Link: Star Herald –
Published with the permission of the Catholic Star Herald
Written by Monsignor Thomas J. McIntyre Thursday, November 06 2008
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Brad Lidge, right, and catcher Carlos Ruiz celebrate Oct. 29 after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in game five to win Major League Baseball’s World Series in Philadelphia. Philadelphia defeated Tampa Bay 4-3 to win their first championship since 1980.
In 1980, now 28 years ago, the Phillies went the distance.
Anticipating the excitement of a possible World Championship, I went to the Vet and stood in line for hours to buy tickets. I came away with two tickets for the entire post-season, including the World Series. The wait suddenly wasn’t so bad.
My next stop was 526 Monmouth Street in Gloucester City, N.J., the site of St. Mary’s Rectory. There I jubilantly announced to the late Msgr. Edward B. Lucitt that we were going to the World Series!
That was somewhat presumptive of me. I still bore the wounds of the devastating home loss to the Dodgers in the first round of 1977. I have dreams of Luzinski muffing that ball off the left field wall in the ninth inning which cost us the game and practically eliminated us from any chance of winning. Ugh!
But back to my story. \”Big Ed\” seemed as gruff as ever, but I could tell he was pleased. An ordinary game of baseball was his delight, let alone the World Series!
I thought of those days as the Phils made their way to this year’s championship. Forget standing in line for tickets. This year the little guy was shut out.
The new process was to make tickets available to partial season ticket holders.
Can’t complain about that, right? The stadium is smaller. The interest seemed greater. Except that many of those partial season tickets holders had multiple opportunities and \”hawked\” their extra tickets to fans like me at triple the face-value cost.
By the time the World Series came the ticket prices were out of sight. One guy was selling a ticket to the final game of the series for $30,000 on EBay. No wonder it rained and the game was postponed.
Meanwhile, in 1980 …
The experience of going to the Series with Big Ed was more than memorable. I shared in his memories of the Phillies in Baker Bowl – and how the soot from the trains would rain down on the occupants of the field.
I heard all the stories about Babe Ruth, the A’s, and the other heroes of those early years. Why was it the A’s were always more popular than the Phillies back then?
Which brings me to the sixth game of the series with Kansas City. The Phillies were winning in the seventh and I was growing comfortable with the modest lead and Tug McGraw coming into the game.
Suddenly, the bear emerged. \”What kind of fool are you?\” Big Ed scowled. \”His arm is tired.\”
Of course, he was right. And for the rest of the game, this gentle giant got out of his seat and paced himself up and down the steep steps of the stadium.
Big Ed always did wear his emotions on his sleeve. But was that a hint of a smile when Pete Rose managed to catch Bob Boone’s muff of a foul ball?
Finally, the Phillies did win, the fireworks exploded, Tug leaped off the mound (like Lidge did this year), and the memory of three straight losses to the Yankees in the 1950 series were left behind.
The Phillies were the champions of the world — as they are now.
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