Phillies Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn was born on March 19^th, 1927 in Tilden, Nebraska. Ashburn played for the Phillies from 1948 to 1959. Ashburn was a 4-time NL All Star with the Phillies and led the NL in batting in 1955 and 1958. He retired as a player in 1962 and joined the Phillies broadcast booth in 1963. The Phillies honored Whitey on the Phillies Wall of Fame, retired his uniform #1, and designated “Ashburn’s Alley” at Citizens Bank Park. Ashburn was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995. Whitey died of a heart attack on September 9^th, 1997 in New York City after broadcasting the Phillies-Mets game at Shea Stadium. 

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Billy Cunningham – Sixers/F (1965-72, 1974-76 as a player 1977-85 as a coach) Billy Cunningham did it all during his NBA career.  Player, coach, commentator, owner… there really was nothing he could not do. As a player, the Kangaroo Kid was a four-time NBA All Star, a three-time 1^st team ALL NBA, a 2^nd team ALL NBA, All-Rookie 1st team, and an NBA champion in 1967. He was also named to the NBA’s 50^th Anniversary All-Time Team.    As a Head Coach with the Sixers, he went to the NBA Finals three times and won the NBA Championship in 1983. His .698 winning percentage is third highest all-time.  Cunningham made four All Star game appearances as coach, and his Sixers never missed the postseason.   Cunningham is the fastest NBA coach to 300 wins and 400 wins. The Sixers retired his #32, and he entered the Sixers Hall of Fame in 1986. The Kangaroo Kid was also inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1986.

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Steve Carlton – Phillies/P (1972-86) Steve Carlton was one of the game’s all-time greatest hurlers. Lefty was a four-time Cy Young Award winner with the Phils. His 329 wins are 2^nd all-time for lefties (Warren Spahn 363) and 4^th best overall of the modern era. Carlton led the NL in wins four times, was the NL ERA leader in 1972, a Gold Glover in 1981 and led the NL in KOs 5 times. Carlton was a seven-time NL All Star with the Phillies, and in 1980 was 2-0 vs the Kansas City Royals helping the Phillies to their first World Series win.  Carlton’s 4,136 KOs in 2^nd all-time for lefties. Carlton was a five-time 20 game winner and started 35+ games ten times for the Phils.  Carlton also picked off 144 runners over his career. That’s 62 more pickoffs than second place (Jerry Koosman 82). Of all the amazing stats and feats of Lefty’s phenomenal career, quite possibly the most impressive is Carlton posting 27 wins on a Phillies team that only won 59.  Carlton’s winning 45.8% of his team’s wins is the highest percentage in 120 years and by far the best of the modern era.    The Phillies retired Lefty’s #32 and entered him in their Wall of Fame in 1989. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994. The Phillies honored Carlton with a statue outside Citizen’s Bank Park in 2004.  

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Moses Malone – Sixers/C (1982-1986) Moses Malone was a dominant NBA rebounder earning him the nickname “Chairman of the Boards.” He was the NBA MVP, and NBA Finals MVP in 1983 helping the Sixers capture their 3rd NBA Title in franchise history.  The twelve-time NBA All Star was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.      

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Roy Halladay – Phillies/P (2010-13) Roy “Doc” Halladay was a dominant power pitcher with a penchant for going deep into games. Doc spent the last four seasons of his stellar career with the Phillies. Halladay won 203 games in his career (108^th all time) and posted 2,117 KOs (69^th all-time). In Halladay’s first season with the Phillies, he became the first Phillies 20-game winner in 28 years posting a 21-10 record. One of those wins was Halladay’s perfect game vs Florida Marlins on May 29^th.  He was NL Pitcher of the Month for July, was awarded the MLB Clutch Performer of the Year Award, MLB Heart and Hustle Award, MLB.com Starter of the Year, was MLB wins leader, 2010 NL All Star, and became one of only six MLB pitchers in history to win the Cy Young in both leagues when he was named the NL winner for 2010.  On October 6^th, 2010, Halladay threw the 2^nd-ever postseason no-hitter in NLDS vs Cincinnati Reds in his first-ever postseason start. He became the 1st pitcher in 37 years to throw two no-hitters in same season, and the first ever to throw a no-hitter AND a perfect game in the same season.  His postseason no-hitter won the 2010  MLB.com Postseason Moment of the Year Award for 2010.  Halladay followed up his 2010 performance with another All Star appearance in 2011, 2^nd in Cy Young voting (Clayton Kershaw), and winning a 2011 ESPY. Halladay is surely a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible in 2019. Tragically, Halladay died on 11/7/2017 when the plane he was piloting crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. 

