I will post something probably tomorrow on how the Wild Card and Tiebreaker balloting will work. So, when putting it all together, expect the ALL-PHILLY TEAM results to be finalized in at least two weeks after the initial balloting closes. But, a time table has not been finalized yet.
Anyway, this final Info Session for the initial balloting deals with all of the championship teams our city has seen. And when I say championships, I mean the whole thing. None of these teams just won a division title or a conference title. They went to the promise land and finished No. 1 in their respective leagues. So, here we go.
-Managed by Connie Mack, the 1910 A's finished with a regular season record of 102-48, 14 1/2 games in front of the second place New York Highlanders, to go to the World Series
-In the World Series, they defeated the Chicago Cubs 4-1 in the series to bring home their first World Championship.
-They won the first two games at Shibe Park and then Game 3 in Chicago's West Side Park. The Cubs pulled out Game 4 4-3 in 10 innings, but the A's routed the Cubs in Game 5 at West Side Park, 7-2.
-Managed by Connie Mack and led by the "$100,00 Infield" of John "Stuffy" McInnis (first base), Eddie Collins (second base), Jack Barry (shortstop), Frank "Home Run" Baker (third base), Eddie Plank (pitcher) and Charles "Chief" Bender (pitcher), the A's finished with a regular season record of 101-50, 13 1/2 games in front of the second place Detroit Tigers in the American League
-In a World Series where the location switched every game, the A's dropped the first game to the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds, but then won three straight to go up 3-1 in the series after four games. In Game 5 at the Polo Grounds, the Giants beat the A's 4-3 in 10 innings to stay a live in the series, but in Game 6 at Shibe Park, the A's demolished the National League Giants 13-2 to win their second championship in a row.
-Once again managed by Connie Mack and led by the "$100,000 Infield", which the 1913 version is considered by some to be the best infield of all time, finished with a record of 96-57, 6 1/2 games ahead of the Washington Senators in the American League.
-In the World Series, they once again defeated the New York Giants, this time 4-1.
-After the series was tied 1-1 after two games, one at the Polo Grounds and the other at Shibe Park, the A's won three in a row to win their third World Series title in four years.
-Led by player/coach Guy Chamberlain, the Yellow Jackets of 1926 finished with a record of 14-1-2, which was the best in the league, finishing a head of the 12-1-3 second place Chicago Bear. By that virtue, they were crowned the 1926 NFL Champions.
-Managed and owned by Connie Mack and led by future Hall of Famers such as Lefty Grove, Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx and Al Simmons, along with other guys such as Big George Earnshaw, the A's finished with a regular season record of 104-46, 18 games better than the second place New York Yankees.
-This club is considered by some to be one of the best teams in Major League Baseball history, if not the best.
-In the World Series, they defeated the Chicago Cubs 4-1.
-They took the first two games at Wrigley Field, lost Game 3 at Shibe Park and then won the last two also at Shibe Park.
-Once again managed and owned by Connie Mack and led by the same core group of stars, the A's finished with a record of 102-52, eight games better than the second place Washington Senators in the American League.
-The won the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals in six games, taking Games 5 and 6, after the series was tied 2-2 after four games. This would be the last World Series Championship for the Philadelphia version of the Athletics.
-Coached by Eddie Gottlieb and led by center Joe Fulks, the Warriors finished with a record of 35-25, which was second in the Basketball Association of America's (now called National Basketball Association) Eastern Division.
-The won in the BAA Quarterfinals over the St. Louis Bombers 2-1, BAA Semifinals over the New York Knicks 2-0 and in the BAA Finals over the Chicago Stags 4-1.
-They were the first champions in league history.
