Phillies events that occurred on November 2

  • 1950 – Reliever Jim Konstanty won the National League Most Valuable Player Award, becoming one of only two Phillies to win MVP honors to that point; Konstanty appeared in 74 games for the pennant-winning Whiz Kids and was credited with 22 saves that season.
  • 1972 – Steve Carlton was announced as the National League Cy Young Award winner after leading the NL with 27 victories, a 1.97 ERA, 310 strikeouts and a team-high 30 complete games for the last-place Phillies.
  • 1983 – John Denny received the National League Cy Young Award after a 19–6 season with a 2.37 ERA that helped the Phillies reach the World Series that year.
  • 2005 – The Phillies signed Pat Gillick to a three-year contract to become their general manager; Gillick brought a Hall-of-Fame résumé and prior GM success with Baltimore, Toronto and Seattle.
  • 2009 – During the 2009 World Series at Citizens Bank Park, Chase Utley hit his fifth career World Series home run (two homers in Game 5), tying Reggie Jackson’s single-Fall Classic total from 1977 and giving Utley a second multi-homer World Series game in his career.

Phillies players, managers, executives, and broadcasters born on November 2

  • Ron Reed (1942) — A right-handed pitcher who had a long major-league career in baseball and spent played two seasons in the NBA for the Detroit Pistons. Reed spent part of his MLB career with the Phillies and was a member of Philadelphia’s 1980 World Series roster, contributing veteran pitching depth late in his career.
  • Dick Sisler (1920) – Dick Sisler played for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1948 through 1951. He also played for the Cardinals and Reds in an eight-year playing career. Sisler managed the Reds for 53 games in 1964 and then managed the team for the 1965 season, leaving with a career record of 121-94.

A DEEPER DIVE… Ron Reed an early two-sport player

Ron Reed is one of those rare athletes who made a living at the highest level in two major American sports. He began as a standout at LaPorte High School in Indiana and went on to Notre Dame on a basketball scholarship, where his size and rebounding ability made him a force in college hoops, catching the attention of professional scouts. Reed was selected in the 1965 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons and also signed as an amateur free agent with the Milwaukee Braves to pursue baseball. That dual opportunity set the stage for a career that would let him chase both passions before baseball became the long-term calling.

Reed’s professional basketball chapter was brief but meaningful. He played two seasons as a power forward for the Detroit Pistons from 1965 to 1967. At 6-foot-6, he averaged around eight points per game and provided physical rebounding in the post. He even found himself in the same conversations as other two-sport athletes of the era, like Dave DeBusschere, who also balanced basketball with a baseball interest. Reed eventually chose to focus on baseball after the 1966–67 season, a decision prompted by the long-term prospects he saw on the mound and his burgeoning success in the minors.

Baseball is where Reed left his most lasting mark. After a rapid rise through the Braves’ farm system, he made his major league debut in late September of 1966 with Atlanta. He spent the late 1960s and early 1970s as a durable starter for the Atlanta Braves, compiling heavy innings and learning the craft of pitching in a demanding era. Reed’s best early seasons came with Atlanta, where he logged complete games, high strikeout totals, and seasons with more than 200 innings pitched, showing the kind of workhorse reliability teams value.

In 1976 Reed joined the Philadelphia Phillies and entered the role that would define the second half of his career. With Philadelphia he evolved from a starter into a multi-purpose pitcher who could start, finish games, or come out of the bullpen in high-leverage spots. That versatility became especially important during the Phillies’ rise to contention in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Reed’s steady presence helped the club manage innings and matchups across pennant races, and he became part of the 1980 World Series championship team. His experience and adaptability made him a clubhouse stabilizer and a pitcher managers trusted in postseason pressure situations.

Statistically, Reed compiled a long and productive major-league resume. Over an 18-year MLB career he recorded 146 wins, 1,481 strikeouts, and a career earned run average of 3.46. He appeared in more than 700 games with over 2,400 innings pitched, numbers that underscore how durable and useful he was across roles. He also notched more than 100 saves, which shows how frequently he was called on to close or protect leads late in games as his role shifted toward relief work later in his career.

Beyond the numbers, Reed’s career is a study in adaptation. He started as a college basketball star and became an NBA rotation player before turning his athletic focus to baseball. Once he committed to pitching, he carved out nearly two decades in the majors by embracing whatever role his team needed. That willingness to change kept him valuable and extended his career to age 41, culminating with a final season in 1984 with the Chicago White Sox.

Reed’s legacy is multi-faceted. He is remembered in Philadelphia as part of the club’s first modern World Series title, while baseball historians point to him as an example of a successful conversion from two-sport collegiate stardom to sustained major-league pitching. He remains one of the more intriguing crossover athletes of his era, the kind of player who proves that athletic talent can translate across fields and courts when paired with hard work and smart career choices.