Dallas Green, Jim Bunning and Darren Daulton remembered on emotional night in South Philly

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The Phillies' annual Wall of Fame ceremony was one of the most emotional in recent memory.
 
The club passed on honoring scheduled inductee Pete Rose, but the event, held before Saturday night's game against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park, did not suffer as the team took the occasion to salute Dallas Green, Jim Bunning and Darren Daulton, three beloved Wall of Fame members who died in recent months.
 
"This has been a very tough year for the Phillies family," Wall of Famer — and Hall of Famer — Mike Schmidt said in a heartfelt address to the crowd of 34,131.
 
"Dallas Green embodied the word 'respect,' — respect for each other and the game and his way of doing things and that led to the World Championship in 1980.
 
"Jim Bunning was about unselfishness. After a Hall of Famer career, he decided to become a Congressman and served the people of his home state (Kentucky) for 23 years.
 
"And Darren Daulton was about love. He was tough as nails and competitive and productive, but at his core was his smile and his ability to draw his teammates toward him.
 
"At our party the night I retired, Darren Daulton grabbed me and gave me a bear hug and a kiss on the cheek and said, 'I love you.' That hug, kiss on the cheek, and an 'I love you,' is what I remember most about my retirement in 1989."
 
Schmidt looked around the stage at fellow Wall of Famers Steve Carlton, Larry Bowa, Dick Allen, Greg Luzinski, Garry Maddox, Tony Taylor, Bob Boone, Juan Samuel, John Kruk, Mike Lieberthal, Charlie Manuel and Jim Thome.
 
"Most of the guys on this stage received that hug over the years," he said.

Indeed, it was a Daulton staple.
 
Dan Stephenson, the Phillies' videographer par excellence, put together his latest masterpiece, a touching big-screen tribute to Green, Bunning and Daulton set to Paul McCartney singing The End of the End.
 
Those weren't raindrops running down people's cheeks.
 
Schmidt also took a moment to remember Ruben Amaro Sr., the former Phillies player, coach, scout and gentleman who died in March.
 
"Live every day like it's your last, be a beacon of light and spread love at home and in your community," Schmidt said. "We celebrate their lives and the memories they left behind."

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