My 1970’s fandom road to the 1980 World Series

My passion for baseball and my hometown Philadelphia Phillies would begin at age nine at the start of the 1971 Major League Baseball season. The 1970's marked the beginning years in my life-long relationship with the game and the decade would close with attending my first World Series in person.

35 years ago the ending came at last for Michael Jack Schmidt

The ending for Mike Schmidt had come at last. It came too fast, 35 years ago this week, in a season that had begun with so much promise. And it passed too slow over those agonizing final weeks.

Mike Schmidt’s four home run game

The season was just a week old when the 1-3 Phillies arrived in Chicago for a quick two-game weekend set with the host Cubs. Mike Schmidt had already homered once, but he was as cold as the team, hitting just .167 with just three total hits over his first 21 plate appearances.

1980 Philadelphia Phillies: memorable and beloved

To say that the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies will always be remembered is an obvious statement. But that team is more than just memorable to those of us who lived the experience. For my Pop, who passed away in the summer of 1992 at age 83, and myself, and tens of thousands like us who are still around, those Phillies will always be beloved.

An unforgettable 1979 slugfest at Wrigley Field

No one watching on TV along with me here in Philly, or any among the 14,952 in attendance that afternoon at the venerable ballpark on Chicago’s North Side, had any clue as to the historic insanity we were about to witness.