WABAC, 1980: Buffets And Boxing

1980 was obviously a magical season for Phillies fans.  A first-ever World Series title, the MVP for Mike Schmidt and the Cy Young for Steve Carlton.

And part of the lore that makes the legend is the now-famous "Buffet Incident" in Pittsburgh on August 10.  For those who are too young to remember, or for those who love hearing the story again, here's what happened:

The Phillies had just lost the opener of a Sunday doubleheader to the Pittsburgh Pirates, part of what would be a four-game sweep by the Buccos.  The Phils, who entered the weekend series just three games behind the first-place Montreal Expos, had now fallen six games back, and stood just three games above .500 at 55-52.

Manager Dallas Green had seen enough.  Storming into the clubhouse after the game, Green started berating his entire team, criticizing their play and their "playboy" mentality about baseball.  As he steamed and stormed around the clubhouse, Green spotted the post-game meal, spread out on buffet tables.

Venting a season's worth of frustration with his prima-donna players, Green trashed the buffet tables, flipping them over and sending their contents all over the floor.  Properly motivated (or, perhaps, furious at their meal being ruined), the Phils won 11 of their next 18 games to end a homestand just 2-1/2 games back in the NL East.

Although Green seemed satisfied, there was one member of the Phillies organization who was not, especially when the Phils went 3-6 on that aforementioned homestand, losing two of three each to the Padres, Giants, and Dodgers.  And that person was general manager Paul Owens.

Paul Owens was an old-fashioned baseball man who spent his brief playing career in the minor leagues in Class D.  He became the player-manager of his club in Olean, NY, then became part of the Phillies system when the Phils became the affiliate in Olean.  After managing at Class C, Owens became a scout, and then became the director of the Phillies' farm system.  In June of 1972, Owens, nicknamed "The Pope" due to his likeness to Pope Paul VI, was named the team's general manager.

In short, Owens had gotten to the GM spot the way most men had done since the days when the GM was created: he had worked his way through the system, learned the game inside and out from the inside, and advanced through the ranks.  His MBA (Masters of Baseball Administration) came, not from Harvard or Yale, but from Olean, Bakersfield, Reading, and all points on the baseball globe.

And so, when the Phils left the Vet to head west for another of those patented West Coast Swings, they began with a four-game set in San Diego against the Padres, the last-place team in NL West.  The Phils took the first two games of the series before dropping the nightcap of a Saturday doubleheader and Sunday's (August 31) game, in which the Phils gave up big innings in both contests that put the games out of reach.

Owens was not happy.  Traveling with the club, he, too, stormed into the clubhouse at Candlestick Park after the team's next game in 'Frisco.  But he wasn't interested in tipping over tables.

Instead, Owens lashed out at his team for their indifferent and sloppy play.  For their laziness.  For wasting their considerable talent on being a third-place team and an also-ran.  No one knows, with any certainty, if what happened next was planned, or the result of just going with the flow of passion emanating from a man who had given his life to the game.

As he ranted, Owens, who was known to loosen his tie almost as soon as he'd knotted it, peeled off his sport coat and rolled up his sleeves.  Getting in the face of just about every player in the room, Owens challenged his team.  To a fight.

He dared any player in the room who disagreed with him to step forward, and then step outside.  It is highly likely, in this era of free agency, player privilege, and Harvard MBAs running teams, that this was the last time a general manager ever challenged his team to a fight.  In a room filled with big contracts (for their time), big stars, and even bigger egos, Owens was willing to go to the mat for what he believed in.

Not a single player took him up on the offer, despite having 20+ years and being in top physical shape on Owens.

What the team did do, standing at 69-60, is go 22-11 to win the NL East on the season's penultimate day over the Montreal Expos.  Defeated the Houston Astros in what is still, arguably, the greatest playoff series in baseball history.  And knocked off the Kansas City Royals to win it all.

Much credit has been given to Dallas Green's buffet table tossing for righting the ship.  But the truth was that Green's show was a temporary kick in the pants.  It was Paul Owens, challenging his players to fight against him, that got the players to fight for him and for the fans in Philadelphia.

It took the life's passion of the man they called The Pope to instill that same passion for winning in his team.  The same passion that Phillies fans possess, and that we try to instill in those who have since come and gone from the club.

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