BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: FIELD OF DREAD Six former Phillies died from the same brain cancer. We tested the Vet’s turf and found dangerous chemicals.

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Friday, March 10, 2023

FIELD OF DREAD Six former Phillies died from the same brain cancer. We tested the Vet’s turf and found dangerous chemicals.

The rate of brain cancer among Phillies who played at the Vet between 1971 and 2003 is about three times the average rate among adult men.

After West’s death, at age 57, The Inquirer decided to test the Vet’s turf. Athletes had dreaded playing on the surface, which was notorious for causing serious knee and ankle injuries. Through eBay, the newspaper purchased four souvenir samples of the fake grass that had blanketed the stadium’s field from 1977 to 1981. The team gave away the green keepsakes to thousands of fans in 1982, in 4-by-4-inch sealed plastic bags labeled “Official Turf of Champions.”

There are also additional comments on how hard and how hot the turf was. All in all, the Vet was a crappy stadium.

NattyBoh Posted: March 10, 2023 at 08:14 PM | 4 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: astro turf, brain cancer, darren daulton, david west, john oates, john vukovich, ken brett, monsanto, phillies, tug mcgraw, veterans stadium

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1. Starring Bradley Scotchman as RMc Posted: March 11, 2023 at 09:32 AM (#6120145)

The team gave away the green keepsakes to thousands of fans in 1982, in 4-by-4-inch sealed plastic bags labeled “Official Turf of Cancers.”

Fixed.

2. My name is Votto, and I love to get Moppo Posted: March 11, 2023 at 10:03 PM (#6120214)

Didn’t it come out that some ball player lived inside the Vet for several months? It might have been an NFLer

3. John Reynard Posted: March 12, 2023 at 04:42 AM (#6120226)

Did the Eagles have the same experience? I'm not doubting the problem is with the turf. But, if it there was a hazard, you'd expect the NFL players to be impacted too.

I have a few fond memories of that crappy stadium (and it wasn't the best for sure). For example I was there when Pete Rose broke the NL hit record and when he came up to bat it was so loud that you couldn't have heard a bomb go off nearby over the "PETE! PETE! PETE!"

I mean, it was a crappy stadium and Rose turned out to be a #########. But, Its still a fond memory of the Phillies in my youth. In retrospect I'm kind of surprised my dad got tickets to that game....he usually blew stuff like that. But, despite that I've managed to get his lifetime Phillies in-person-watching record over .500 (a feat since he was a fan from '52 on....and so racked up quite the under .500 record as a kid) seeing games at the much nicer Citizens Bank Park.

4. PeteF3 Posted: March 12, 2023 at 03:48 PM (#6120252)

NFL players definitely spend more time on the ground than baseball players, but you're also talking 8 games a year instead of 81.

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Friday, March 10, 2023

FIELD OF DREAD Six former Phillies died from the same brain cancer. We tested the Vet’s turf and found dangerous chemicals.

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