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The Top 31 Spectrum Memories - Ever!
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| 1. |
May 19, 1974 – the Flyers Win the Stanley Cup!
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| | The Philadelphia Flyers defeat the Boston Bruins, 1-0, on Rick McLeish’s goal and Bernie Parent’s shut-out, and capture their first Stanley Cup on May 19, 1974. |
| 2. |
March 28, 1992 – Christian Laettner Hits the Shot Heard ‘Round the World at the 1992 NCAA East Regionals-Duke vs. Kentucky
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| | With two seconds remaining in a tightly contest game to advance to the NCAA Final Four, Kentucky’s Sean Wood hits a bank shot to give the Wildcats a one-point lead. After a timeout, Duke’s Grant Hill is left unguarded and he flings the inbounds pass 80-feet down the court to a leaping Christian Laettner, who is near the foul line with his back to the basket. The 6’11" senior takes one dribble, fakes right, turns to his left and hits a 17-foot jumper giving Duke a 104-103 victory and its fifth consecutive trip to the Big Dance. |
| 3. |
May 28, 1987 – Daigneault Scores in Game Six of Stanley Cup Finals - Flyers v. Edmonton Oilers
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| | J.J. Daigneault scores at 14:28 of the third period to give the Flyers a 302 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. All three of the Flyers victories in the round have come after the Oilers had taken a 2-0 lead in each game. Brian Propp’s crucial third-period power play goal gave him 28 points for the playoffs that year, a new Flyers record. |
| 4. |
January 11, 1976 – The Flyers Defeat the Soviet Red Army
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| | The Soveit Army Team was, in reality, the Soveit All-Star Team. They had won all of their games against NHL teams to that point, and it was up to the Flyers to show that they were the cold warriors. The Flyers beat them emphatically – so much so that they walked off the ice during the game and refused to come back until (NHL Commissioner) Clarence Campbell and Ed Snider told them they weren’t going to get paid. They came back on the ice, but were little competition for what Snider believed was the Flyers best team ever. The Flyers won, 401, and the game wasn’t really that close. |
| 5. |
March 29, 1976 – Indiana Completes Perfect Season – Wins Final Four
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| | Bringing a perfect record (31-0) to Philadelphia and a chance to be crowned National Champions, Indiana Hoosiers and Bobby Knight take to the court to face Big Ten rival Michigan, the first time in NCAA Tournament history that two teams from the same conference will meet in the title game. Indiana’s starting five featured two All-Americans, forward Scott May and center Kent Benson, along with Quinn Buckner, Tom Abernethy and Bobby Wilkerson. Things started out badly for Indiana when Wilkerson sustained an early concussion and played only two minutes. The beefy Wolverines took advantage of the absence of Wilkerson, a defensive ace, and grabbed a 35-29 halftime lead. But Indiana rallied, shooting 60 percent from the floor in the second half. With May scoring a game-high 26 points and Benson 25, the Hoosiers rolled to an 86-68 victory. At 35, Knight had won his first national championship. The 1975-76 team is the last NCAA Division I team to finish the season undefeated. |
| 6. |
July 21-22, 1972 – The Rolling Stones Perform with Stevie Wonder
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| | The Rolling Stones return to the stage for an encore with opening act Stevie Wonder for a sensational rendition of "I Can’t Get No Satisfaction." |
| 7. |
October 11, 1973 - Kate Smith Appears Live to Perform "God Bless America" – Flyers vs. Toronto
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| | Kate Smith appears live at the Spectrum for the fist time to perform "God Bless America." The Flyers win the game, 2-0, over Doug Favell and the Toronto Maple Leafs. This is the year the Flyers won the Stanley Cup. |
| 8. |
January 5, 1983 - Dr. J’s Windmill Dunk Over Michael Cooper
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| | Julius Erving's steal and eventual "rock the baby to sleep" slam put the Sixers up by four points over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers with 1:27 remaining, so it was not only a spectacular highlight but it was also a key sequence in a matchup between the teams that met in both the 1982 and 1983 NBA Finals. |
| 9. |
November 16, 1988 – Michael Jordan Scores 52 points
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| | Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan shoots 24 for 29 from the floor and a perfect four of four from the line and scores 52 points against the Sixers. It is the most points scored by an opponent in Spectrum history. |
| 10. |
December 5, 1979 – Darryl Dawkins Shatters the Backboard
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| | Having already shattered one backboard at Kansas City in November of 1979, Darryl Dawkins did it again, this time in the Spectrum, against the San Antonio Spurs. The only difference was this time, he did even more damage. Not only did he break the backboard, but he pulled the rim down as well, bolts and all. When recounting the dunk, Darryl remembered, "I moved in, attacked the basket, and BOOM! The whole rim came down." |
| 11. |
May 28, 1977 – Elvis Presley Performs Final Philadelphia Show
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| 12. |
March 19, 1973 – Olga Korbut Performs
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| | After capturing the hearts and affections of the world with her dazzling acrobatic display and capturing three gold medals and a silver medal at the l972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, Olga Korbut and a team of Russian Olympic Gymnasts toured the US for the first time. Only seven cities were selected, including Philadelphia. |
| 13. |
March 30, 1981 – Indiana Wins Second NCAA Championship at the Spectrum – Indiana vs. Michigan.
