Archive for July, 2019

Top 10 Philly Athletes of the Past 50 Years: One Man’s View

July 28th, 2019 by Jim Chesko | Comments Off on Top 10 Philly Athletes of the Past 50 Years: One Man’s View | Filed in Baseball, Basketball, Eagles, Flyers, General, Hockey, Phillies, Sixers

Philadelphia’s been the home base for a great number of incredible athletes over the years, but who are the best of the best?

If you’re a faiBobby Clarke and Bernie Parentthful viewer of Comcast SportsNet (I admit, I’m a heavy watcher), you know that CSN has recently been counting down its list of the Top 10 Philly Athletes of all time. (In case you haven’t been paying attention, Numbers 10 through 4 were Bernie Parent, Chuck Bednarik, Carl Lewis, Julius Erving, Steve Van Buren, Joe Frazier and Steve Carlton; will the final trio be Clarkie, Schmidty and Wilt? We shall see.)

Anyway, it got me thinking about MY list. First, however, the parameters: I decided to limit my Top 10 to players whom I’ve seen in action during the past the 50 years and who’ve played the bulk of their career in Philadelphia. So, no Jimmie Foxx or Lefty Grove (way before my time), no Pete Rose (despite how much he meant to the Phils’ 1980 World Series team), no Steve van Buren or Chuck Bednarik (amazing careers for both, but – again – before my time), no Richie Ashburn … and no Kobe Bryant.

Before giving you my personal Top 10, how about a few Philly greats who just missed the cut? Getting “honorable mention” status would be Charles Barkley, Brian Dawkins and – although he spent just four of his prime NBA years as a 76er – Moses Malone. All right, here goes…

10) JOE FRAZIER – Philly’s greatest boxer, “Smokin’ Joe” was an Olympic gold medalist and undisputed World Heavyweight Champion from 1970 to 1972, who had those three memorable battles with Muhammad Ali. Career record of 32-4-1.

9) CARL LEWIS – The Willingboro, New Jersey, sprinter and long-jumper won nine Olympic gold medals and an additional eight World Championship gold medals in the 1980s and 90s. (We won’t penalize Lewis for his inglorious 1993 attempt at singing the national anthem at a Bulls-Nets NBA playoff game.)

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Who’s the Best Phillies Catcher of All Time?

July 13th, 2019 by Philly Pressbox | 1 Comment | Filed in Baseball, General, MLB, Phillies

The boys are gathered at the Philly Pressbox for a few cold beverages and some baseball talk. We recently posted a note that it was Mike Lieberthals birthday and received both positive and negative comments about Lieby and him being honored on the Phillies Wall of Fame. That led us to the conversation of Who’s the Best Phillies Catcher of All Time. We quickly decided on the four finalists, Bob Boone, Darren Daulton, Leiberthal and Carlos Ruiz. This pretty much covers the last 40 years of full time Phillies catchers.

We’re going to provide some statistical information, as Phillies only, on each of the four and allow you, the fans, to vote on your favorite. The players are listed in alphabetical order.

BOB BOONE

Bob BooneBoonie was the Phillies full-time starting catcher from 1973-1981. He caught 1000+ games in 7 seasons.

He ranks 2nd to Lieberthal in games caught in the modern day with 1125. He caught 100+ games 7 times

He is 3rd in Batting Average, .259, behind Lieberthal and Ruiz.

He is 3rd in Home Runs, 65, behind Lieberthal and Daulton.

He ranks 3rd in RBI’s with 456.

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Leo Interviews Vince “The Invincible” Papale on TSP Radio

July 10th, 2019 by Leo | Comments Off on Leo Interviews Vince “The Invincible” Papale on TSP Radio | Filed in Eagles, General, Interviews, PhillyWood, TSP Radio

In TalkSportsPhilly’s history I had a chance to talk with and interview Vince Papale on TalkSportsPhilly radio.  Vince has a lot of great advice to bestow in his book and in the interview.  I was impressed on how humble and friendly Vince is, he has a genuine interest in others and their success.  The “Invincible” movie very much similar to TalkSportsPhilly’s bid to talk sports and entertainment in Philadelphia.

In this interview we talk about his book “Be Invincible”, the movie, the Eagles, and future projects for Vince.  So take a listen and enjoy what Vince has to say.

Click the image below to listen to the show:

More Sports Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with TalkSportsPhilly on BlogTalkRadiovincepaplebio

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