50 Years of Best of Philly: Sports
In honor of the upcoming 50th anniversary of Best of Philly this August, we’re taking a monthly look back. This month: Sports!
For this month’s Best of Philly lookback, we dive into 50 years of Philly sports. / Photograph by Tom Mihalek/AFP via Getty Images
It may seem hard to fathom now, but 50 years ago, there was only one Best Of Philly category dedicated to sports. (Hey, it was 1974; sports success around here was lean, aside from the Flyers.) That year’s sole winner? Immaculata University’s women’s basketball team, fresh off a third-straight AIAW national championship. Go Mighty Macs!
Compare that to last year’s issue. We put five freaking mascots on the cover! And handed out awards for everything from kickboxers to high-school basketball superstars to two bears at the Zoo named Kelce and Harper. Sports was everywhere. Does that mean we’re more intense fans now than we were 50 years ago? Nah. In 1974, we were still trying to figure this whole Best Of thing out. It was more service-focused, and winners in sports and city life were clearly an afterthought (though the old award for Best Parking Garage deserves some praise).
Plus, the list morphs and changes with time as staffers come and go and what we value as a city shifts. In 50 years, as we climb out of our flying cars, we might look back and think, “Damn, 2024, that was a LOT of sports.” Then again, this has been one of the best eras in which to be a Philly sports fan, so hopefully, future us will cut present us some slack.
BOP50 Sports Timeline
Notable wins and winners
1975
Best Local Dirty Hockey Player: Bobby Clarke
1979
At the time, the magazine still awarded “Worst Of” winners. That year’s Worst Sportscaster? An up-and-comer named Merrill Reese.
Jazzercise / Photograph by Jim Graham
1985
First Jazzercise mention.
1988
- Best Jock, Hunk Category: The Flyers’ Peter Zezel
- Best Jock, Ability Category: Charles Barkley, the post-Julius Erving pride of the 76ers
Photograph by Jim Graham
1992
Best Reason to Return to High School: “To see a basketball game starring the gifted Rasheed Wallace, a 6’11” junior at Simon Gratz High School. Experts are comparing him to a young Wilt Chamberlain. Catch him now, and say you knew him when.”
Philadelphia Bulldogs / Photograph by Ken Yanoviak
1996
Best New Sports Team: “Lacrosse hunks, step aside. We love the new Tony Danza-owned Philadelphia Bulldogs, the no-holds-barred roller-hockey team that brakes into the Spectrum all summer long.”
1998
Best Sports Superstar: “Give Allen Iverson a break. The kid’s only the second most exciting basketball player in the universe (after that old man from Space Jam). Yeah, he has a lot to learn, but how thrilling an education.”
Allen Iverson / Photograph by Tom Mihalek/AFP via Getty Images
Published as “BOP 50: Sports!” in the March 2024 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
