Some guys we will never forget playing in Philadelphia. Brian Dawkins, Allen Iverson, Jimmy Rollins, and Eric Lindros. These names will be remembered by Philadelphians, even if they were too young to ever see them play. Hell, I know the name Chuck Bednarik, and he retired 30 years before I was born.
But that is not what this list is about. This list is dedicated to those guys most people may not even remember playing here. The guys who spent 1 year or less here, and despite being somewhat notable names, failed to make an impact. The guys who were in Eagles training camp but couldn’t crack the roster. Players the Phillies added as mid-season trades, who failed to make an impact. The guys who spent only a short amount of time with the Sixers, but had big careers elsewhere. Or legendary hockey players who came to Philadelphia past their prime.
You will likely know these names from elsewhere, but how many of us remember seeing them play in Philadelphia? Let’s take a look at 7 well-known athletes, who at one point in their careers played on one of the Philly teams.
Credit to the Sports Hub up in Boston who inspired this list by making one of their own for guys they forgot played in Boston.
Nikola Vucevic
Nikola Vucevic has made a nice career for himself. Never quite a star, he has still been one of the better centers in the league for most of his 13-year NBA career so far. In 4 different seasons, he averaged over 20 pts and 10 rebounds per game.
Most of his career was spent in Orlando with the Magic. And since the Magic have mostly been terrible, he maybe does not get as much attention as his production would usually merit. A few years back he was traded to the Bulls, and outside of one competitive season, they have mostly been irrelevant too. But despite playing on bad teams, he played well, getting two All-Star nods.
But do you remember his rookie season with the Sixers? They drafted him in 2011. But since Doug Collins was the coach, and he never really liked to play rookies, he barely saw the floor. He averaged just 5.5 points per game.
(Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
The next season he was part of a huge 4-team blockbuster deal, that brought Andrew Bynum to Philly, sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers, Andre Iguodala to the Nuggets, and included 8 other players and included 5 other picks. Vucevic went to Orlando. Bynum flopped in Philly, and the process was born.
Tim Tebow
Tim Tebow may be the worst player everyone remembers playing in the NFL. He was a prolific College QB, but he never had the arm talent to play in the NFL. That was clear before he ever stepped onto the field. The Broncos drafted him in the first round anyway.
In his first season, he barely played. But he eventually became the starter in year 2. He somehow managed to get them to the playoffs, and they even beat the Steelers there. But it was clear to everyone Tebow was not a starting Qb.
16. TEBOW TIME
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) August 20, 2019
Jan. 8, 2012
On first play of overtime, Tim Tebow tosses 80-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas to stun Pittsburgh, 29-23, in Wild Card playoffs.
Factoid: The game-winner was the last TD pass of Tebow's career. pic.twitter.com/OWRs1OrVwzThe next season the Broncos signed Peyton Manning, and traded Tim Tebow. He went to the Jets, where he created more issues than he fixed. His presence led to a QB controversy for a struggling team. But he never got a chance to start again.
(Photo by Rich Schultz /Getty Images)
He jumped around a few teams and even spent one season in training Camp with the Eagles under Chip Kelly. Matt Barkley beat him out for the 3rd string job though. And his career with he Eagles was over before it ever began. Not long after he finally realized being an NFL Qb was not going to happen for him.
Paul Coffey
Paul Coffey is an NHL Legend. A Hall of Fame defender who won 4 Cups, made 8 All-Star teams and is 14th all-time in total points. You can’t write the story of the NHL over the past 100 years, and leave Coffey out.
Flyers fans probably remember him more for the damage he did to the Flyers. He spent 5 seasons with the hated Penguins and had a reputation as a Flyers killer.
(Photo by Tim Smith/Getty Images)
But do people remember his short stint with the Flyers? He did help them get to the Stanely Cup in 1997. It was his first season here after the Flyers traded for him with the Whalers. But he was no longer the Hall of Fame guy that helped the Oilers and Penguins win Cups. He spent just a 1 and a half seasons here.
AJ Burnett
Phillies fans remember AJ Burnett from him being a Yankee in the 2009 World Series. He pitched pretty well vs the Phillies in Game 2, holding the Phillies to 1 run over 7 innings and getting the win. Though he followed that up by giving up 6 runs over 2 innings in game 5.
What Phillies fans may forget though was he spent one season with the Phillies. It was during the Ryne Sandberg era, which to be fair is better left forgotten. He led the Phillies with 34 starts in 2014. And they were bad that year. They finished last in the NL East, and 24th in the MLB.
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Burnett went 8-18, with an ERA of 4.59. Actually, not too bad for a 37-year-old pitcher. He gave them 213.2 innings over 34 starts. That type of production the Phillies would happily take from their 5th starter this season.
Terry Crews
This one is cheating a bit because people don’t remember Terry Crews as a football player period. What people know him for are his acting roles. He played the dad on Everybody Hates Chris, the President in Idiocracy, played Terry in Brooklyn 99, among many other roles.
But the actor did get his start in the NFL. He was drafted by the Rams as a defensive end in 1991 and had a short NFL career where he got no sacks. He jumped around to many teams. But his last stop before quitting football was the Eagles.
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
It was his time with the Eagles that inspired him to quit Football.
“For two weeks, I stayed at the Holiday Inn across the street from Veterans Stadium. I just remember it was Christmas Day. It was the saddest thing ever, that Holiday Inn. I was eating old sausage and two little pancakes. It was so sad,”- Terry Crews told The Philadelphia Inquirer
Kwame Brown
Kwame Brown is best known for being one of the biggest busts in NBA History. The Wizard took him first overall in 2001 right out of high school. Reportedly he told then Wizards coach Doug Collins “If you draft me, you’ll never regret it.” I would say the Wizards regretted it.
He never lived up to the hype. On the court, he struggled to make an impact. Off of it, he was plagued by maturity issues. He never turned into anything more than just a mediocre bench player.
(Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)
But to his credit, he did stick around the NBA. There are other high draft picks where they are out of the league a few years later. He stuck around until the 2012-2013 season when he played for the Sixers. As he was everywhere else, he struggled here. The 30-year-old averaged 1.9 points per game and only played in 22 games.
