PHILADELPHIA — On the Tuesday before Game 3 of the World Series between the Astros and the Phillies, a parade of champions from the city of Philadelphia were on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch together.
With this game being the first of a Fall Classic in the City of Brotherly Love since 2009, Mike Schmidt, Brandon Graham, Julius Erving and Bernie Parent combined to put a local twist on this week’s baseball bash at Citizens Bank Park . In this way, the titles conquered by Philadelphia teams in baseball, American football, basketball and ice hockey, respectively, were represented.
And to commemorate the last Phillies champion team, they received pitches Jayson Werth, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino and Cole Hamels, all key members of the Philadelphia edition that won the 2008 World Series.
Schmidt is probably the most revered Phillies player in the team’s long history. He played each of his 18 Major League years with Philadelphia, from 1972 to 1989. Leading the Majors in home runs eight times and the National League six times, the third baseman finished with 548 career home runs, in addition to winning 10 Gold Gloves and rack up countless other achievements on the field. He helped the Phillies win five National League East titles, two Old Circuit pennants and the team’s first World Series championship in 1980. He was elected to the Cooperstown Hall of Fame in 1995.
For his part, Graham is a defensive end for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. His stellar tenure with the New York football team includes a heroic play at the end of Super Bowl LII, in which he knocked down New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who fumbled the ball. It was recovered by the Eagles to seal their first NFL championship since 1960.
On the basketball court, Erving is emblematic of the dynamism of the Philadelphia 76ers of the 1970s and 1980s. His unique jumping ability and spectacular dunks set the pace for a team that reached four NBA Finals from 1977 to 1983, winning the league title in the last of those years. “Dr. J,” who was also an ABA All-Star with the New York Nets in the first half of the 1970s, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
The other ball thrown was from Parent, the iconic goalie for the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers ice hockey team. With his brilliant play between the posts, Parent helped the Flyers win their only two Stanley Cups in franchise history, in 1974 and 1975. Parent was inducted into the Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984.
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Mike Schmidt, “Dr. J” and other Philly icons threw out the 1st pitches