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| | Indiana guard Isiah Thomas is named MVP for the tournament as Indiana defeats North Carolina, 63-50 at the Spectrum. Indiana Coach Bobby Knight becomes the only coach to win two championships at the Spectrum. |
| 14. |
June 10, 1998 – Phantoms Win Calder Cup
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| | With Bruce Coles’ goal at 18:18 of the first period, the Phantoms climb to a 2-0 lead over the Flames in Game Six, a lead they would not relinquish as they go on to win the franchise’s first Calder Cup. A raucous capacity crowd of 17,380, the largest ever to gather for a Calder Cup layoff game, cheers madly. Phantoms left wing Mike Maneluk, who leads all postseason scorers with 24 points on 13 goals and 21 assists, is awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as Calder Cup Playoff MVP. |
| 15. |
December 9, 1980 – Bruce Springsteen Pays Tribute to John Lennon
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| | Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform a very emotional show the night after John Lennon was shot. He opened his performance that evening with a speech to the crowd: "It’s a hard world that asks you live with a lot of things that are unlivable. And it’s hard to come out here and play tonight, but there’s nothing else to do." |
| 16. |
May 16, 1980 - Magic Johnson Scores 40 Points Playing Every Position
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| | In the midst of the 1980 NBA Finals, Los Angeles Lakers Magic Johnson starts the game at center for the injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He would eventually play every position in what has been called "the greatest game of his career," scoring 42 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. |
| 17. |
February 18, 1978 – Billy Graham Retains WWWF Title in Steel Cage
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| | A standing room only crowd of 19,500 and a closed-circuit cable audience watching on PRISM, former WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino enters the 15-foot high steel cage to reclaim his title from Champion Superstar Billy Graham. After a grueling 7:43 into the match, Sammartino signals for the opening of the cage, but decides to drop one more kick on Graham. Unfortunately, Sammartino drop-kicks Graham between the ropes and out of the cage and Graham retains his title in front of a stunned crowd in South Philadelphia. |
| 18. |
February 3, l976 – NBA All-Star Game
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| | At the NBA All-Star Game, the East defeats the West, 123-109, as Bob McAdoo and Kareem Abdul Jabar each lead their respective teams with 22 points, but it was Dave Bing of the Washington Bullets who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player after scoring 16 points and dishing off four assists. |
| 19. |
January 20, 1976 – National Hockey League All-Star Game
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| | The two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Philadelphia Flyers host the l976 National Hockey League All-Star Game as Pete Mahovolich of the Montreal Canadiens is named the game’s Most Valuable Player. |
| 20. |
February 1, 1977 – Flyers Wives Fight for Lives with Debut of Carnival
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| | Flyers Wives organization was formed in the 70’s to create fundraising events to give back to the community that treated us so well. The very first Carnival was an idea conceived in a brainstorming session with Flyers Staff. We wanted an event we could hold in the building so the PR Director, Ed Golden, said "why not a Carnival that would be fun for the entire family?"
The first event was a labor of love; the players had no idea what to expect….imagine the fun fans had when they could participate in Pie Throwing Contests, Dunk Tank, etc. I still remember Barry Ashbee bending over picking up coins from the Coin Toss game, and Ed Snider with a megaphone encouraging fans to participate. At the end of the night, we sat in a room counting all the money and couldn’t believe we raised over $85,000 for charity!
