Jake Marsh died of cancer in 2021. His absence made this week a little bittersweet. But the family has kept him close. Sonja brought a small urn to the game last night (as she does to all of Marsh's games). And the cleats ensured he'd be on the field: www.inquirer.com/phillies/bra...

It's hard to overstate how proud his family is. So proud, that Sonja donned a button with her son's clean-shaven face on it. “I think he was nine. And he couldn’t stand to wear jeans. And I made him wear a pair of jeans for this picture. He was so mad.” www.inquirer.com/phillies/bra...

Sonja Marsh sent the design to her son's agent. The cleats arrived on Tuesday morning, as a surprise before the game. There was no chance she could've given them to him beforehand. Marsh didn't want to talk to about the ASG, even after he'd made the team www.inquirer.com/phillies/bra...

Brandon Marsh always finds ways to honor his late father. He wears wristbands bearing his name, and has a tattoo with his mantra ("believe"). Last week, his mom, Sonja, designed special cleats for him to wear in the ASG. “I wanted to make sure Jake was on them” www.inquirer.com/phillies/bra...

To Weiner, booing comes natural. He booed opposing players when he wasn't shagging baseballs last night. When asked if he'd boo in the same situation, he said he yes, with a caveat: "Age 10 and over, you can boo." "I deserved those boos," he said. "I liked it." www.inquirer.com/phillies/kid...

Weiner said it was the only catch he missed all night. The cameras caught him and the moment went viral. The teenager said the ball got lost in the lights. "I saw it, and then it kept going. "I was like, 'Damn.'" www.inquirer.com/phillies/kid...

Last March, a Bonner employee contacted the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. She asked if they could take off school on May 14, to see Kevin McGonigle play in NY. (They said no). "We were shooting for the stars. But it was worth a try." On McGonigle's Delco fans: www.inquirer.com/phillies/kev...

Ever since Kevin McGonigle was drafted, Delco has traveled to see him. They've been to Grand Rapids, Lakeland, Erie. They went to his debut in SD. 55 fans went to NY to see him in July. 250+ traveled to Baltimore in May. On the Kevin McGonigle Fan Club: www.inquirer.com/phillies/kev...

Frankie Two Scoops is here but not scooping. Says he is just here to socialize. “Just saying hello, goodbye, how are ya, and I’m getting paid for it!”

“I think my first thought was, ‘I played with a player who just scored in the World Cup. That is insane. I saved his shot as a young kid.’” Before Auston Trusty scored a World Cup goal, he ‘put the work in’ at Penncrest High and Nether United in Delco: www.inquirer.com/soccer/world...

The brothers traveled about 30 miles a day. When they got the Vet, on April 10, Russ Peterson did a lap around the field (on the AstroTurf) doing tricks with his horse. He handed the ball to Rocket Man, who passed it on to Robin Roberts for the first pitch: www.inquirer.com/phillies/197...

K.C. and Russ Peterson knew close to nothing about Paul Revere when they took the job. They weren't baseball fans either. The brothers grew up on a ranch in Nebraska, where they worked as trick riders. “I was like, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’” www.inquirer.com/phillies/197...

Sometimes they'd ride on the side of a small highway, with a motor home and horse trailer behind. About halfway through the trip, the driver of the motor home crashed it. Their costumes were soaked because of the rain. But like Revere, they persevered: www.inquirer.com/phillies/197...

In 1976, the Phillies hired two brothers to deliver a baseball from Boston to the Vet for Opening Day — dressed as Paul Revere. The trip took two weeks (318 miles). It rained every day. "We got paid $2,500 apiece. For a broke kid, it's a hell of a lot of money.” www.inquirer.com/phillies/197...

Not long after, the Phillies held a celebration of life in Clearwater. Talking to Halladay's former big league teammates, the high schoolers realized they'd seen a completely different side of their coach. They'll be forever grateful they did: www.inquirer.com/phillies/roy...

