Philadelphia Eagles Santa Claus incident
Franklin Field, the site of the game | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 15, 1968 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Franklin Field Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 54,530 | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Jack Buck, Pat Summerall, and Bill McColgan | ||||||||||||||||||
The Philadelphia Eagles Santa Claus incident occurred during halftime of an American football game in the 1968 season of the National Football League (NFL) between the Minnesota Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles. The game was played at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The incident occurred on December 15, 1968, the final week of the NFL season, with the struggling Eagles sitting at 2–11 on the season. Tied 7–7 at halftime, the team brought out a man dressed as Santa Claus as part of the halftime Christmas parade. Eagles fans, upset by the poor season, pelted him with snowballs.
The affair has gone down in NFL and sports lore as a representation of the passionate and sometimes overzealous behavior of Philadelphia sports fans.