The Philly Sports Pack

Some of you who've followed my work for a long time may know that i'm currently based in the New York area...however, I grew up in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia PA.  I've considered doing a Philly themed project for a few years now but wasn't sure exactly how I would go about it, but then a beautiful thing happened this past February....the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl.

The Eagles Super Bowl victory lit a light bulb in my head and gave me the inspiration to go forward with my hometown project.  It reminded me how Philly is known for having the most passionate sports fans in the world..something I know firsthand having grown up in the city and having family, friends, and coworkers who live and breathe sports and just having interacted with people here since childhood.  Aside from the historical aspects of the city, there's the huge sports fan bases for all the major teams.  And who better to represent that aspect artistically than someone who knows and is from the city?  So that's when I decided to get to work on the Philly Sports Pack.


1. The Philadelphia Phillies 1980 & 2008

I've always been partial to the old school Phillies uniforms with the light blue & burgundy red.  It takes me back to my childhood and puts me in mind of the era of guys like Mike Schmidt, Tug McGraw, Garry Maddox, and Steve Carlton.  So I wanted to incorporate that era into the shoes as well as the 2008 Phillies era with guys like Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, and Chase Utley.....and of course, the voice of the Phillies, the late great Harry Kalas.  So I incorporated the old school colors as well as mentions of the 1980 & 2008 wins on the toe areas.  On the right shoe's rear area is the famous winning call made by Harry Kalas as the 2008 team won the World Series.  Pics taken at both Citizens Bank Park & the former space of the legendary Veterans Stadium.

2.  The Philadelphia Flyers: The Broad Street Bullies

A while back I watched the old documentary on the Flyers team known as "The Broad Street Bullies" to get a full view of their history.  I had always heard stories of these guys growing up but was curious to know the history of how that squad came together.  Guys like Bobby Clarke (who is now an executive for the team), Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, Bernie Parent, and Bill Barber just to name a few are seen as icons to the fans in this city as well as long time fans/historians of the National Hockey League.  The Bullies were known for their aggressive style of play that while criticized by some (mainly people who weren't fans of the team) but it proved to be a successful formula as it took them to back to back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975.

The shoes feature the classic Flyers orange and black (probably the only sports team in Philly who's uniform colors and look have always remained the same for the most part) as well as the Stanley Cup wins on the back of the shoes.  Pics taken at Bullies Pub, the Wells Fargo Center & former space of the Philadelphia Spectrum.

3. The Philadelphia 76ers

I've been a Sixers fan since childhood.  Me and my mom would go to games at the Spectrum and see guys like Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Moses Malone, Bobby Jones, and Andrew Toney (aka "The Boston Strangler").  That fandom continued through the eras of guys like Charles Barkley to Allen Iverson to the current era with guys like Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.  As someone who attended Sixers games regularly these personally were the most fun to make (little known fact: my second ever custom shoe back in 2002 was a Sixers theme).

The shoes include an abstract design in the rear sections done in the classic red, white, and blue colorway along with the 76ers ball logo on the left shoe and the "76" star logo on the toes.  I incorporated two details from the current era as well with the "Trust The Process" slogan on the tongues and "Ballin' Ben" on the side panel (the Ballin' Ben logo has an old school feel to me plus ties in with the city's history.  Would've included the Sixers snake logo into the shoes but already had these done before that logo debuted) and the championship years listed on the side of the right shoe.  The Sixers won three NBA championships: 1955 (as the Syracuse Nationals), 1967, and 1983.  Pics taken at the Wells Fargo Center & former space of the Philadelphia Spectrum.

4.  The Philadelphia Eagles

Last but not least, the team that inspired this whole series.  I've grown up in this city watching Eagles fans be disappointed and heartbroken every year...whether the team was having a bad season or if the team played good that season but maybe had a missing piece to the puzzle to get them over that hump.  I've seen the ups and downs, remember the times where the Eagles have come close but ended up not winning the big one (1981, 2004), but in 2018 that all changed.  The team that was always considered underdogs finally won the big one and became Super Bowl champions (btw, I was at the championship parade)!  The energy in the city was electric and the years of disappointment were finally over.

Having done some research, I dug into some of the old Eagles history and read more about the Chuck Bednarik era where the Eagles won 3 NFL championships (this was the pre-Superbowl era and before the NFL/AFL merger) so I wanted to incorporate that into the shoes since it also ties into the championship history of the franchise.  I also mixed the two versions of their uniform colorways...the classic kelly green from the old days and the current midnight green and grey colors as well as both logos.  The front half of the shoes is the kelly green with the pre-Superbowl championship years on the toes and the back half is the current day Eagles colors with mention of their Superbowl 52 victory.  On the tongues are the phrases "Fly Eagles Fly" and "Philly Special", which references the famous Nick Foles touchdown play from Superbowl 52.  The Eagles won 3 NFL Championships in 1948, 1949, and 1960 and their first Super Bowl in 2018.  Pics taken at Lincoln Financial Field and the former space of Veterans Stadium.

For those who may be interested, I am accepting orders for all four of these shoes...whether you want these exact styles or would like any of these themes done on a different shoe and/or in a different style.  Are you a sports fan but not a fan of any of these particular teams?  No problem.  You may also order a custom of any other team from the NFL, NHL, NBA, or MLB or even WNBA, NCAA, high school, minor league, etc.  To place your order, contact the website at www.ecentrikart.net/contact.