Here we are, the final blog post of 2022! Well, almost - next week I'll be sharing my annual wrap-up post, where I talk about the statistics of the blog and the new friends I've made and what I've got in mind as I head into the next year. I will then be radio silent, apart from occasional posts on Facebook, for the month of December. (Why? Because as my longtime readers know, my day job is retail. That pretty much says it all.) In 2023, I'll be heading into my fifth year of this blog, which kind of astounds me.
We're going to close out the active blogging year with a visit to a place that has been gone for many years. Unlike many of the buildings I've profiled on this blog, however, this one is like the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia - I've actually been inside. I grew up roughly an hour's drive away from Philadelphia, depending on traffic anyway, and the two big settings for much of anything in those days were Veterans Stadium and the Spectrum Arena. Nothing else really compared to the two. Both were part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex; both were home to Philadelphia pro sports teams (baseball and football at the Vet, hockey and basketball at the Spectrum); and both were popular venues for concerts and other large-scale events. Both are also gone.
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| The marker stands on Pattison Avenue between South Broad and South Eleventh Streets, Philadelphia. Image courtesy of Ravi Shankar. |
The story of the Vet begins in the late 1950s, when Connie Mack Stadium was the home of the Phillies. Being around fifty years old at that point, it wasn't in the best shape, so the Phillies' owner wanted his team to have a new place to play. With a few other teams having already moved out of Philadelphia by that point, the city wasn't willing to lose any more, and the decision was made in 1964 to build a stadium that would serve as home base to both the Phillies and the Eagles. The city council dubbed the new facility Veterans Stadium in honor of "those brave men and women of Philadelphia who served in defense of their country." (That was how the dedication was inscribed on a plaque.)
Construction began in 1967 and took close to four years. It was one of the most expensive ballparks of the time period, including a $3 million scoreboard setup. The opening game was played on April 10, 1971, with the Phillies defeating the Montreal Expos. In September, the Eagles played their inaugural game, losing to the Dallas Cowboys. Over the years there were many games played, both major and minor league, and even some amateur sports; the Liberty Bell Classic, a university league which began in 1992, played at the Vet until the end of the stadium's life. It was also the site of many concerts, hosting such big names as Bon Jovi and Madonna, and an annual Jehovah's Witness convention.
The design of Veterans Stadium was, how shall I put it? Curious. The shape was called an "octorad," a sort of squared circle which was meant to accommodate the needs of both football and baseball games. It didn't really succeed in either direction, but it tried. Large statues of ballplayers decorated the exterior; I think these are still standing. I've seen in at least one article where the interior was described as resembling a giant concrete bowl, and it's hard to argue. The seating was described on another website as being comfortable but hideous, although the original red and orange seats were later replaced with blue ones which were much less eye-searing. I only remember the blue, myself. Players were also not particularly fond of the Vet, which was voted the worst stadium in the NFL - not once, but every year. It was literally just AstroTurf on top of concrete, so it was not at all comfortable under their feet.
The unpainted concrete and somewhat labyrinthine layout concealed a very unusual secret, possibly unique to Philadelphia. According to his memoir, Tom Garvey was an Airborne Ranger who served in the Vietnam War, and after returning home, he took a job at Veterans Stadium, becoming the parking lot manager. In 1979, he was inspired by a friend's comment to transform a bit of the stadium's storage space into a well-hidden apartment. Beneath the 300-level seats, he created an illusion of cardboard boxes which hid the door that led into his personal living space with AstroTurf carpeting. It wasn't luxurious, but he describes it as having been "cozy" and having "everything a guy would want." His job gave him an excuse to be in the stadium at all hours, and his friendships with players and workers alike kept him above suspicion. Only a handful of people knew about the apartment, where he lived until 1981.
But like the Connie Mack Stadium before it, the Vet became the victim of deterioration over time. The final games were played in 2003, after which the Eagles moved to their new home at Lincoln Financial Field and the Phillies to Citizens Bank Park. They're the two structures on the right side of that picture of the Sports Complex. The stadium's replica of the Liberty Bell was removed for safekeeping, later being installed at Citizens Bank Park, and in 2004 the Vet was destroyed via implosion. The Phillie Phanatic was on hand for the ceremony, and pressed a ceremonial plunger to give the appearance that he was the one who detonated his team's former home. (He was not. They're not about to let him have access to dynamite.) The site of Veterans Stadium became a parking lot. The following year, the Phillies dedicated a monument on the spot where the stadium had been, as well as a memorial to all veterans. Later, in 2006, the parking lot was adorned with markers to indicate where home plate, the pitcher's mound, the three bases, and the football goalposts had been.
The legends of the Vet - the secret apartment, the army of stray cats employed to combat the rodent problem, the rowdy fans and career-ending injuries - stay with us nearly twenty years after the stadium's demise. Love it or hate it, anyone who knew the place is unlikely to forget it.
P.S. Happy Thanksgiving!
Sources and Further Reading:
Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.
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