Somebody wore a Bob Kelly jersey to the Hall of Fame ceremony? Yes, that’s how big a Philadelphia Flyers fan I am – or was in the 1970s.
I stepped into the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion Friday morning and saw a guy in the front section, stage right, in what used to be the home white jersey of “The Hound,” who played from 1970-80 and was known more for his penalty minutes than his points.
Then I looked at the name above the 9 on the back.
S. Jones.
Kevin Murray wore his custom Smarty Jones jersey to Friday’s induction – representing the horse’s Philly roots, underdog reputation and grit for everyone to see – as racing’s highest honor came to the Pennsylvania-bred. Bred and owned by Pat and Roy Chapman’s Someday Farm, Smarty Jones nearly died in a starting gate accident, won his first two starts at Philadelphia Park as a 2-year-old in 2003 and rolled it all up to the verge of the Triple Crown and pop-culture stardom.
Murray, not a Flyers fan, went along for the ride.
“They referred to Smarty Jones as the Philadelphia Flyer,” he said Friday after the ceremony. “I always loved Bobby Clarke. Bobby Clarke was my guy. I played hockey, played with (NHL Hall of Famers) Yvan Cournoyer, Jacques Lemaire, those guys. But I played like Bobby. I had broken teeth and curly hair and I played Bobby’s style. Small guy in the corner, rough it up.”
Clarke, the Flyers hard-working captain in the 1970s, led the Broad Street Bullies to back-to-back Stanley Cup victories.
A racing fan, Murray watched Smarty Jones rise through the ranks. The Elusive Quality colt out of the Smile mare I’ll Get Along won the Southwest, the Rebel and the Arkansas Derby in 2004.
The first Kentucky Derby starter for the Chapmans, trainer John Servis and jockey Stewart Elliott entered the gate as the 4-1 favorite and won again. Then he laughed off nine foes in the Preakness Stakes.
Next stop Belmont Stakes, and a chance to become racing’s first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. Philadelphia followed as Smarty Jones made the cover of Sports Illustrated, was featured on Action News, WIP and other media outlets in Philadelphia and beyond. Fans flocked to Philadelphia Park to watch him train. They made signs, bought shirts and hats and bumper stickers. The track bought a billboard on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Politicians used the success as leverage to get slot machines approved at the state’s tracks. The higher purses and breeders’ incentives still propel the industry.
Murray decided he had to attend the Belmont Stakes and pay tribute.
“I went and I got the sweater, and I chose the number nine because it was Smarty’s ninth race,” he said. “Ironically, Smarty pulled the nine hole at the Belmont Stakes too.”
Murray went to Belmont, wore the jersey all day – in Islanders country – and eventually got Elliott and Servis to sign it.
“So there I was walking around with a sweater with the number nine on it,” he said. “Of course, Smarty lost the race, but it’s just always been a big part of me.”
Twenty-one years after that magical spring, Smarty Jones joined racing’s greats in the Hall of Fame and Murray – who lives in Gastonia, N.C. now – flew in for the moment.
Master of ceremonies Tom Durkin rallied the Philly fans. After acceptances for historic horse Hermis, historic trainer George Conway, historic horse Decathlon and Pillars of the Turf inductees Richard Ten Broeck, Ed Bowen and Arthur Hancock III, it was time for Smarty Jones.
A video tribute hit all the highlights. Clutching a bouquet of flowers, Pat Chapman gave a speech that touched on overcoming addiction, credited the late Bob Camac, gave a nod to her husband “Chappy” and ended with grace and appreciation.
Servis and Elliott backed her up, letting everyone know what the horse – and the moment – meant to them.
Murray heard it all and as Elliott finished speaking and the team posed for photos, the man in the jersey stood, moved down the row and walked to the back. He pulled the jersey over his head, straightened his blue T-shirt, turned to walk toward the stage and met Chapman at the steps.
“I want you to have this,” he said, handing her the jersey he bought more than two decades ago.
“I felt, ‘Wow, I’ve got something, and there’s only one of them. Why can’t I share it and bring this beauty to somebody else?’ ” he said. “And when I was sitting there today, I said, ‘Kev, do it. Do it.’ And I picked up myself, I went in the back, took my sweater off and I made sure she got it. To have it was beautiful, but to give it away was even better, especially to Mrs. Chapman.”
Bob Kelly, and Bobby Clarke too, would have approved.
