Jackie Robinson and the Phillies on Phillysportshistory.com

After a couple of years at iSportacus, the gang and I decided it was time to move on. We had some fun and did some good pieces, but there is such a glut of general sports blogs in the area, it was tough to stand out. So I started thinking, what is something we’ve done well on this site and is unique enough to stand out? A quick scan of the site, and happening to catch a few minutes of Ken Burns Baseball on tv the other night, gave me my answer. We’ve decided to give the sports blog thing another shot, but from a different angle. We’re going to take current events and match them up against history.

So for instance, on the 64th anniversary of Jackie Robinson integrating baseball today I discussed the Phillies role in the Jackie Robinson saga.

The Union season is underway, so Mike Lalli wrote about Philadelphia’s shortlived 1894 soccer squad.

The Sixers are preparing to take on the Heat in the playoffs, so I wrote about the famous ballgirls on Miami’s 1970s ABA team.

Not that everything on the site has to be timely. Take, for instance, this piece on the Fast Life and Strange Death of Big Ed Delahanty, a former Phillies star who was certifiably insane. Doesn’t really tie into anything, but it’s damn sure interesting to learn how he died at age 35.

Anyways, I hope you’ll check it out and see what you think. And be sure to check us out on facebook as well. Finally, we are definitely looking for stories so if you come across anything interesting on your daily voyage around the cybertubes, shoot me a line. ANd if you like any of the stories on the site, please “Like” them for facebook. Cheers! -JGT

Quizzo at the Kimmel Tonight! Art and Music is the Theme

We had our first of three Kimmel Center quizzos last night, and it was…interesting. There was a show going on on the roof floor that was a bit loud, but they got done fairly early, so the last two rounds went pretty smoothly. The volume wasn’t really an issue, people could still hear me, but it was just interesting to play with ambient noise descending from the heavens in the background. We’ll time it tonight so that we have more time to ourselves w/o background noise. Nonetheless, it’s a great spot for a quiz and Duane’s World came away with the win last night.

Tonight an all-new quiz, this time on Arts, Humanities, and Music. It’s gonna be a lot of fun. We’ll kick off shortly after the Eiffel Tower light show at 10 p.m. We will be located on the main floor just beyond the Tower. Yes, they have a bar and snacks, and yes, this quiz (and tomorrow’s quiz on Philadelphia) will count towards the JGTSpI. In fact, tonight I will give 1 bonus point to each team who shows up. Have some very cool prizes to give away to the winners as well. Hope to see you tonight!

French Quiz Tonight at the Kimmel

All things France will be on the table tonight at quizzo at the Kimmel Center. French cuisine, French celebrities, French history, French sports, etc. Should be a lot of fun. We’ll be starting the quiz right after the Eiffel Tower light show, which kicks off at 10 p.m. And keep in mind, if you are looking for regular quizzo, you can play tonight at the Ugly American at 8 p.m. and the Bards at 10:15 p.m. with Mike Minion. All quizzes are opportunities for your team to earn points in the JGTSpI. Hope to see you tonight!

Tripleheader Tonight

Lights out at the City Tap House last night. Literally. We were getting ready to start the quiz, when BOOM-out went the lights. The emergencies kicked on, but the crowd was too big to do an acoustic set, so we’re rescheduling for tonight. Action starts at 10:15 p.m. But first we hit our regular Wednesday spots. At the Rendezvous, there are several big time teams desperately in need of a Top 2 finish this week to get themselves back in the mix. Action starts at 6:15 p.m. $3 Victory Hop Devils and $2 Bud Lights. On to the Black Sheep, where after several months of people hanging from the rafters, we had a quiet crowd last week. This might be a good week to grab a table. Hope to see ya tonight!

Quizzo Tonight

We enter week 6 of the JGTSpI with a lot on the line. For teams on the outside looking in, it’s almost do or die time. And your best chance to win just might come tonight, as both bars have almost unheard of parity. 7 different winners in the past 8 weeks at O’Neals, with 6 different winners the past 6 weeks at the City Tap House. Both of these bars are ripe for the taking. Action starts at O’Neals at 8 p.m., and City Tap House starts at 10:15 p.m.

