This Day in Philly Sports History – April 23

Presented by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame

What a game last night for the Flyers.  Bring out the brooms!  April 23 was a big day in Phillies history while the Flyers and Sixers have had some success as well.  Let’s take a look at April 23 in Philly Sports History.

Day Turns to Night

By 1950 MLB night games had been a staple for most teams.  However, a quirky NL rule didn’t allow the lights to be turned on if a day game ran long.  That changed in 1949.  On April 23, 1950, the Phillies were in Boston to play a doubleheader against the Braves.  The Braves won the first game 4-3.  Game 2 started under daylight but as the game progressed and dusk settled in, for the first time in MLB history they turned on the lights.  Del Ennis hit an RBI double under the lights to give the Phillies a 6-5 win.  This game and the new rule changed the way MLB games were scheduled.  We now have late evening start times, and it also led to the advent of the twi-night doubleheader.

Mahaffey Strikeout King

The Phillies swept a doubleheader against the Cubs at Connie Mack Stadium on this day in 1961.  Bobby Smith hit a walk-off homer to give the Phillies a 1-0 win in game 1.  Frank Sullivan pitched a complete game shutout.  In game 2 Johnny Callison homered and had 4 RBI as the Phillies completed the sweep with a 6-0 win.  Art Mahaffey scattered 4 hits to get the complete game shutout.  He struck out 17 Cubs setting the Phillies team record for strikeouts in a game and setting an MLB record for a right-handed pitcher.

Trivia – Who currently holds the Phillies single game record for strikeouts in a game? (Answer Below)

The PECO Power Play

The Flyers fell behind the Tampa Bay Lightning 2 games 1 in their quarterfinal series in 1996 after losing back-to-back overtime games.  John LeClair and Ron Hextall led the way for the Flyers on this day.  LeClair scored 2 power play goals and Hextall saved 21 shots as the Flyers won it 4-1.  Joel Otto and Dale Hawerchuck also scored to help them even the series at 2 games apiece.  They’d win the next two setting up a matchup with the Florida Panthers.

Ben Silences the Fans

Ben Simmons in Game 1 against the Nets in 2019, so much so that the fans at the Wells Fargo Center booed him.  This led to Ben clapping back saying “If you’re gonna boo then stay on that side…”  As you can imagine, that went over like a ton of bricks.  Ben would bounce back with a triple-double in Game 2.  On this day they finished off the Nets in a gentleman’s sweep, winning 122-100 in front of the home fans.  The game wasn’t that close as Ben had 13 points, 6 boards and 4 assists.  Joel Embiid dominated with 23 points and 13 rebounds in only 20 minutes – that’s all that was needed as the Sixers were set to take on the Raptors and future coach Nick Nurse in what would be an epic 7-game series.

Trivia Answer – In 1965 Chris Short pitched 15 innings against the Mets and struck out 18 to set the single game record for the Phillies.  Mahaffey still holds the record for a 9-inning game.

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