The Fightin' Phils have been here six times previously, all of them in my own lifetime as a fan. In their glory run from 1976 through 1980, the period covering most of my teenage years, the Phils played in the NLCS four times out of five seasons.
In the 1977 season the club won 101 games, their 2nd straight NL East crown, and there were many in baseball who felt the Phils had the best team in baseball. Standing in the way of a trip to the World Series were the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
The two teams each had tremendous players. The Phillies were led by sluggers Greg Luzinski and Mike Schmidt, pesky shortstop Larry Bowa, and lefty starter Steve Carlton.
The Dodgers had a longtime infield of Stever Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, and Ron Cey as well as slugging outfielders Reggie Smith and Dusty Baker. Their rotation was led by future Hall of Famer Don Sutton.
The two clubs split the first two games out in LA, and so the Phils returned home needing to win two out of three at Veteran's Stadium to advance to their first World Series in 28 years. And then baseball catastrophe struck.
It was October 7th, 1977. It was Game Three of the 1977 National League Championship Series. What is perhaps recognized as the single most devastating loss in Phillies history played out that day in what has become known as 'Black Friday' in local Philly pro sports legend.
