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Happy Sunday! If you’re a football fan, I hope you had fun watching the games this weekend. Since many of the site’s readers are Eagles fans, I’m sure today’s results were quite enjoyable.
Speaking of football, the Eagles have clinched a playoff spot, and as I’m sure you know, the Phillies also made it to the playoffs in 2022. Somewhat surprisingly, having both teams in the playoffs in the same year isn’t something that happens all that often.
Even though both teams have been in existence since 1933, they’ve only made the playoffs in the same season six times before this. Does having both teams in the postseason portend greater success for them once they get there? Let’s take a look.
1978
It took 45 years for both teams to make the playoffs the same year. This sounds bad, but keep in mind that there were fewer playoff spots to be earned back then. Unfortunately, the first dual trip didn’t go well for either team.
Powered by the core of Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton, the Phillies won their third straight NL East title in 1978. But for the third straight year, they lost in the NLCS. The Eagles ended a long postseason drought in 1978, but like the Phillies, they couldn’t make it past the first round.
1978 #LCSMemories
— 1970s Baseball (@70sBaseball) October 15, 2021
Ron Cey races home with winning run in 10th inning, Game 4 of 1978 NLCS, clinching the pennant for LA over the Phillies.
Cey had walked, advanced after an error by Gold Glover Garry Maddox on a fly ball, and scored after Maddox over-ran Bill Russell's single. pic.twitter.com/sdGhlcGqmj
1980
1980 was the greatest year in Philadelphia sports history with all four major teams making it the final round. The bad news is that only one of the four was able to win that final round. The Phillies defeated the Royals in six games, but the Eagles came up small in the Super Bowl.
1980 Time Magazine Best in Sports. Julius Erving, Tug Mcgraw, Ron Jaworski, Pete Peeters. on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. pic.twitter.com/kL46zw9HaQ
— BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) November 30, 2022
1981
Both teams returned to the postseason the following year, but there were no league or conference championships to be had as they both fell in the first round.
2008
Mostly thanks to a fallow period by the Phillies, we had to wait another 17 years before both teams made it to the playoffs in the same year. And they both did well upon getting there. As you may remember, the Phillies hoisted their second World Series trophy that year, while the Eagles won two games before falling short in the NFC Championship game.
The 2008 Phillies parade was one of the greatest experiences of my life pic.twitter.com/q3XyFZPa4n
— Did the Phillies Lose? (@DidthePhilslose) June 6, 2020
2009
In late October, dual championships seemed to be a real possibility. The Phillies were back in the World Series and the Eagles looked to be headed towards a division title. But then the Yankees denied the Phillies back-to-back titles, while the Eagles fell apart at the end of the season and were crushed by the Cowboys in the first round of the playoffs.
There are a lot of things Eagles fans have gotten mad about in regards to Donovan McNabb over the years. Playing air guitar before hitting the field before a playoff game against the Cowboys was one of them. That was a no-no. pic.twitter.com/Tm0MDAZgHV
— Derek Jones (@DerekJones79) January 4, 2019
2010
For the third straight year, both teams made it to the postseason, but both teams had disappointing results. Despite leading the National League in wins, the 2010 Phillies were upset in the NLCS by stupid Cody Ross and the Giants. By winning the NFC East, the 2010 Eagles had a home game, but Michael Vick and company fell to the eventual champion Green Bay Packers.
Mike Vick throwing an interception against the packers in the playoffs to end the game to Riley Cooper https://t.co/p6lwcTFzuS
— Pretty_Helki (@helki_luveagles) July 20, 2020
Based on that history, it does kind of seem like when the Phillies have a good run in the playoffs, the Eagles will follow suit. Maybe civic karma is real?
That brings us to this year where we’ll finally have both teams in the playoffs after a 12-year gap. And even though the Phillies didn’t win the World Series, I think most of us would consider their postseason run to be a success. Will the Eagles be able to do them one better and win it all? Stay tuned.
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