The Statues at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex

As we wallow through middle age, Mrs. Sez and I do our best to stay active in the hopes of delaying the aches and pains of old age. Mrs. Sez is decidedly better at this than I am. My version of staying active typically includes lumbering on an elliptical machine while watching old Yankee games on YouTube for 15 or even 20 minutes at a time, if I'm feeling frisky. She, on the other hand, trains for things like 5K's and 10-mile runs and half marathons. I get tired just watching.

Watching these events means waking up while it's still dark out, driving to a crowded place with little to no parking, and spending hours looking to find Mrs. Sez among a sea of people in better shape than I am. I'm happy to do all of this for two main reasons: (1) I get to support my favorite person in the world, and (2) I don't have to do any of the running. One of these events sticks out among the rest for selfish reasons, though. The Broad Street Run has been a Philadelphia tradition for more than 40 years and more than 40,000 brave souls participate every year. But that's not why I love it.

The Broad Street Run spans Philadelphia from north to south, so spectators gather near the finish line at the Navy Yard, the southernmost point of Philly. That means I can park in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex for the run, from which Mrs. Sez can take the subway up to the starting point of the race, and I can easily walk to the finish line. It also means that I get to kill a few hours in the epicenter of Philly sports just before the sun rises. During this year's version of the run back in May I decided to make the most of my stroll through the sports complex by documenting it with pictures of the statues that adorn its walkways.

Amazingly, in researching some of the statues that you're about to see, I realized that there's no comprehensive listing of these things anywhere on the internet. Until now. Did I say this project was selfish? Scratch that, it's damn near a public service!

Veterans Stadium - Football

Shortly after Veterans Stadium opened as the new home of the Phillies and Eagles in 1971, four statues were placed around the stadium - two depicting baseball players and two depicting football players. They were created by a local sculptor who intended to depict generic figures and actions from the two sports. While the names of these statues are equally generic - this one's called Punter - I can appreciate the amount of detail put into them. I can't help but instantly get into a football mood when I see them. By the early 1970's facemasks had been commonplace on football helmets for over a decade, so the leatherhead style is an interesting choice, but probably just indicative of the football era that the sculptor was most accustomed to.

When Veterans Stadium was demolished in 2004, thankfully the the statues survived. They now sit just outside the old footprint of the Vet, which serves as a parking lot for Citizens Bank Park - the Phillies' home since 2004. This one - dubbed Tackle - is a little more exciting than a punter following through on a kick.

Veterans Stadium - Baseball

As a baseball fan first and foremost, I enjoy the baseball statues just a bit more than the football ones. This one - appropriately named Full Swing - depicts a lefty swinger, but my guess is that it was inspired at least in part by the righty-swinging Roberto Clemente, who tragically died in a plane crash shortly before the statue was made.

Rounding out the Vet statues is Play at Second Base, which portrays, well, you know. In line with the motif of the statues the uniforms are generic, but I love the use of stirrups, which are rarely seen on a baseball diamond these days. Also, I think he's gonna be safe.

Steve Carlton

As a longtime Phillie and one of the greatest lefthanded pitchers of all time, Steve Carlton was an obvious choice to honor with a statue when they opened Citizens Bank Park in 2004. This stands just outside the Left Field Gate and is as imposing as Carlton was on a real mound.

Richie Ashburn

Walking around the back of Citizens Bank Park, I discovered a pleasant surprise. From the outside, you can peer into the centerfield concourse - known as Ashburn Alley - and clearly see the statue of Richie Ashburn that serves as its centerpiece. He was not only a great centerfielder for the Phillies in the 1950's, but also served as a Phillies broadcaster for nearly 35 years thereafter.

Robin Roberts

The greatest righthanded pitcher in Phillies history gets his very own statue outside the First Base Gate. Roberts' statue being colored in full grayscale has always struck me as odd. I get that the sculptor must have been trying to evoke a sense of "oldness" to the statue since Roberts started pitching in the 1940's. However, the spectrum of color, gray as it is, offers a texture and sense of detail that makes it seem more modern than the monochramatic bronze statues of the modern players. Regardless, it's a sharp-looking piece of work.

Mike Schmidt

The greatest Phillie, and greatest third baseman of all time gets his statue at the Third Base Gate, naturally. Schmidt's pure power emanates off this statue. You can just imagine a ball careening 500 feet away as you gaze at his follow-through. This gate gets by far the most foot traffic outside Citizens Bank Park before games, so chances are even a casual fan will notice Mike Schmidt when attending a Phillies game. As they should.

