Tom Garvey, now 78 years old, is a U.S. Military Veteran who served in the Vietnam War…and was once the third tenant, besides the Phillies and Eagles, at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium.
In his new book "My Secret Apartment," Garvey tells the story about how he lived inside The Vet – "illegally, because I'd have gone out in handcuffs if they caught me" – for just over two years between 1979 and 1981.
Craig Carton and Evan Roberts discussed the story last week on air, and were so amazed by it they had Garvey join them on Carton & Roberts to talk about it on Tuesday.
"Absolutely people knew about it; I hid in plain sight, and that's how I got away with it," Garvey told Craig & Evan about his "secret" living arrangement. "The incredulity people have when they hear it – that's what protected me back then. It was so unbelievable."
Garvey's family ran concessions and parking at The Vet during that time, the "golden years" – the Phillies were World Series Champions in 1980, and the Eagles made the Super Bowl a few months later – so it wasn't unnatural for him to be there often…but all the time?
"Right after an event, an army of cleaning crew would come into the stadium, and they'd start at the top with leaf blowers and blow garbage down row by row," Garvey said. "For three or four hours, depending on the event, there were a lot of people in the building with a lot of noise, so it was easy to hide."
And even easier, given this story he told about one run-in with security.
"One night I came back and wandered out to center field, just behind the dirt at second base, and laid down on my back to look at the full moon," Garvey said. "I fell asleep and woke up with a German Shepherd licking my face. Standing over me with a flashlight was a security guard, and as he laughed, the first words he said were 'oh, it's you.' So I was kind of known there."
According to Garvey, his "man cave" at the Vet had "everything a guy could want," and was a "better apartment than I had in Center City." There was a bathroom across the concourse, he said, and showers downstairs in a city locker room near the Phillies' bullpen, so that was taken care of, and he had all the amenities you could want – one of which led to an incredulous exchange late one night when a Phillies game was delayed by rain into the wee hours.
"One night in June, 1980, there was a rain delay and the game went late. I went to bed around 11 or so, and I got up around 3 A.M. to get a drink, and I opened the door and I heard sounds," Garvey said. "I was in a bathrobe with flip flops and a cup of coffee, and people were coming up to me amazed…not by how I was dressed, but that I had coffee! They wanted to know where I got coffee, because the concession stands had closed hours earlier."
Not every night was like that, as Garvey told the guys – after Evan mentioned that if it were him, he might just sneak down into the seats to stare at the field – that the stadium offered more than a bed.
"The Vet was healing – the Vet was my friend. The ballplayers I knew were kind and accepted me, and when the Vet was alone, I used to roller skate around at night," Garvey said. "The 600 level was about a half-mile loop around, and you could see the city 360 degrees. To be up there at night was really healing; I would achieve a Zen state. It was euphoric. I found a lot of time to sort things out. It was beautiful."
Garvey needed the healing, further telling a story about his time in Vietnam, and specifically one day he felt cosmically linked to – that was August 17, 1968, but we won't spoil the story because it is told, in semi-fictional form, in another of Garvey's books, "Many Boucoup Magics," which is available on Amazon along with "My Secret Apartment."
The tome he discussed on Carton & Roberts, though, is one that came about after telling some friends some short stories about the time, and getting a positive response – and Garvey has continued to get rave reviews, and has also reconnected with some lost friends because of the journey.
"My mind is blown by this, it's wonderful," Garvey said. "I was on NPR last week, and people were calling me up from across the country. I've linked up with a lot of old friends through this, and it's beautiful."
And in all that healing, and all that's come since those days in his "secret apartment," Garvey has found peace – and it came about because his family actually lost their contracts with the Vet, and he had to leave his sanctuary.
"Billy Bradley dragged me down to Texas for a year, and I came back right before Christmas. The next summer, I met the girl of my dreams a year later, and I've been happily married since, the happiest married man you'll ever meet," Garvey said. "We were both in Wildwood, New Jersey, because friends both bugged us to come help out with summer businesses. We worked in the same mall on the Boardwalk, we bumped into each other, and my life changed for the better."
That's a story for another book – one he's actually writing, to be titled "The Long Ago Girl," available later this year! For now, you can listen to Garvey's entire segment on Carton & Roberts below.
Follow WFAN's afternoon team on Twitter: @CartonRoberts, @Craigcartonlive, @EvanRobertsWFAN, @TommyLugauer, and @CMacWFAN
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