This is not the first time Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have simultaneous major North American sports league champions.
Today, a look at the two most recent Eagles’ crowns this one in ’17 and the one in 1960.
The Eagles’ ’60 title was preceded by a Pittsburgh Pirates victory in the 1960 World Series.
The Eagles are current NFL champions simultaneously with the two time NHL champion, Pittsburgh Penguins.
Nelson Agholor, pictured above, had three big positive plays on the Eagles’ decisive touchdown drive in the most recent Super Bowl.
I am always moved watching “A Raisin In The Sun” from 1961.
Each actor is superb, today I particularly noticed Claudia McNeil, Louis Gossett Jr. and John Fiedler.
Oh a dream deferred, oh a dream not at all.
Yet the acting and production of “Raisin,” a dream not to be, but I did meet and was greeted warmly, by both Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee.
What an honor to have met Sidney Poitier Pictured above. That’s me, Andy B. standing next to him, when he was honored in 2011.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching “The Freshman” on “Movies” earlier today.
A few notes will follow.
Marlon Brando was of course, the “Godfather, Vito Corleone,” in the superb film, “The Godfather.”
In “The Freshman,” he not only parodies that role but does play scenes with Bruno Kirby, who in “Godfather: Part Two,” was future “higher up,” “Clemenza,” in flashback scenes with Robert DeNiro as the young Vito.
In “The Freshman,” with Matthew Broderick as Clark, there is a famed scene from “Godfather:Part Two,” with Al Pacino and John Cazale shown.
James Broderick, Matthew’s father, had a role in “Dog Day Afternoon,” with both Pacino and Cazale.
A superb actor, John Cazale, pictured above.
Two favorites, two really good players, Wally Moon and Tito Francona each with a glorious ’59, have died 59 years after, in early 2018.
Moon, who played on 3 Dodgers’ title teams, was a major contributor to the first L.A. crown in 1959.
He hit what became “Moon Shots”, Wally a left handed batter taking advantage, by tailoring his swing, of the short left field, at the L.A. Coliseum, where the Dodgers played that title season.
Francona, playing for the second place Indians hit a remarkable .363 in 1959, falling 34 official at bats from that season’s A.L. batting crown, which went to Harvey Kuenn with a .353 mark.
That season the White Sox won the A.L. pennant, losing in 6 to L.A. in the World Series.
Moon caught Luis Aparichio’s fly ball for the final out. L.A. won their first 3 W.S. in L.A, before losing in 4 straight games to the Baltimore Orioles in ’66, a team whose shortstop was Luis Aparichio.
Francona’s son Terry managed 2 title teams with Boston, but father Tito left the earth, after bitterly disappointing Francona/Indians’ post-season losses in each of the last two seasons, and with the team, still sans a title since 1948.
I recall each player fondly, part of a time I liked baseball so much.
Tito Francona pictured above.
There was a really good between movies, old feature on TCM today relaying a timeless message.
“Heavenly Music” won the two reel, short feature Academy Award in 1943.
Frederic Brady stars as singer trying for his place among the immortals in a special place in heaven.
Steven Geray is Ludvig von Beethoven. Entertaining, fine music and to the point of its timeless nature. This was a real treat.
The record of teams with previous Super Bowl victories vs teams sans such a win, fell to a still imposing (21-8) when Philadelphia now (1-2) in Supes beat New England which is (5-5).
Only the Patriots, winning one (in ’01 vs the Rams) and this most recent loss have been involved in more than one of the eight games in which a team won its first Super Bowl vs a previous such winner.
Another link between the current baseball and football champions, the Astros and Eagles (recall the great Philadelphia vs Houston ’80 NLCS) is that the Astros/Eagles first time World Series and Supe wins respectively, marked just the third time, first time winners emerged the same year/season.
The other two were in successive years, the aforementioned Patriots with the Arizona Diamondbacks in ’01 and the Tampa Bay Bucs with the Angels in ’02.
The iconic Philadelphia Phillies’ broadcaster (he did much else including work for NFL Films) Harry Kalas pictured above.
Perhaps this photo goes back to his days with the Houston Astros which included calling Ed Mathews’ 500th home run.
A little baseball, but there will be more notes concerning football ahead.
One game is still more famous than the other, though it yielded a pennant to a team that eventually lost the subsequent World Series, while the lesser known game yielded a decisive seventh game won by the team that won the dramatic game, not known as well as the other.
The games are the better known decisive third game of the best of three playoff for the 1951 National League pennant and the sixth game of the 2011 World Series.
More details later in the week, for now each game ended on a home run by a third baseman, who earlier in the tilt had made a defensive error.
In ’51 the hero third baseman was Bobby Thomson, while in 2011 it was David Freese.
The great Abbott and Costello had “I don’t know” at third base. St. Louis pictured on Mr. Abbott’s uniform is appropriate as the St. Louis Cardinals won the above referenced game 6 of the 2011 W.S. and subsequent 7th game.