Went to the Quizzo documentary (The Legend of the Sofa Kingdom) last night at the Painted Bride, and it was really, really good. I had seen the rough draft a few months ago and not really been crazy about it, but the crew went back to the drawing board and really revamped the whole thing. The result was a light, punchy movie with a lot of personality. Great job by Dave, Steve, and Sarah. Furthermore, if anybody needs me, I’ll be on IMDB. I’ll probably stop using facebook now and just hang out there, with all of the other famous movie stars.

Question of the Week

What Union captain is credited with firing the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter on April 12th, 1861?

Spring Invitational Scores After 5 Weeks

Here they are, the scores after 5 weeks. In case you missed it the other day, we’re gonna be hosting the Spring Invitational at the Percy Street BBQ, which has amazing food, on May 1st at 1 p.m. If you want to earn an invite, some of you are gonna need to get cracking. Teams in yellow are eligible for the $100 Bonus Prize. Teams in Green would be a lock if the Invite ended today. Teams in purple should probably think about doing a physical challenge or two over the next 3 weeks to be on the safe side. And teams in blue need to really get their butts in gear. There is a new physical challenge posted, and it’s pretty daggone simple. No excuse not to get a few points that way if you’re hoping to attend. Hope to see ya this week…and yes, quizzos at the Kimmel Center later this week will count towards your scores.

Quizzo at the Kimmel Center

Got some more details about the quizzos at the Kimmel Center this week. It’s shaping up to be a pretty awesome event. Basically, I’ll be running a new quiz every night this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in the main lobby of the Kimmel. On Thursday it will be a quiz about France, on Friday it will be a quiz about Music and Art, and on Saturday it will be a quiz about Philadelphia. All of the quizzes will begin after the Eiffel Tower Light Show at 10 p.m. It is part of PIFA, the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts. We’ll be giving away lots of cool prizes, including tickets to their great Summer Solstice Event. Hope to see ya there!

Who is Georgie Jessel?

The City Paper, in a short writeup about the Quizzo Movie (Scroll down) said that I was “equal parts old-time toastmaster (think Georgie Jessel) and quick thinking wiseacre.” Which got me wondering: “Who the hell is Georgie Jessel?” Jessel was, according to Mike Wallace, a “showman extraordianry and a man about town in every town he’s ever been in.” (Watch terrific Mike Wallace interview with Jessel here, though he comes off as a bit of a curmudgeon.) He was an earlier vaudeville star, and was initially cast to star in the Jazz Singer, but turned down the role because Warner Brothers owed him money at the time.

He later became a very famous and sought after-dinner speaker. He also had a scandalous personal life. He dated many Hollywood starlets, and married movie star Norma Talmadge in 1934. (They divorced in 1939, and rumor has it that he later broke into her house and shot at the man she was dating at the time.) It was also in 1934 that introduced “The Gumm Sisters” to a crowd in Chicago. After the crowd laughed at their name, Jessel convinced them to change their name to the Garland Sisters. Shortly thereafter, one of those sisters changed her name from Frances to Judy. They discuss it in the above video.

The quizzo film airs tonight at the Painted Bride at 6:30 p.m., with an aftermovie quiz at the Plough and the Stars at around 8:30. Quizzo at the Khyber is cancelled for this week.

Spring Classic to Be Held May 1st at Percy Street BBQ

A venue has been secured for the JGT Spring Invitational. It will be held on May 1st at Percy Street BBQ at 1 p.m. I picked this spot for a couple of reasons. First of all, it can hold a fair amount of people. Secondly, their BBQ is simply off the chain delicious. You guys who make the cut are in for a treat.

Their capacity is limited, however. Which means that we can only take the Top 20 teams. If you are not in the Top 20 right now, however, worry not. There is still enough time to get there. First of all, if precedent holds, a few teams in the Top 20 won’t be able to make that day and a couple more will join forces. Furthermore, and more importantly, you can quickly earn 4 points by Monday by doing a physical challenge (in this case, climbing a tree.) That will quickly put you within shouting distance, even if you haven’t scored a point yet. But if you’re not on the scoreboard by next week, you’re gonna have to go on a hell of a run to make the Top 20. I would highly advise you to get the team in gear ASAP.