Presented by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
A rough night for both the Sixers and Flyers. Nights like last night though are what makes us appreciate the Game 7 win versus Boston or the Flyers eliminating the Penguins that much more. There is still hope in both series because as the old adage goes, a series doesn’t start until the road team wins a game. May 5 has seen Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers heroics as well as an embarrassing Sixers blunder.
Jim Bunning Does it all
The Phillies and Mets matchup in 1965 featured two future Hall of Famers squaring off as Jim Bunning took on Warren Spahn. The duel was exactly what you would expect from the Hall of Famers as both pitched complete games and gave up four hits each. The difference in the game was Bunning who hit a solo homer in the 6th inning to account for the Phillies only run.
Flyers go to the Cup
Gary Dornhoefer scored two goals including the game winner in the 3rd period while Rick MacLeish added a goal of his own and assisted on two others in the Flyers 4-3 win over the Rangers at the Spectrum. The win clinched the Flyers first ever appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1974. In the process they became the first post-1967 expansion team to beat an Original 6 team in a playoff series. The Flyers weren’t done as they’d beat another Original 6 team two weeks later to hoist the Cup.
A.I. Arrives
The Sixers closed out the lockout shortened 1998-99 season with a 105-101 OT win over the Pistons. The win clinched the sixth seed for the Sixers who would open up their first playoff series since 1991 against the Magic. It was also their first winning season since 1991. Allen Iverson dropped thirty-three but had to wait for the Lakers game to see if he’d win the scoring title. Shaquille O’Neal sat out the 4th quarter to give Iverson his first scoring title. He became the shortest player to win the title averaging 26.8 points per game, the lowest total since Paul Arizin won it averaging 25.6 in 1957.
Trivia – Which Sixers have won scoring titles? Bonus – how many and what years? (Answer Below)
Premature Celebration
Trailing the Celtics 89-87 in the final seconds of Game 3 of their 2018 second round matchup, Marco Belinelli hit a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer. Everyone in Wells Fargo Center thought the Sixers had won including the operations team who released celebratory confetti to mark the Sixers victory. Unfortunately for everyone involved, the shot was inside the 3-point line and didn’t win the game but instead sent it to overtime. In a scene reminiscent of the Palestra’s heyday, the overtime period was delayed for almost ten minutes as the cleanup crew had to clear the confetti. In overtime Sixer killer Al Horford hit a shot with 5.5 seconds left to give the Celtics a 101-98 win and more importantly a three games to none lead in the series. Ooops.
Trivia Answer – Allen Iverson – 4 (1999, 2001, 2002 and 2005) Wilt Chamberlain – 2 (1965 and 1966) Joel Embiid (2022 and 2023)
Check back tomorrow for another look at This Day in Philly Sports History
For more Philly Sports History tune in every weekday to This Day in Philly Sports History
0 responses to “This Day in Philly Sports History – May 5”