Kate Smith and the Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers became the hot ticket in Philadelphia in the early 1970's.  It was not that hockey was all that understood or cool.  Their popularity, in part, resulted from the abysmal performances of the major sports teams in the city at the time.  The 76ers set an NBA record for futility, and the Phillies and Eagles were doormats.  Enter the Flyers, with their swashbuckling, fighting style, and a gritty city was captivated.  I mean, how could you not be, with larger-than-life characters such as Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, Andre "Moose" DuPont, Bob "The Hound" Kelly and Don "Big Bird" Saleski, along with all-star Bobby Clarke, stand-on-your-head goalie Bernie Parent, elegant forwards Rick MacLeish and Reggie Leach, along with leader-of-men defenseman Barry Ashbee?

The team was also superstitious after a bit.  They would play a recording of Kate Smith's "God Bless America" before games, and, as it turned out, had an astounding record of something like 33-0-1 during the 1973-1974 season when they played a recording of this song before games.  The more they won, the more they played Kate.  Her rendition of that song was a motivator -- it inspired players and fans alike.

I was there -- in the fifth row behind the bench -- for the pivotal Game 6 in the 1974 Stanley Cup finals.  The Flyers were up 3 games to 2 on the favored Boston Bruins, yes, the Bruins with all-world Bobby Orr and Hall of Famer Phil Esposito among many others.  A friend of my dad's could not go, and there we were, amidst all the excitement.  The lights dimmed during the pre-game warm-ups, and they rolled out a red carpet.  Out walked Kate Smith, and the place went wild, people were on their feet, cheering, as if she were the star of the team.  And she delivered a great performance -- just electric, in a perfect environment -- a hugely supportive audience at a very big moment.  It was something to behold.  The Flyers won that game, 1-0, in a hard fought game, and pandemonium ensued -- in the Spectrum, and on the streets.  The Broad Street Bullies captured the hearts and minds of the city.  And Kate Smith was their balladeer, signing an American classic before a Canadian game played mostly by Canadians in the city where the United States was born.  Only in America.

Today, the Flyers (and New York Yankees) announced a very public divorce from everything and anything having to do with Kate Smith.  The Flyers are covering a statue of her that is near the Wells Fargo Arena, where the Flyers currently play.  And neither the Flyers nor the Yankees will play her rendition of 'God Bless America" ever again.  The reason -- she sang some songs in the 1930's that had racist lyrics -- and there is no doubt that the lyrics in question were and are racist. 

I take a deep breath when I say that the Flyers have done the right thing.  I am not a person of color but only could imagine how I would feel if I were and the team continued to honor a person who proudly sang the lyrics in the songs in question.  I would like to think that Kate Smith regretted these lyrics at some point in her life, that she disowned them at some point, and that if she were around today she would have gone nowhere near them.  But I do not know that, and she is not here now to speak for herself or defend herself.  And she did many good things for people, including raising money for war bonds during the Second World War at a time when the country really needed the money.  People are complex, people have pasts, people make mistakes, sometimes big ones.  Kate Smith made some big ones. 

I have/had fond memories of that day at the Spectrum, with my dad, watching a team win a championship.  Entwined in that memory are the pre-game festivities, and the surprise appearance of the icon Kate Smith.  It was a huge deal then.  My dad died about 10 years later, too young, and unexpectedly.  My memories of times with him are not abundant, and many have faded.  This was a big one.  We cheered this unusual team in a sport with which we were not familiar (and my father also thought that it became popular in many circles in Philadelphia because the players were white and so were almost all of the fans -- something he disdained as he was a basketball fan at heart).  And now what we have come to learn is that a person who generated part of the buzz and a lot of excitement either was a racist or at a minimum participated in some awful racist songs. 

I will not take the joy from that as I did back then and as had become etched in my memory of that day. I can separate the two -- the game and Kate Smith's performance -- but I am less sure about the players and other fans, as that's how big Kate Smith's presence was during the season.  I still cherish the time with my dad, and I know he would agree with the step that the team is taking.  As do I, for that is what he and my mother taught me -- that all people are created equal and deserve to be treated with fairness and dignity -- deserving of an equal chance.  The continued presence of Kate Smith would not represent those values.  In the end, what my dad taught me is the best memory of all.