God Bless Kate Smith

On November 10, 1938, on her ever-popular weekly radio show, Kate Smith first performed a rousing little ditty that Irving Berlin had recently written for her called "God Bless America." The song would go on to become the second national anthem, which is... whatever. More importantly, Kate's rendition of the song would go on to become the Philadelphia Flyers' national anthem, and lead them to the Stanley Cup.

Kate's "God Bless America" was first played before a Flyers game at the Spectrum on December 11, 1969. Philly beat the Maple Leafs 6-3 that night, and the legend was born. From there, Kate's voice became the ultimate good luck charm for the team that they broke out whenever they needed a win. She brought down the house when she made a surprise appearance at the Spectrum to sing the song before the team's home opener in 1973. At that point, she became official Philly royalty. Her second appearance at the Spectrum was even bigger - game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals between the Bruins and the Flyers. The Flyers clinched their first Cup with a 1-0 victory. The Kate Smith mystique was at an all-time high.

In all, Kate sang the song four times at the Spectrum. She was 3-1 live, and her record in all, on tape or in person, when played before Flyers games was 69-19-3. The picture up on the right is Kate celebrating the 1974 Cup victory with Flyers owner Ed Snider and the inimitable toothless Clarkie.

Kate Smith sings "God Bless America"