Philadelphia eagles santa claus incident

From Philly and the Pa. Let us know!

Olivo, known as the Santa who was booed and dodged snowballs during halftime at a Eagles game, believes the infamous snowball episode launched the Philadelphia Eagles reputation for boorish fans. The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP. Yes, the NFC East title is still in sight for the Eagles when they host the New York Giants — but the date alone is enough to make fans at the Linc cringe at reminders of a bad rap and a bad Santa. The Eagles, only six years removed from an NFL championship, started in under coach Joe Kuharich and seem poised to finish with the worst record in the league and earn the No. That meant a chance at selecting USC running back O.

Philadelphia eagles santa claus incident

It is December and Eagles fans are angry. The team is losing, a disappointing season is winding down and the fans are calling for the coach to be fired. The name lent itself so well to chanting. Joe Must Go rolled easily off the tongue. Three words, nice and short, just right for the angry staccato chorus. That season culminated with one of the most storied events in the citys sports history: the fans throwing snow balls at Santa Claus. There are many versions of what actually happened that day. John Pierron, a former Channel 3 newsman, covered the story and detailed it in a letter to Comcast SportsNet. Since we are approaching the anniversary of that memorable day, we thought we would share Pierrons letter with you. It is interesting to see how much TV news has changed in 40 years. According to Pierron, who still lives in the area, the Santa incident almost went unreported. It was Sunday, December 15, It was the last Eagles home game of a dismal season. The highly popular weekend anchor Harry K. Smith, had retired and given me as his legacy a large Sunday night audience.

Simpson, the great running back from Southern Cal. Since we are approaching the anniversary of that memorable day, we thought we would share Pierrons letter with you.

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Philadelphia has a reputation across professional sports for having the roughest fans. Nobody knows that better than Frank Olivo. The Eagles were bad that season. They went into the game with a record, but they were coming off two wins in a row, which hurt their odds at the No. So fans went into the stadium annoyed — if they were going to be bad, the least they could do was get the top pick. In that draft, it would have been O. Fans arrived to the stadium that afternoon with snow in their seats to watch a poor team in unfavorable weather.

Philadelphia eagles santa claus incident

From Philly and the Pa. Let us know! The year was — a disastrous season for the Philadelphia Eagles. The team ended with a record and lost its final game of the season in disappointing fashion exactly 55 years ago Friday. But the reason the contest has gone down in the history books is due to unusual half-time festivities. But even that showing was just good enough to guarantee they would not get the first pick in the college draft, a star running back called O. Simpson, because the Buffalo Bills had only a single victory that season. Macnow said Eagles fans were displeased and demanding that the head coach be fired. Aggravating the situation was the cold and blustery weather from a big winter storm.

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After his cousin passed away, Monastro received phone calls from news outlets all over not just the country, but the world. Eagles Videos Mar 5. The night before the game at Franklin Field there was a substantial snowstorm that left most of the stadium, including the seats, covered in snow. Kelly, of The Camden Courier Post, wrote: "The man who was pelted by the fans was a Philly rooter who thought he'd go to the game dressed as Santa just for the fun of it. NBC Sports Philadelphia. He said after the snowball assault finally stopped, Santa Frankie was happy. Metropolitan Stadium Hubert H. Eagles fans, and for that matter, all Philadelphia sports fans, have a long reputation for being exceptionally hostile, with plenty of individual instances to show for it. Another good samaritan bites the dust. Stay updated on all our coverage. Three words, nice and short, just right for the angry staccato chorus. Related Content. Another ran out carrying a giant effigy of team owner Jerry Wolman. In those days, it was normal to hire a freelancer for the weekends. Buried deep in the Philadelphia Inquirer game story was a note that "fans amused themselves by pelting both benches with snowballs.

The incident occurred on December 15, , in Week 14, at the time the final week of the NFL season, with the struggling Eagles sitting at 2—11 on the season. Tied 7—7 at halftime, the team brought out Santa Claus as part of the halftime Christmas parade; but Eagles fans upset by the poor season pelted him with snowballs.

Both Olivo and Monastra attended the game, but unbeknownst to them, Bill Mullen was on the prowl for an answer to his Santa dilemma. He would instruct me: Give this to the cameraman and tell him to just shoot the touchdowns. Recruiter's Row Recruiter's Row is a biweekly recruitment newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on all things employment related. We relied on national and international news and the newsmakers from "Meet the Press. Based on the local papers, it appeared to be a blip on the larger radar of the game, as former Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Frank Dolson made reference to halftime in only the eighth paragraph of his story and former Philadelphia Bulletin sportswriter Ray Kelly only doing so in the 11th paragraph of his. No, we are not talking about today. Details with film coming up next. Delivered Monday-Wednesday-Friday. This was film of yesteryear -- black and white, not colorbut the scene was unmistakable. Just as the fans became excited by the prospect of drafting the most celebrated player in college football, the Eagles did the one thing the fans didnt want: they started winning. Download as PDF Printable version.