Doug Collins and Herm Edwards Discuss Playing in Philly During the 80s

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While the 76ers still haven’t found their new head coach, Doug Collins isn’t having any trouble locating new gigs. He spent Wednesday morning as the guest host on ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike show, all four hours of it.

Collins has always been an engaging speaker with plenty of broadcast experience, so I’m sure the program was as entertaining as could be. At one point during the show, ESPN analyst and former Eagles defensive back Herman Edwards also paid the set a visit, which inevitably led into he and Collins reminiscing about their playing days in Philadelphia.

Collins and Edwards, who both played here into the 80s during the glory days of Veterans Stadium and the Spectrum, talked a little about what it was like for pro athletes during that era. Apparently there was a lot more camaraderie amongst the big four – Sixers, Eagles, Phillies, and Flyers – for that time period than there is today.

Collins: “I used to watch all the Eagles games, Herm knows. I used to go over there with my buddies. That’s the interesting thing back about that point in time. Guys from other sports would really hang around with each other. I’d go to Phillies games. … Actually, Dick Vermeil asked me to speak to the team (Eagles) one day before the game. I was used to a basketball locker room where there’s dancing, music playing, whatever, and I walked into the NFL locker room. It was like funerial. And I asked Jaws [Ron Jaworski], ‘what’s going on’. He said guys are wondering if they’re going to be able to walk after the game. Guys were taping themselves up. That was a rude awakening for me.”

Edwards: “Back in those days when we were in the old Vet [Veterans Stadium], we shared a shower with the Phillies, so we were all closely connected – the baseball team, the football team, the basketball team, even the hockey guys. It was a city, as we say, of Brotherly Love. Athletes knew each other and we’d be at a lot of functions together. It was a great time to be in Philadelphia.”

For more on Collins' appearance on the show, here's a clip of him talking about what it was like to coach Michael Jordan, and how he feels LeBron James stacks up against the greatest hoops player of all time.

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