Neither college basketball or the NBA has any meaningful action toward its title pursuit until the post-season. Hockey and certainly baseball have it to some degree, with varying factors.
However, baseball once with a truly meaningful, at times beyond dramatic regular season, added the bogus wild card. Enough said.
The Olympics are not for me. I am not into jingoism. Now, not only is Bob Costas not involved in its coverage, but don’t look now at the continued ilk (Mike Tirico, why?) taking his place.
Thus the 21 to 26 week violent, puzzle of football, gets notes as the rain continues to descend.
Twenty years apart, and only then, did a team sans a Super Bowl win defeat the defending champion in the Super Bowl.
Denver (0-4) in Supes with an (0-3 and all poor efforts quarterback (John Elway) and led by the unheralded Terrell Davis, beat (3-0) in Supes Green Bay in ’97.
Then last week, twenty years later, the (0-2 in Supes), Eagles with a reserve quarterback, Nick Foles, underdogs in all 3 ‘0ffs games, two at home and one neutral and spread victors in all 6 post-season halves, beat the (5-2) in Supes Pats, a team with a, in my book, THE great quarterback, Tom Brady.
Someone who sounded like Keith Olberman and probably was him, back at ESPN, completely shortchanged Claude Provost (pictured above) in his segment regarding Brady, title teams and how to assess them.
Of course, it is opinion, but his tone regarding Provost, Michael Cooper, even Sam Jones and Bill Russell was not only distasteful, but so far off.
Provost played on 9 title teams with the Montreal Canadiens. He was an integral part of those great Montreal teams, a great defensive player, shadowing/containing the likes of the great Bobby Hull, in playoffs competition.
Olberman merely called him good. If you know anything regarding basketball, Michael Cooper was similar with better offense skills and contributions on great Lakers’ teams.
One more as it has been a while. I let Collinsworth and Michaels, neither of whom had a clue in the Supe, off the hook.
Not so Sage Steele, who actually said regarding a possible Philly touchdown down (33-32), they would LIKELY go for 2. Need I say more. There is no more “Man of Steel,” just Sage Steele and on we go, down the “standards drain!”
It is sad that two superb actors, each associated with another, Olympia Dukakis, died in the past week.
Both John Mahoney, not even 80 and Olympia’s husband Louis Zorich are no longer here.
Oh, but they did and leave fine work and memories with us.
I cite two sports related ones.
Mr. Zorich, playing a grandfather on “Brooklyn Bridge” had told his grandson Gil Hodges knew him. This was not true.
“Mr. Hodges” (sadly, the real Gil had been dead for 20 years having died at less than fifty) keeps the secret and Mr. Zorich’s character calls “Mr. Hodges” a mensch. By all accounts, Gil was one.
Mr. Mahoney, played White Sox manager “Kid” Gleason in the film, “Eight Men Out,” calling them the best team he was ever associated with, in a long career.
The fabulous John Mahoney, pictured above had dinner and conversation (only, but significantly) with Olympia Dukakis in the film, “Moonstruck.”
First, the Philadelphia Flyers and their first Stanley Cup title, in just their seventh season won in1974.
They kept the by and large pattern of Philadelphia teams earning first or significant crowns, vs great teams, all of whom going backward or forward, won as many as two titles in 3 seasons and in other cases achieved more impressive titles/spans numbers.
The ’74 Flyers “6’d” a Boston Bruins’ team that won titles in ’70 and ’72 with great players, Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito and were a record breaking top points team in 1971, to win their first title.
The 1960 Eagles’ title, the last one before last Sunday was achieved vs the Green Bay Packers.
“G.B”. became a great team going forward, winning 5 titles in 7 seasons (1961-1967).
The city’s first Super Bowl victory was gained vs a New England Patriots franchise that had “garnered” ( an earlier Eagles team had Charlie Garner and an ode to James Garner and recognition that all lives matter including Eric Garner’s–our promised “name” thing will follow) 2 of the last 3 Supe titles.
New England has 5 titles, the first won in 2001, all with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.
When the whatever cleared (not dust) last Sunday, the Eagles most recent titles had in effect left two great coaches Bill Belichick and Vince Lombardi tied with a record 5 NFL crowns.
“Phil” handed Lombardi his only playoff loss of any kind in 1960, and Sunday past, kept Belichick still striving to pass Lombardi, for the most NFL coaching titles.
LeGarrette Blount pictured above and Chris Long, whose father Howie “titled” with the ’83 Raiders, both played on last year’s New England Super Bowl winning team and are current Eagles’ title team members.
Blount had a rushing touchdown in the Supe, his eleventh career ‘offs td.
Additionally this was Blount’s third title one less than the great player, Mel Blount achieved with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That is our name thing Coombs/Combs yesterday, Blount/Blount oday.
I drop names to praise Mel Blount’s kindness. My late friend Beano Cook had trouble walking and sat alone at a function honoring the great Pittsburgh Steelers.
Mel Blount came over and spent a great deal of quality time with a man sitting alone. That was appreciated by Beano and remembered fondly by me.
Andy B Sports 