The Most Quintessentially Philadelphia Sports Moments
From The Hit to The Stepover and beyond, a look back at the most unmistakably Philly moments in sports history.
When we were working on our list of the 25 Most Philly Athletes of All Time, we couldn’t help but get a little nostalgic for decades past: the unexpected championships, the wince-inducing injuries, the grudges. We remembered where we were when Ty Lue sat helplessly as Allen Iverson stomped over him, we recoiled as we watched Aaron Rowand smash into the centerfield fence at the Bank. So, in conjunction with the list, we present these, the most quintessentially Philly sports moments. They’ll make you laugh, they’ll make you cry, they’ll certainly make you head straight to YouTube to watch Terrell Owens doing shirtless crunches in his driveway.
November 20, 1960
Aftermath of “The Hit” / Photograph via Bettmann/Getty Images
Chuck Bednarik delivers The Hit, knocking Frank Gifford unconscious.
March 2, 1962
Photograph by Paul Vathis/AP Images
In a half-empty arena in Hershey, Wilt Chamberlain plays the greatest game in NBA history, scoring 100 points.
February 17, 1968
Strong winds knock the roof off the brand-new Spectrum during an Ice Capades performance. As sunlight pours into the arena and scared attendees flee, the Ice Capades band plays “Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder.”
1970
Muhammad Ali moves into a split-level in Overbrook Park just to get into Joe Frazier’s head before the Fight of the Century.
May 11, 1975
Rexy’s, the Black Horse Pike watering hole and favorite bar of Flyers players, burns down. The following day the team wears black armbands to practice to pay their respects.
January 11, 1976
During the Bicentennial, Soviet powerhouse HC CSKA Moscow — “the Red Army Team” — comes to Philadelphia … and is promptly crushed by the Flyers, 4–1.
November and December 1979
Photograph by Peter Read Miller/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
Darryl Dawkins shatters two rims in just a month, forcing the NBA to redesign their backboards.
October 21, 1980
Photograph via Bettmann/Getty Images
In the most watched World Series game in history — and with police lining the field — Tug McGraw strikes out Willie Wilson to clinch the Phillies’ first World Series championship.
January 5, 1983
Dr. J’s Rock the Baby dunk
December 8, 1987
Photograph by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
After 40,219 NHL games, a goalie finally scores when Flyer Ron Hextall lofts the puck into an empty net against the Boston Bruins.
May 23, 2000–January 5, 2009
Pat Burrell’s Reign of Sexual Prowess
June 6, 2001
Photograph by Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images
August 18, 2001
During the Philadelphia X-Games, Brazilian skateboarder Bob Burnquist delivers the greatest vert freestyle performance of all time, reinventing the sport in less than 60 seconds.
January 11, 2004
Photograph by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
With 1:12 left in the game, Donovan McNabb finds Freddy Mitchell open, and 4th-and-26 is born.
August 10, 2005
Photograph via Getty Images
A shirtless, crunching Terrell Owens hosts a press conference in his driveway.
May 11, 2006
Photograph via Getty Images
Aaron Rowand smashes face-first into the Bank’s chain-link center field wall, robbing Xavier Nady of an extra-base hit and becoming an all-time Phillies fan favorite in the process.
October 31, 2008
Photograph via Getty Images
“World champions. World fucking champions!”
February 4, 2018
“You want Philly Philly?”
February 8, 2018
Photograph by Alex Brandon/AP Images
“No one likes us, we don’t care.”
August 3, 2023
Phillies superfan Jon McCann posts a video to social media encouraging fans to, rather than boo a struggling Trea Turner, give him a standing ovation instead. The move leads to a 10-game hit streak and turns around the shortstop’s season.
February 14, 2025
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman takes a beer can to the head during the team’s Super Bowl parade. Later, with a half-moon slice on his forehead, he kicks off his speech with “I bleed for this team.”
1983–2026
The beautiful, curious life of Dan McQuade, the ultimate fan.
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Published as “The 25 Most Philly Athletes of All Time: The Most Quintessentially Philadelphia Sports Moments” in the March 2026 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
