go 10-1-2 in Decmeber to end the month with a 13 point lead in the division. 

On this day in 1982 the Sixers lost to the Hawks 111-97, dropping their record to 13-3 to open the season.  Newly acquired Moses Malone had 25 points and 24 rebounds.  The Sixers would go on to win the NBA championship, led by Malone's MVP season.

On this day in 1998 John LeClair scored 4 goals including 3 in the 3rd period and Eric Lindros added 5 assists as the Flyers erased a 2-1 3rd period deficit to beat the Vancouver Canucks 6-2.  We also preview the US soccer match versus Iran. 

On this day in 1968 the Eagles beat the Detriot Lions 12-0 on Thanksgiving for their first win of the season.  The win jeopardized their chances of receiving the first pick in the draft.  Those dreams were dashed the following week when they beat the Saints.  All of this led to the infamous battle between Eagles fans and Santa Claus.  

On this day in 2008 the Eagles thumped the Cardinals 48-20 on Thanksgiving night at the Linc.  Brian Westbrook scored 4 touchdowns in what would be a preview of that year's NFC Championship Game.  The Eagles used the momentum from this game to go on a run to clinch the final wild card spot and make a run towards the Super Bowl.

On this day in 2015 the Eagles got blown out by the Lions on Thanksgiving 45-14.  Matthew Stafford threw for 337 yards and 5 touchdowns in what would be Chip Kelly's final season as the Eagles head coach.

On this day in 2018 the Eagles beat the Giants 25-22 at the Linc.  The win evened their all time series at 86-86-2.  It also helped to propel the Eagles to win 5 out of their last 6 to get into the playoffs before ultimately losing in the Divisional round.

On this day in 2000 the Temple Owls fell to the #2 Duke Blue Devils 63-61 in the Preseason NIT final.  The led by 6 with just under 4 minutes to go.  Duke would beat the Owls again 9 days later and go on to win the National Championship.  Temple would make John Chaney's final Elite 8 run in his legendary career.

On this day in 1989 the Eagles beat the Cowboys 27-0 on Thanksgiving Day in Dallas.  This game would become known as the "Bounty Bowl" after Cowboy coach Jimmy Johnson alleged Buddy Ryan put a bounty on kicker Luis Zendajas and quarterback Troy Aikman.  Bounty Bowl added to the lore of the Eagles/Cowboys rivalry.

On this day in 1920 the Phillies traded pitcher Eppa Rixey for pitcher Jimmy Ring and outfielder Alfred Earle "Greasy" Neale.  Neale would go on to lead the Philadelphia Eagles to back to back championships in 1948 and 1949 before becoming the first person to be inducted into both the College Football and Pro Football Hall of Fames as a coach.

On this day in 1976 the movie Rocky was released in theaters.  It won the Academy Award for best picture.  Other than cheesesteaks, nothing is more Philly than Rocky.

On this day in 1998 the #7 ranked Temple Owls beat the #5 ranked Michigan State Spartans 60-59 for the 1500 win in school history.  Benefiting from a new rule that rewarded the defense for initiating tie-ups, the Owls were able to over come a 10 deficit with a little over 3 minutes remaining.

On this day in 1986, Mike Schmidt won his 3rd and final MVP award.  He hit .290 with 37 homers and 119 RBIs.  He would go on to play another 2+ years before retiring with 548 homers.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995.  Also Happy Birthday to another Phillies slugger, Ryan Howard.

On this day in 1997 the Phillies traded Kevin Stocker to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in exchange for Bobby Abreu.  Abreu was one of the most polarizing players in Philly sports history.  He had a very good 9 year run in Philly and was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 2019.

On this day in 1985 the Flyers won their franchise record 13th straight game, a 5-4 OT win over the Islanders.  It was their 3rd straight after goalie Pelle Lindburgh died.  The would go on to win the Patrick Division before losing in the first round to the Rangers.

On this day in 1925 the Philadelphia Bobbies, a majority woman semi-pro team from Philly, played their final game of a barnstorming tour around Japan.  The Bobbies were made of girls/women whose ages ranged from 13 to mid-20s.  Edith Houghton, the star 13-year old shortstop, recounted details of the trips in a diary that is now in the possession of the Hall of Fame.

On this day in 1984 the Flyers retired Bobby Clarke's #16 sweater.  Clarke led the Flyers to 2 Stanley Cup championships, scored 1210 points in 15 year playing career adn was a first ballot hall of famer.  Clarke would go on to serve in various other front office roles including GM.  Nobody epitomizes the Flyers more than Clarke.