Jim Jackson

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My Mom was badass. Someone said to me this past week” Wow your Mom had a great run!”, and that she did. One of seven kids raised by a single mom and a free spirit in every sense of the word. One of only two women in her pre-med class at FSU. She would soon set out for an even bigger adventure. She started by auditioning to ride the famed high diving horse in Atlantic City’s Steel Pier. How you learn to do that 40 feet me, a horse and a tank. She had ridden and owned horses as a kid, but choosing to fly with one well that’s just sheer bravery, cause hey why not!?! She loved the ocean and spent a lot of time at the shore, the ocean, the boardwalk and the pier. She loved to tell the story that while at the piers arcade she beat Wilt Chamberlain in a free contest while still a teenager. She loved people and animals went on to work with dolphins , rescued animals, she worked at an aquarium and was the croc huntress before there was a croc hunter . she traveled the world and performed water ballet at the world’s fair in Brussels . she came back to New Jersey and eventually met my dad, the beloved voice of the Philadelphia Flyers. He chased her for seven years in between globe trotting until she finally said yes. They raised three kids and for two parents with unique jobs , crazy hours and travel they managed to put together a steady loving Home for all of us. We celebrated holidays a day early or two days later and nothing was conventional but they made our lives pretty spectacular. They taught us to think freely, love all people, act with kindness, to be loyal and passionate to respect the truth and they gave us an unwavering center. Sometimes it’s hard when you grow up in La La Land, your heart can break but goodness prevails even in the times where it doesn’t. She became an English teacher. She was my first grade teacher aid she taught foreign students. English, she was my Townes’s environmental commissioner and ran for public office in New Jersey. Being married to my dad was just part of the adventure. She was one of the original Flyers wives worked the charity from day one and and held down the fort with three kids while my dad was on the road with a hockey team. She always supported my music. She was at every show with my father and traveled the world again to come and see me sing. No matter where I was, she would always be there. She was the mom that drove all my friends to the mall and picked us up at two in the morning after the Rocky Horror Picture Show. She taught me how to ski and ice skate. She taught me French and showed me how to ride a horse. She taught me to swim in the ocean and to love the sea, which to this day is still my favorite place. She looked very proper on the outside, but she was had a hilarious really dry cutting sense of humor. She had the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. They looked like the sky and her hair was pure white, even as a child. Everybody who met my mom, loved her, including her grandkids. She would take them to Flyers games and through a straw they would do spit balls at people in the building with opposing jerseys. The kids would howl. You never knew just how far my mom would take it all the while, being absolutely classic and refined on the outside. Her students loved her, the fans loved her, her friends loved her, complete strangers would know her for a couple minutes and would love her too. She had the best of all worlds. She had some really incredibly tough times as a child that she carried her whole life, but she didn’t let it stop her from becoming who she was. I’m grateful to my mom for giving me that sense of adventure that capacity to love all the joy of nature and wildlife and music and art and sports. She watched every single Flyers game loved the Eagles and the Phillies , loved how soccer brought the world together. She was absolutely hysterical after one glass of wine, but liked to inform me every time she had one that she really didn’t drink.

Bill Giles, Phillies chairman emeritus and long-time club executive, passed away at his home in Gladwyne, Pa., this afternoon. He was 92 years old. Known for his immense contributions to the Phillies, City of Philadelphia and Major League Baseball, Giles began his Phillies career in 1969 as vice president, business operations, and was promoted to executive vice president three years later. In 1981, he organized a group that purchased the club, serving as president until 1997 and then chairman before being named chairman emeritus in 2015. Giles was instrumental in opening Veterans Stadium, and later Citizens Bank Park, drawing fans with clever marketing ideas, including the creation of the legendary Phillie Phanatic. He expertly balanced the business and baseball needs of the club, which won two National League East titles and National League pennants during his time as president. As one of Philadelphia’s more civically involved citizens, Giles served on several boards for various organizations, some of which included the Philadelphia Convention and Tourism Bureau, Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Philadelphia Sports Congress, Police Athletic League and Salvation Army. He was also a past president of the Boy Scouts of America and Corporate Alliance for Drug Education. Giles, the son of former National League president Warren C. Giles, was named honorary president of the NL in 2001 and was a recipient of the Bud Selig Executive Leadership Award for lifetime achievement in baseball in 2010. He was part of a council that expanded the league to 30 teams, incorporated interleague play and re-structured the playoff format with a wild card slot, among other significant contributions. Born in Rochester, N.Y., in 1934, Giles began his baseball career as a teenager working various jobs in the Cincinnati Reds’ public relations department. He went on to advance his career in Houston, serving as traveling secretary, publicity director and promotions director before joining the Phillies following the 1969 season. Reflecting on his life in the game, Giles authored the book Pouring Six Beers at a Time: And Other Stories from a Lifetime in Baseball and co-authored another on the business of baseball, titled Bill Giles and Baseball. In 1999, the Phillies established the Bill Giles Award to honor minor league players who share the same attributes as the namesake: a love and respect for the game of baseball, an outstanding work ethic and pride in being a member of the Phillies organization. Giles was preceded in death by his wife, Nancy, and is survived by his three sons, Michael, Joseph and Christopher, and eight grandchildren, Lowell, Will, Caroline, Dana, Molly, Max, Eliza and Warren. Details on funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.

Mark your calendars, Flyers fans. 👀 🗓️ We're ready for @JimJPhilly, @BrianBoucher33, @ashlynrsullivan, @nufced and @Hartsy43. 💪 📺 nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nh…

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