Joe Frazier

Certainly my favorite statue of the bunch, this one sits right outside the main entrance of Xfinity Live!, a mini-mall of bars and restaurants that sits between all of the stadiums at the complex. Smokin' Joe was born and raised in South Carolina but trained as a boxer in Philadelphia and has been as synonymous with the city as cheesesteaks and the Liberty Bell ever since. Frazier made up for his lack of size as a heavyweight with a relentless style, an iron chin, and a devastating left hook. All of that comes through loud and clear in this pose.

Nick Foles & Doug Pederson

Now on to my least favorite statue of the bunch. As a Giants fan this one makes me want to vomit. If the Eagles wanted to honor someone from their past, there's no shortage of great players/great characters to choose from: Chuck Bednarik, Steve Van Buren, Tommy McDonald, Dick Vermeil, Reggie White, Randall Cunningham, etc. Instead, the lone statue outside Lincoln Financial Field - Home of the Eagles - is of Doug Pederson calling a gadget play to Nick Foles in the Super Bowl. I get it, the play that eventually happened was a big moment in a big game, but that doesn't take away from how dumb it is to capture a play call via bronze statue. The fact that it's "sponsored" adds to the stupidity. Then again, the sponsor is a tasteless, watered down product, so it actually all makes sense in a way.

Immediately after taking this picture my hatred for the Eagles was cemented even further - as if that's possible - when I had the audacity to try and walk around the east side of the stadium in the faint hopes that a better statue could be found there. Before I could round the corner, a group of "workers" sitting on a shallow cement wall doing absolutely nothing asked me if I worked there. I gleefully replied that no, I was not one of their colleagues, to which they promptly told me that I couldn't walk around where I was walking around. Just to confirm, I said, "I can't walk around?" and got a firm "Nah" in response. Word to the wise: don't get caught walking around at Lincoln Financial Field! I dutifully headed across the street to the Wells Fargo Center where no such rules exist, apparently.

Bernie Parent & Bobby Clarke

I have to admit, outside of the New York Islanders, hockey is a blind spot for me as a sports fan. However, I do know enough to recognize this as the two greatest Flyers in franchise history hoisting the Stanley Cup during their back-to-back champion "Broad Street Bullies" days. This used to sit near the Joe Frazier Statue at Xfinity Live!, but was moved to the Broad Street side of the Flyers home stadium a few years ago. It's the best of the four Flyers-related statues sitting outside the Wells Fargo Center.

Wilt Chamberlain

To put it in baseball terms, Wilt Chamberlain was the Babe Ruth of basketball. No one before or since has ever been quite like Wilt the Stilt, and his impact on the game is immeasurable. This one stands out because it's as enigmatic and eccentric as the man himself. It was the first statue installed outside the Wells Fargo Center - also home of the 76ers.

Gary Dornhoefer

Another hockey statue and this one's definitely unique. There are literally no words anywhere on or around this work of art describing what's been cast in bronze for all to see. That's the case for all of the Flyers statues here. Turns out the guy flying through the air triumphantly is Gary Dornhoefer, who scored an overtime winner during the first round of the playoffs in 1973 against the Minnesota North Stars. This used to sit outside The Spectrum - the former home of the Flyers and Sixers - then was moved to Xfinity Live! before reaching its final destination at the Wells Fargo Center. I have no idea who the goalie is, but the whole thing looks pretty cool.

Dr. J

Julius Erving was the epitome of cool in his heyday. The nickname, the 'fro, the dunks. Unfortunately, this statue fails to capture the full essence of its subject and instead gives us the more subdued version of Dr. J from the back half of his career. The statue has followed the Dornhoefer path from The Spectrum to the current Sixers home. The Sixers came to their senses a few years ago when they installed a slightly different, yet far improved, statue outside their training complex that resembles Dr. J at the peak of his powers.

Fred Shero

I was certain this was a monument honoring a security guy who must have worked at The Spectrum and Wells Fargo Center for a long time. That would be a nice gesture. I later discovered that this is Fred Shero, who was a longtime hockey player and went on to coach the Flyers through their greatest run of success, including two Stanley Cup wins in 1974 and 1975. Also a nice gesture, but maybe some words about who he was and what he did might help idiots like me understand what I'm looking at...

Ed Snider

By now you can probably predict that I was clueless on this one too. I figured it was a front office person of some sort for either the Flyers or Sixers. I was on the right track. This is THE front office person of the Flyers, Ed Snider, who owned the team from their inception in 1967 until his death in 2016. He was also instrumental in establishing The Spectrum and later the Wells Fargo Center to keep the Flyers and Sixers in Philly, and spearheaded the local Philly cable sports network. I'd say this is a perfect spot for Mr. Snider to be immortalized.

Connie Mack

After doing all this, I realized that I forgot to get a picture of the Connie Mack statue between the Third Base and Left Field Gates of Citizens Bank Park. I'll have to update this after the next Phillies game I attend (should be soon!). If there are any others I missed, I know the Philadelphians out there won't be shy about letting me know in the comments.