Madonna shared spotlight with Phillies in 1993

THE SPORTS COMPLEX hosted one the biggest days in recent memory yesterday when the Eagles beat the Giants at Lincoln Financial Field and the Phillies and Yankees met in Game 4 of the World Series at Citizens Bank Park.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time that a World Series game and an NFL game matching teams from the same cities have been played in the same city on the same day.

A year ago, a World Series game was played on the same day as an Eagles game against the Falcons, and another World Series game was played on the day of the Sixers opener at the Wachovia Center. And tonight, Game 5 of the World Series will be played shortly after the Flyers face Tampa Bay across the way.

But perhaps the most unique combination with a World Series game in South Philly was Oct. 19, 1993, when Madonna brought her lace, whips and chains for a stop on her "Girlie Show" tour at the Spectrum.

Remember, this was not the current Kabbalah-inspired 51-year-old version of Madonna, with kids and a commitment to help impoverished children in Malawi.

The Phillies lost Game 3 to Toronto, 10-3, in front of a crowd of 62,689 on a rainy night at Veterans Stadium. More than 15,000 packed the Spectrum to see the "Material Girl," who at the time was gaining notoriety for her and her dancers - both male and female - not wearing much material.

"The Phillies fans will be the ones wearing pull-on pants; the Madonna fans will be the ones with garter belts outside their clothes," wrote the Daily News' Ann Gerhart about the unique combination of people flocking to the complex.

But, as she does now, Madonna knew how to work a crowd. "Bleep any team except the Phillies. As a matter of fact, bleep every city except Philly, OK?" She paused. The walls shook to wild cheers. "As a matter of fact, I think I did."

Not everyone was impressed, though. The question was put to Mitch Williams that night, "As the closer, you could duck across the street, watch Madonna, and come back in plenty of time to do your job, couldn't you?"

"I wouldn't walk across the street to see Madonna," said the "Wild Thing," a proud Texan. "That's not my kind of music. Now, if Randy Travis or Sawyer Brown or somebody like that was over there, that might be different." *