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Happy 63rd Birthday Flyers Hall of Fame defenseman Mark Howe!

Mark Howe.  – Flyers/D (1982-1992). Son of hockey legend Gordie Howe,  Mark was a four-time NHL All Star, a four-time Barry Ashbee Award winner, a three-time Norris Trophy finalist, and an Olympic Silver Medalist with USA Hockey at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo Japan.  Howe’s 28 career shorthanded goals by a defenseman, and +87 plus/minus in 1985-86 are still NHL records. Howe’s career +400 is most-ever by a US-born defenseman.  Howe had his #2 retired by the Flyers and was inducted into the Flyers HOF in 2001, the US Hockey HOF in 2003 and the Hockey HOF in 2011.

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Ed Van Impe – Flyers/D (1967-68 to 1975-76).  Ed Van Impe was the second captain in Flyers team history, wearing the “C” from 1968-1972. Van Impe was Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) runner-up (Bobby Orr) the year before the Flyers selected him from the Chicago Black Hawks in the NHL Expansion Draft. Van Impe played on both Flyers Stanley Cup championship teams. The gritty Van Impe once took a puck in the mouth, lost 6 teeth, and took 50 stitches to his lips and tongue… then finished the game.  Van Impe is famous for his crushing check on Soviet Red Army winger Valeri Kharlamov during Super Series ’76 that led to the Soviets leaving the ice in protest.  The three-time NHL All Star was inducted into the Flyers HOF in 1993. 

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Bob Kelly – Flyers/RW-LW (1971-80) Bob “the Hound” Kelly was a significant part of the Broad Street Bullies toughness. Kelly was not only one of the league’s most-feared enforcers, he, like teammate Dave Schultz, could also put the puck in the net. In his ten seasons in the orange and black, Kelly scored 14 or more goals five times and potted 22 in 1976-77. Kelly’s greatest moment was scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal for the Flyers on May 27th, 1975 against the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo. Kelly flew down the ice like a runaway train, and followed the puck around behind the net.  The 5’10” Kelly out-hustled and out-muscled the 6’3” Sabre defenseman Jerry “King Kong” Korab, and came from behind the net and slid the puck past Sabre goalie Gerry Desjardins 11 seconds into the 3^rd period of game 6.  The Flyers would win the game 2-0 and win their 2^nd Stanley Cup.

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Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson was born today May 26th, in 1941 in Maywood, Illinois. Johnson was the defensive coordinator for the Eagles from 1999-2008.  During his time with the Birds, the team went to 5 NFC Championship games. During the 1999 season, his first with the Eagles, his defense forced a league-high 46 turnovers, and had 5 pick sixes (team record). From 2000-2007 the Johnson-led Eagles defense amassed 342 sacks, tied for 1st in NFL. In 2001, Johnson’s defense became just the 4th team in NFL history to hold opponents to 21 points or less in every game of a complete 16-game season.

Jim Johnson sent Eagles to the Pro Bowl 26 times: Brian Dawkins (7), Troy Vincent (5), Jeremiah Trotter (4), Hugh Douglas (3), Lito Sheppard (2), Trent Cole, Michael Lewis, Asante Samuel, Corey Simon, Bobby Taylor (1).

Johnson groomed 3 assistants during his Eagles tenure that went on to be NFL Head Coaches – John Harbaugh, Ron Rivera, and Sean McDermott.

Jim Johnson was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame in 2011.  Johnson passed away on July 28th, 2009.  

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Eric Lindros – Flyers/C (1993-00) Simply put, Eric Lindros was a game changer. He redefined the role of the power forward. At his best, he was a dominating physical presence with a scorers touch. Lindros was the 4^th fastest in NHL history to score 300 points, 4^th fastest to score 400, 5^th fastest to score 500, and 6^th fastest to score 600 points. Lindros won the Hart Memorial Trophy and Lester B Pearson Award in 1995, and the Bobby Clarke Trophy four times. Lindros was a 7-time NHL All Star.  Lindros had concussion issues that eventually forced him to retire. Yes, the Flyers gave up a ton to get him (Peter Forsberg among others), and yes, it’s disappointing the Flyers couldn’t win a Cup with Lindros.  Yes, he had his issues with team management. Yes, our hearts were ripped out when Scott Stevens cruised the blueline and laid a vicious high hit on Lindros that left him crumpled on the ice. But for all the what-could-have-beens, it’s tough to argue he was one of the very best to ever wear the orange and black. Lindros was named one of the greatest 100 players in NHL history, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016, and had his Flyers’ #88 jersey retired in 2018.

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