The Philadelphia Sports Heritage Collection

The Philadelphia Sports Heritage Collection

The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame owns the largest, most comprehensive collection of Philadelphia Sports artifacts & memorabilia in the world.

Known as the Philadelphia Sports Heritage Collection, it includes some of the most iconic items from Philly’s sporting past. Available for viewing with no admission fee at the Sports Hall of Fame’s Museum Preview Gallery, fans can see the original glass backboards from the Palestra, World Series tickets printed for the ill-fated 1964 Phillies, Ray Didinger’s press pass and game notes from the Eagles Super Bowl victory, a section of hockey dasher board from the Spectrum, and ticket windows from Veterans Stadium. Current presentations include exhibits dedicated to the four Eagles championship teams, The Palestra, the Philadelphia Athletics, legendary sports writer Bill Lyon, football legend Irving Fryar, all-time coaching great Herb Magee, and a hallway featuring every Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame of Inductee.  

“The Hall of Fame is an all-sports, all-levels organization, which the Sports Heritage Collection beautifully reflects,” said Hall of Fame volunteer Jim Montgomery. “With nearly 150 years of Philly sports history, it is quite a challenge deciding what to display.  While we would love to display the entire collection, like every museum, it’s simply not feasible.”  

On permanent display are items from St. Joseph’s University’s Memorial Field House, the Spectrum, Veterans Stadium, and the giant Phillies hat that City Hall’s Billy Penn wore in the 1993 World Series.  On site photo opportunities include the City of Champions Mural, the Eagles Super Bowl mural, and an original bullpen bench from The Vet.  In addition, fans can browse the area’s largest sports library and more than 2000 Sports Illustrated magazines dating back to 1956.

To consistently make more items available for public viewing, the Hall of Fame rotates displays on a regular basis.  Previous exhibits include Chuck Bednarik, the Broad Street Bullies, legendary Villanova track coach Jumbo Elliott and Immaculata’s Mighty Macs. Each exhibit includes dozens of items mostly from the Collection, while a number are on loan.  

Select items from the collection will be on display at the Hall of Fame’s annual Induction Ceremony and Reception November 6 at Live! Hotel & Casino.  Open to the public, tickets are available online:  https://www.philadelphiasportshalloffame.org/

While this is just a tiny glimpse into the vast array of Philly sports treasures in the Collection, the overwhelming majority of items are in a climate controlled offsite storage facility.