May 20, 1974
It was the day after the Philadelphia Flyers won their first ever Stanley Cup. In defeating the Boston Bruins, 1-0, in Game 6 of the Finals, the Flyers became the first team of the 1967 NHL expansion to win the Stanley Cup. The city of Philadelphia was ecstatic and so very proud of this hard nosed group of Canadian men that they adopted as their own.
Some of the nicknames are simply legendary in Flyers History. The Hound, the Hammer, Moose, Clarkie, Big Bird, Cowboy Bill and the Rifle. They all wore the Orange and Black proudly and worked as hard at their profession as the blue-collar fans that supported them. It was time to celebrate together.
To show their appreciation, two million fans came in droves to Broad Street, Market Street and then Independence Mall to celebrate this championship as the Flyers paraded with the Cup, in open cars and waved to the never-ending collection of people. The fans waved out of windows along Broad Street, hung on traffic lights, climbed trees to be above the crowd – just to get a glimpse of their favorite Flyers.
Yes, two million people.
This "celebration" was the largest in the city’s history, by far. The annual Mummers Parade and Mardi Gras were tiny in comparison. Even the celebration of the ending of WWII did not bring out this many people in Philadelphia.
By the time the team reached Independence Mall, some three-plus hours to complete a four-mile trek, there was a sea of people, left, right and everywhere you looked and as far as you could see. There were speeches by the players and the coaches, holding the Stanley Cup and to rising applause after each had spoken. Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo gave a speech and even Kate Smith sang "God Bless America" numerous times to an appreciating crowd.
It was truly a day to rejoice and never to forget. It is simply known as "the Parade" to most in the Delaware Valley. The championship celebrations that have come since then of the Flyers (1975), Phillies (1980 and 2008) and 76ers (1983) have been great, but none have reached the magnitude of the Stanley Cup Champion Flyers of 1974.
Mike Watson is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @Mwats_99.
