50 years ago, Eagle Fans pelted Santa clause with snow balls. Were they fans from Pennsylvania or New Jersey?
I here Santa has forgiven...
You might ask, “John what does this have to do with the great state of New Jersey?”
Well... The Santa scheduled for the game was from NJ and he did not make the trip across the river.
The snowy onslaught began with the real Santa Claus stuck in New Jersey and unable to make it to the final game of the season between the
Minnesota Vikings and a moribund Eagles team that started the season with 11 straight losses.
The young man who volunteered to stand in for the Red Suited guy happened to have worn a Santa Suit to the game. And when asked jumped up and took on the task...
Olivo, who was in the stands wearing a Santa suit and fake white beard, was asked to fill in. But when he ran downfield past a row of elf-costumed "Eaglettes" and the team's 50-person brass band playing "Here Comes Santa Claus," thunderous boos erupted from the crowd of 54,535 and snowballs began raining down.
The halftime behavior during the team's final home game, broadcast around the country on Howard Cosell's national sports show, helped cement Philadelphia's reputation for rowdy sports fans.
Once you become Santa you become Santa.....
Santa had... a great sense of humor and took it in stride, even telling one nearby fan who pelted him that he could expect coal in his stocking on Christmas morning.
Olivo was a barber by trade, and had his own shop for a while, then spent two decades in the casino industry in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He later sold cars and worked in the mortgage industry before ill health forced him to retire.
Sounds too me like the guy was a great representive of New Jersey spirit.
And that’s the rest of the story.