Little did we know that the following year would be so momentous as we created a fundraising vehicle in Barry Ashbee’s memory and produced important funding for cancer research. |
| 21. |
April 5, 1976 – Luciano Pavarotti Performs Live
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| | Opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti makes historic debut at the Spectrum. At the time it was considered a landmark occasion for the iconic tenor to perform in a non-traditional opera hall. |
| 22. |
April 8, 1995 – Wings Win NLL Championship in OT
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| | The Philadelphia Wings defeat the Rochester Knighthawks in overtime to capture their fourth NLL Championship |
| 23. |
March 1, 1968 – The roof blows off the Spectrum
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| | During an afternoon performance of Ice Capades, portions of the Spectrum insulation on the roof blows off, forcing the teams to play the final month of their seasons on the road. |
| 24. |
September 27, 1988 – Sinatra, Minelli and Davis in Concert
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| | It was billed as "The Ultimate Event." It was originally to be the Rat Pack - Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dean Martin. When Martin was sidelined to a kidney ailment, Minelli stepped in. Each artist performed individually until the end of the show when the trio performed a medley from "Guys and Dolls" and the show closer, "New York, New York." |
| 25. |
January 13, 1976 – Bobby "Boogaloo" Watts Defeats Marvin Hagler
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| | Bobby "Boogaloo" Watts stuns a full house when he defeats previously undefeated Marvin Hagler in a controversial 10th round decision. |
| 26. |
October 7, 1994 – Grateful Dead Perform 50th Show at the Spectrum
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| | Prior to their third show of three consecutive nights at the Spectrum, WMMR’s Pierre Robert welcomes the audience as a commemorative tie-dye banner is lowered from the rafters recognizing the 50 shows by the Grateful Dead, the most, at the time, by any one act in the venue’s history. The Spectrum is the only venue in which the Grateful Dead have performed in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s. |
| 27. |
September 24, 1999 – Bruce Springsteen Performs The Night After His 50th Birthday
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| | Springsteen also graced the Spectrum stage on September 24, 1999, the night after his 50th birthday. It was a rare return to the Spectrum during a six-night stand in which he performed five of the other shows at the neighboring Wachovia Center. The following night (September 25, 1999), Springsteen performed across the parking lot at the Wachovia Center. Comcast-Spectacor, owners of the Wachovia Center and Spectrum, submitted to Guinness Book of World Records "The Shortest Distance Ever Traveled by a Rock Show" - 758-feet, nine and a half inches. Guinness turned down the attempt. |
| 28. |
June 6, 1973 – Springsteen Booed off the Stage
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| | Bruce Springsteen opens for Chicago at the Spectrum and is booed off the stage. |
| 29. |
March 29, 1979 - Philadelphia 76ers vs. New Jersey Nets - Three Players Play for Both Teams in the Same Game
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| | It’s a common thing for two National Basketball Association teams to swap baskets in a game. But is it possible for two teams to swap players in a game? Amazingly, that’s what happened during the 1978-79 season in a game between the New Jersey Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers.
In a game early in the season, Al Skinner and Eric Money played for the Nets, and Harvey Catchings played for Philadelphia. The game was suspended because of a protest and was scheduled to be made up at a later date (March 29, 1979 at the Spectrum). Before the game could be replayed, however, the Nets traded Skinner and Money to the 76ers in exchange for Catchings and another player who was injured when the teams first met. When the suspended game was finally continued, Eric Money and Al Skinner played for Philadelphia against Harvey Catchings and his New Jersey Nets teammates. Thus, those three players played for both teams in the same game. It’s wacky, but true. |
| 30. |
Billy Joel’s six-night engagement Sept.-Oct., 1993
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| | During one of the shows, the Phillie Phanatic walked across the parking lot and ran into the front row. The Phillies were in the midst of the 1993 World Series. |
| 31. |
Pink Floyd Performs "Animals" June 29, 1977
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| | Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters performs while sick. After the preshow medication starts to wear off, he cannot return to the stage for the encore. He claims the experience of trying to play on the medication made his hands "feel like two balloons." He used the "numbing" performance at the Spectrum as the inspiration for the Pink Floyd classic hit, "Comfortably Numb." |
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