8. 1948 Eagles
-Coached by Earle "Greasy" Neal, the Eagles were led by Steven Van Buren, Tommy Thompson and Pete Pihos
-They finished 9-2-1 and first in the Eastern Division
-They faced the Chicago Cardinals in the NFL Championship Game at Shibe Park in a blizzard and won 7-0 on Steve Van Buren's lone touchdown
9. 1949 Eagles
-Led once again by Greasy Neal and the same group of the players, the 1949 Eagles finished 11-1 (first in the Eastern Division)
-They repeated as NFL Champions defeating the Los Angeles Rams 14-0 in the rain in L.A. Steve Van Buren ran for 196 yards, which stood as an NFL Championship Game record for 40 years
-Coached by George Senesky and led by Paul Arizin, Neil Johnston and Tom Gola, the Warriors went from worst to first in a span of one season, finishing 45-27 and first in the NBA's Eastern Division
-The won the Eastern Division finals against the Syracuse Nationals 3-2 and the NBA Finals against the Fort Wayne Pistons 4-1
11. 1960 Eagles
-Coached by Buck Shaw and led by Norm Van Brocklin, Tommy McDonald and Chuck Bednarik, the 1960 Eagles weren't considered contenders at first
-They got demolished in their first game of the season versus the Cleveland Browns and then barely beat the expansion and eventually winless Cowboys of 1960 the very next week due to two missed extra points by Dallas
-But, they somehow came together, overcame all the negativity towards them and went 10-2 to win the Eastern Division
-This is the year the Eagles really became popular in town. In the second meeting against the Browns, they upset them in Cleveland, causing of wave of new interest in the Eagles.
-In the 1960 NFL Championship Game against Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers at Franklin Field the day after Christmas, the Eagles offense was dismal, but still managed to win in a fourth quarter comeback 17-13. Chuck Bednarik made the final tackle to end the game.
-This is also the season Bednarik put that vicious hit on Frank Gifford at Yankee Stadium
12. 1967 76ers
-Coached by Alex Hannum and led by Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer, Luke Jackson, Chet Walker, Wali Jones and Billy Cunningham, they went 68-13 and finished first in the Eastern Division
-In the playoffs, they defeated the Cincinnati Royals in the Semifinals 3-1 and dethroned the 9-time defending Boston Celtics in the Conference Finals 4-1. This left the 76ers fans chanting "BOSTON'S DEAD! BOSTON'S DEAD! BOSTON'S DEAD!"
-In the NBA Finals, they defeated the San Francisco Warriors 4-2
-Until the Chicago Bulls won 72 games in 1996, they held the best record in NBA history and still to this day, they are argued as the best team ever to play
13. 1974 Flyers
-Coached by Fred Shero and led by Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber, Gary Dornhoefer, Joe Watson, Rick MacLeish, Bernie Parent and many others, the Flyers finished 50-16-12
-In the playoffs, they swept the Atlanta Flames and defeated the New York Rangers in seven games in the Conference Championship (each game was won by the home team)
-In the Stanley Cup Finals, they faced the heavily favored Boston Bruins. They Flyers took a 3-1 series lead after the first four games, dropped Game 5 in Boston, then came back to the Spectrum for Game 6
-Kate Smith, the Flyer's good luck charm, made a rare in person appearance to the Spectrum to sing God Bless America
-The Flyers won 1-0 on a first period goal by MacLeish and stellar goaltending by Parent
-Bernie Parent won the Conn Smythe Trophy and Vezina Trophy
-Fred Shero won the Jack Adams Award
-The 1974 Flyers were the city's first Championship Parade and according to many, 2 million people attended
14. 1975 Flyers
-Coached and led by the same guys, with the addition of Reggie Leach, the Flyers went 51-18-11
-In the playoffs, they swept the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round (first round bye) and beat the New York Islanders in seven games to go to the Stanley Cup Finals
-In the finals, they faced the Buffalo Sabres, won the first two games at home, dropped Games 3 and 4 in Buffalo, won Game 5 convincingly at home and then closed it out in Buffalo in Game 6
-Bernie Parent once again won the Conn Smthye and Vezina Trophies and Bobby Clark won the Hart Memorial Trophy
-It was said that even more people showed up to the '75 Parade
15. 1980 Phillies
-Managed by Dallas Green and led by Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton, the 1980 Phillies finished 91-71 and defeated the Montreal Expos by one game in the NL East. However, they without question underachieved for most of the year and it took a club house scolding by General Manager Paul Owens to get this team playing good ball in September.
