Booing, pelting Santa cemented Philly fans' image

PHILADELPHIA -- Those famously churlish Philly fans can't hide behind the urban legends. The truth is out there: They simply booed Santa Claus.

Frank Olivo -- the erstwhile Santa in question -- wasn't drunk, nor was his red suit in tatters that December day in 1968 when he walked onto the field for the halftime show, only to be met by a chorus of jeers and a snowball fusillade from Eagles fans.

But by all accounts, they had cause for an ugly mood.

"The fans carried on like that because the Eagles were horrible," Olivo said.

The antics at halftime of the Eagles' final regular-season game, beamed around the country on Howard Cosell's national sports show, helped cement Philadelphia's reputation for having rogue, rowdy sports fans.

"There's nothing that sounds worse than throwing snowballs at Santa," said sports radio host Glen Macnow of WIP-AM in Philadelphia. "It's like spitting on Miss America."

While the vibe in Philadelphia is decidedly more brotherly this year with the Eagles headed to the Super Bowl, the 1968 team, at 2-12, was truly bad. Quarterback Norm Snead threw for 11 touchdowns and 21 interceptions that season. Coach Joe Kuharich led the team to an 0-11 start, and fans flocked to old Franklin Field wearing "Joe Must Go" buttons.

One Sunday, the throng cheered as a plane flew overhead, towing a banner suggesting the coach leave more than just The City of Brotherly Love.

Of course, the Eagles were just good enough to give Buffalo the top pick in the next NFL Draft -- running back O.J. Simpson.

Olivo, whose family held Eagles season tickets from 1958 to 1985, revels in his unlikely place in franchise history. The booed Santa affair merits an entire chapter in The Great Philadelphia Fan Book, which Macnow co-wrote in 2003.

"I'll be dead and that book will still be at the bookstore or on somebody's shelf. That means something to me," said Olivo, 56, of suburban Media, who toiled as a barber, craps dealer and car salesman before health problems forced him to retire.

Still, he wants people to get the story right.

"They say, 'He was drunk. He had a rotten outfit.' They don't even remember. A lot of them weren't even here," Olivo said.