Two days after Halladay died, Calvary Christian had an exhibition game. Braden was scheduled to start. The coaches offered to cancel, but he decided to pitch. “That was my first moment of … he’s still with me. I still have him. I really felt him there.” www.inquirer.com/phillies/roy...

The aerial equipment wasn't necessary. Calvary Christian won 11-1. The game ended by mercy rule. Halladay and assistant coach Mike White hoisted head coach Greg Olsen on their shoulders, as he carried a wooden trophy. www.inquirer.com/phillies/roy...

Calvary Christian didn't lose a game that year, making it to the state championship. By this point, everyone knew of Halladay's quirks. So no one was surprised when he flew a drone to try to spy on the other team's practice. (He got a slap on the wrist) www.inquirer.com/phillies/roy...

His pitch calling was also the stuff of legend. www.inquirer.com/phillies/roy...

Halladay tried some quirky things. One time, when Braden was struggling with command, he walked out to the mound, and just stared at his son for 30 seconds. “Hey man, what was that?” “Were you thinking about throwing strikes?” "No." "Exactly!" www.inquirer.com/phillies/roy...

Halladay joined Calvary Christian High School's staff in 2017, as a pitching coach. Braden said his father still took it seriously, but seemed to enjoy the game more. He'd crack jokes and chirp from the dugout. It reminded his son of how he acted at home: www.inquirer.com/phillies/roy...

Parents would ask him to coach, but he demurred. He wanted his son, Braden, to carve out his own identity. But in 2014-15, he tried it. One day, Halladay got ejected for arguing with an ump who told him "he didn't know the rules." The ump regretted this: www.inquirer.com/phillies/roy...

Halladay did not enjoy fame. He always kept a Groucho Marx style disguise in the car to wear at his son's games. ("He thought it was hilarious.") But he did love coaching. One time, he showed a young pitcher how to throw a cutter, tracing the grip around his hand www.inquirer.com/phillies/roy...

Roy Halladay spent his final year of life coaching HS baseball in Florida. His former players still cherish that 2017 season. Not just for what they learned, but for the side of Halladay they saw. “A way for him to enjoy baseball, in a very pure form again.” www.inquirer.com/phillies/roy...

They love Philly and already planning a return trip to the Linc in the fall. “We’ve heard of Eagles before. I’ve heard of Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley, when he jumped over that football player. We will definitely come back.” More on their whirlwind trip: www.inquirer.com/soccer/world...

Four Frenchmen skipped work to be here for the World Cup. Highlights: “There’s nothing Italian about [the hoagie], but it was good" “We had what you call Cheez Whiz. It’s not cheese, but it was good” "He’s like ‘Go Birds.’ I thought he meant pigeons or seagulls" www.inquirer.com/soccer/world...

“He was a gym rat.” “He got into us. But the two-a-days got us ready.” “He’s driving us up to play an exhibition game like it’s an NBA team.” For six years, while repping LeBron James and Allen Iverson, Leon Rose coached at the Cherry Hill JCC. On "Coach Leon": www.inquirer.com/sixers/leon-...

Rose never forgot where he came from. Ahead of Game 4, the Knicks president sent a limo to pick up his high school coach, Valore, and father, Zev, to drive them to MSG. “Leon reaches out all the time to see if I’d like to come to the Garden," Valore said www.inquirer.com/sixers/leon-...

While he represented clients like Allen Iverson and LeBron James, Rose also served as a volunteer coach at the Cherry Hill JCC. He did this for six years. “He’s driving us up to play an exhibition game like it’s an NBA team. He didn’t have to do that." www.inquirer.com/sixers/leon-...

Before Leon Rose built the Knicks, he was a "gym rat" in Cherry Hill. His HS coach, John Valore, said he changed the culture of Cherry Hill East. For years, Rose coached at his local JCC. He ran two-a-days the week before a big tournament. “He was Coach Leon" www.inquirer.com/sixers/leon-...