WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Phillies captured the hearts of sports fans and electrified the City with their improbable run to their first World Series victory since 1915; and
WHEREAS, Behind strong pitching, exceptional defense, timely hitting, an outstanding bench and incredible determination the club went into the final weekend of the season needing two victories to clinch their fourth division title in five years; and
WHEREAS, The greatest third baseman of all time, our own Michael Jack Schmidt, clubbed a tie-breaking, eleventh inning home run to defeat Montreal and clinch the division title; and
WHEREAS, The Fightin' Phils then went on to defeat the Houston Astros in five thrilling games, in what many experts proclaim to be the best League Championship Series ever played, to bring home the Phillies first National League pennant since 1950; and
WHEREAS, The Phillies won the first two games of the World Series in the City of Brotherly Love, then moved on to Kansas City where they lost two heartbreaking games, only to defy the odds and win a heart stopping Game 5 behind timely pinch hitting and the late inning heroics of our favorite reliever, the one and only Tug McGraw; and
WHEREAS, The Phillies returned home to Philadelphia to win Game 6 and the Series, with Pete Rose's game saving catch of a foul ball that popped out of Bob Boone's glove and Tug's game ending strikeout of Willie Wilson forever etched in the minds of all Phillies fans.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby honor and commend all members of the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies for the thrills and chills that they gave this City on October 21, 1980, a cold, joyous night twenty years ago, and that an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies, further evidencing our appreciation of their incredible World Series victory.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That we proudly designate June 16-18, 2000 as "Phillies Reunion Weekend" in fitting tribute to our beloved 1980 Phillies.
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