The Demolition of the Spectrum

Composite of images from 2004 to 2011. Opened 1967. Architect: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Last event was held in 2009.  source.  

Location: South Philadelphia. Movie clip, TCM: "South Philly Southpaw"

Philadelpia was founded October 27, 1682 by William Penn between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers

Construction on the arena began June 1, 1966. It was intended as the home for an NHL expansion team in Philadelphia, and for the existing NBA franchise, the Philadelphia 76ers. The arena opened on Sept. 30, 1967, right at the start of the season for both teams.

1974 Advertisement from Billboard Magazine. (source).

Philadelphia is known in American music culture as the cradle of a certain soulful sound that is unique to the City of Brotherly Love.  For its part, the Spectrum was the scene of a great many live performances by famous rock musicians, including Jimi Hendrix, The Who,  Pink Floyd, Elvis Presley, N.W.A., Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses, and perhaps most famously Bruce Springsteen, who gave his first arena performance there in 1976.

 'On the night of December 9, 1980, after learning of the assassination of John Lennon following a performance there the night before,  ...Springsteen opened the show with a statement regarding Lennon and said, "It's a hard thing to come out and play but there's just nothing else you can do." With members of the E Street Band in tears, Springsteen and his band put on a 34-song marathon which ended nearly 3½ hours later, with a cover of "Twist and Shout".'

The honor of closing out the arena in 2009 went to Pearl Jam.

Also, in the 1970s, there was Kate Smith, of course, "the First Lady of Radio," who gave many of her most famous late-career short performances at the Spectrum like this one in 1974 at age 67.  She was credited by many locals as having been significant factor in bringing the Stanley Cup to Philadelphia. Her contribution as a "lucky charm" was cited as an argument to change the national anthem.

The 76ers found little success in the early years after moving to the Spectrum. In 1967, they had come into the arena having just been crowned World Champions a few months earlier. At the time they were led by Hall-of-Famer Wilt Chamberlain, but they traded Chamberlain to Los Angeles in 1968 and the franchise went into decline through the 1970s. Finally in 1976 they were able to acquire a new superstar, Julius Erving,  who had been playing in the rival ABA until the two leagues merged.

 Erving was acquired by Philadelphia his previous team came into the league via the ABA-NBA merger. He played the remainder of his Hall-of-Fame career with the 76ers, retiring in 1987 as the sixth highest scorer in history.

The Erving acquisition in 1976 was an excellent move for the 76ers. At the end of his first season the Sixers were in the NBA finals representing the Eastern Conference.

In May of 1977 they faced off for the championship against the Western Conference champions, the  Portland Trailblazers, a seven-year-old NBA expansion franchise who were appearing in their first-ever finals.

Portland had been able to rise into excellence quickly after 1974 when they had used their overall number one draft pick to sign UCLA's Bill Walton.

Walton was a very tall lanky center, but unlike many players in that position, he was a forceful leader. He used his wide wingspan to dominate the defensive boards, not just high up but down near the floor. He could then throw or even tip the ball quickly down the court like a quarterback. As his coach Jack Ramsay,explains in the video below, this ability allowed three Blazers to run down the court to receive the outlet pass on the fast break. It made for a devastating half-court offense.

The 1977 finals opened on May 22 with the first two games at the Spectrum. Philadelphia kept Portland off-balance and went up two games to none. Back at home in Memorial Coliseum, the Trailblazers found their game, dominating Games 3 and 4 to even the series 2-2.

Game 5 went back to the Spectrum on June 3. It was seen as a must-win for Philadelphia (see clip). Having lost two games on the road, the 76ers needed to regain the momentum on the their home court.

But Portland was not intimidated this time. The Blazers' crippling defense, together with Walton's passing attack and Maurice Lucas' clutch shooting, sent Portland to an early lead that they never relinquished. Philadelphia came within one point in the third quarter, but George McGinnis missed a free throw that would have tied it. Portland quickly built the lead back up, and by the time Dave Twardzik put the Blazers up by twelve with a driving lay-up late in the third quarter, it was apparent who was in control of the game. Walton sat back in defense and grabbed the ball on rebounds like he owned the court, funneling it down the court on the fast break to his teammates.

The victory was the definitive road win that Portland needed to claim the championship. With the win at the Spectrum, they stole home court advantage and closed out the series two days later at home at Memorial Coliseum 4-2, having won four straight games.

Game 5 of the 1977 NBA finals, June 3, 1977 at the Spectrum. Broadcast on CBS television with play-by-play by Brent Musburger, and color commentary by Rick Barry and Sonny Hill. 

Barry: "There's that Portland offense being executed to perfection again..."