-This was a team that did not really like each other very much and especially had issues with Green. But, that is what makes them so special.
-In the NLCS, they faced off against the Houston Astros. This series, to this day, is one the most intense League Championship series in the history of baseball. The Phils won Game 1 at the Vet, but dropped Game 2 in extra innings the next night. It was a game that they had a chance to win in the bottom of the ninth, but blew it when Third Base Coach Lee Elia held up right fielder Bake McBride at third because he thought he was going to get thrown out at home.
-In Houston, the Astros won Game 3 in extra innings, the Phils won Game 4 in extra innings and Game 5 in extra innings (after being down three runs in the eighth to Nolan Ryan and blowing a 7-5 lead in the ninth). The series was absolutely awesome.
-In the World Series against the favored Kansas City Royals, the Phils took Games 1 and 2 at the Vet (came from behind in both), dropped Games 3 and 4 in Kansas City, won Game 5 in KC (after being down in the top of the ninth and facing Dan Quisenberry) and won Game 6 at the Vet behind the great pitching of Steve Carlton. In the ninth inning of Game 6, Tug McGraw, who was having a great season, loaded the bases with one out, but the next two outs came by a crazy foul out from Frank White and a strikeout to Willie Wilson.
-Schmidt won the NL MVP that year and the Word Series MVP. Carlton was the Cy Young Award.
-The 1980 Phillies Parade was also a joyous celebration.
16. 1983 76ers
-Coached by Billy Cunningham and led by Julius Erving and Moses Malone, the 76ers finished 65-17, which was first in the Atlantic Division
-Before the playoffs, Malone said they were going to go "Fo', Fo', Fo'."
-Well, after a first round bye, they swept the New York Knicks in four games and then defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals, but in five games
-In the NBA Finals, they faced the Los Angeles Lakers, the team that beat them in 1980 and 1982 for the championship. However, this time around, the 76ers had Malone and swept the Lakers in four games to win the crown. At one point in the series, Cunningham said, "We want to end it in four.We want someone to remember this team."
-Malone was the Finals and League MVP that season
-The 1983 76ers Parade was another joyous celebration
17. 2008 Phillies
-Managed by Charlie Manuel and led by Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Pat Burrell, Shane Victorino, Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer, Brad Lidge and many others, the Phillies finished 92-70, winning the NL East by three games over the New York Mets
-This team had great chemistry and really liked Manuel
-In the playoffs, they beat the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS in four games and defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS in five games to go to their first World Series since 1993
-In the World Series against the cinderella Tampa Bay Rays, the Phillies took Game 1 in Tampa, dropped Game 2 in Tampa and won the next three Games at Citizens Bank to end the city's 25 year championship drought
-In Game 5, it started to rain extremely hard and the game had to be suspended after 5 1/2 innings with the score tied at 2-2
-In the resumption of Game 5 two nights later, the crowd was revved up more than ever and the Phils won 4-3
-Brad Lidge got the save and finished perfect in save chances for the 2008 regular season and post-season, going 48 for 48
-This left the city in a frenzy as the quarter-long century drought for all four teams and the 28-year drought for the Phillies ended.
-And then, of course, the 2008 Phillies Championship Parade was probably the most joyous, appreciated and needed one to date.
I finally got all of the initial Info Sessions done! WOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Oh yeah, one note, just because the 2008 Phillies is the longest doesn't mean they were the best team. They might be, but that is up to you because the other teams are very worthy as well. The only reason the 2008 Phillies is the longest is because there is the most multimedia on them and that is obviously because their championship is the most recent in our city.
Anyway, stay tuned for the Wild Card Balloting and Tie Breaker Balloting. Keep voting. The amount of people who voted already is awesome. Keep it up guys!
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