The 1980 edition of the Phillies may not have been the best team, talent-wise, in Phillies history. Both the 1976 and 1977 Phils won more games. The Phillies also won pennants in 1915, 1950, 1983, and 1993. In fact, it took a near miracle (and a six-game winning streak at the end of the year) for the Phillies to even win the division crown over the powerhouse Expos in 1980. Then the Phillies looked at baseball's version of the Grim Reaper against Houston, coming back in the 8th inning of games 4 and 5, winning both in extra innings to go to the World Series. And against the Royals, the Phillies just would not be denied, winning the FIRST World Championship in Phillies history in six games. Yes, other Phillies teams may have had more talent. Other Phillies teams may have won more games. But the 1980 Phillies won, with grit and determination, what no other Phillies team could achieve until 2008: The right to call themselves WORLD CHAMPIONS.

March 2025 Update:  I have been able to continue to make progress on the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal, entering the March, 1980 articles into the site library.  I also found a few extra Reading Eagle articles that I had not entered during this time.  And I continue to address formatting issues in some of the site library articles.  I am also adding mastheads to all newspaper pages, and am also working through existing ones.

Go Birds!  People thought that the Kansas City Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes were unstoppable… but they hadn’t counted on this Philadelphia Eagles defense!  The new Gang Green stifled Mahomes and Andy Reid, and MVP Jalen Hurts led the Eagles offense to the NFL championship in winning Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.  Congratulations to Jeffrey Lurie, Nick Sirianni and the players – you hard work paid off this season with the ultimate prize!

Spring Training:  The cool thing about the Eagles’ Super Bowl appearance is that it made it a short wait… Phillies spring training began just a few days after the Big Game!  The Phillies only made a few minor additions after last season’s regular season success and playoff disappointment.  But with spring comes optimism that begins each new season.  The Phillies have the talent to keep up with the best in the league – it’s time to show it!

Still On the Lookout For:

• Digital pictures from the 1980 season.  I’ve been putting in a lot of clips from the newspaper I get the articles from, but the quality is often less than optimal.
• Articles from the Philadelphia Bulletin.  Richie Ashburn used to do a weekly article in that newspaper, but to this point I cannot find it online.  Online, scanned, clipped… most importantly free!

Future Updates:  The to enter articles from the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal will continue, aiming to complete at least the April 1980 articles.  I will also continue to fix the formatting errors in the articles as time allows.  I will continue to add mastheads to all new pages and additional existing pages as time allows.  Future possibilities for new articles include the Asbury Park (NJ) Press, the Lancaster (PA) New Era, the Lebanon (PA) Daily News and the Scranton (PA) Times-Tribune.  Condensing of article pages will also continue to allow for further growth of the site library within the limits my Jimdo account.