DN Editorial: Honor Joe Frazier

BEFORE the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, Philly sports fans were fond of saying how hungry they were for a champion.

What a disservice we did to Smokin' Joe Frazier.

Frazier, an Olympic gold-medalist and heavyweight champ, came to Philadelphia as a teen. He was a Philadelphian in spirit, an undersized fighter who showed no fear and no quit. But Philly never really claimed him. Instead, we worship a statue of a fictional underdog boxer.

We should fix this and honor Frazier posthumously with a statue or a street name. And we should stop denying what's great about this city. As Joe Frazier showed, underdogs can be great, too.