Philadelphia Weekly

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It was free professional razor shaves during Frankford Hall’s happy hour last Thursday. (“Shave the date,” the invite read.) And if you were a little nervous about all that, well, liter drafts were only $10—grow some beer muscles.

But why the occasion? Movember, of course. For the entire month of November, men grow mustaches for a cause: prostate cancer. You know, the cancer that can cause erectile dysfunction, among other embarrassing symptoms that guys don’t really like to think about. “Mo Bros commit to growing a moustache for the 30 days of Movember, and in doing so become walking and talking billboards for the cause. The moustache is our ribbon, the symbol by which we generate conversations, awareness and raise funds for men’s health,” reads the official Movember website.

We like causes. Especially when said causes don’t require too much effort. (Don’t shave = not too much effort.) So in honor of Movember—and a break from election coverage—here are five great Philly mustaches.

1. Mike Schmidt, FORMER PHILLIE

No list of sports, Philly sports, mustaches or Philly mustaches would be complete without a mention of Mike Schmidt (at right). I mean, you’ve seen those “Schmidt Happens” T-shirts, right? Dude played his first full season with the Phillies in 1973 (though he was brought up in ’72), and would stay with the team until 1989. In that time, he was a 12-time all-star, eight-time home-run champion, 10-time Gold Glove winner and three-time MVP. Since his retirement, he’s stayed around in baseball, working with the Phillies here and there, getting elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991 and later coaching a minor league Phillies affiliate. Now, apparently, he’s really into golf. Though not as full (or brown), he still sports the same upper-lip hair he began sporting in the mid-’70s.

2. Fran Dunphy, TEMPLE BASKETBALL COACH

When Dunphy shaved his mustache last December, it was very public and he was very proud. See, he’d made a deal with former Temple player Dionte Christmas: If the guy graduated, Dunphy would shave. He did, and he did. “It’s not a story about me,” Dunphy told the Inquirer at the time. “I’m just proud to be part of these guys’ lives. I’d do it once a year, by the way. I got a text from a former player who said, ‘I’m sure you hope he doesn’t go to grad school. Then what would you have to get rid of?’”

3. J. Hampton Moore, FORMER PHILADELPHIA MAYOR

In the 1920s, people weren’t just really worried about being on the verge of losing all their money; they also saw mustaches as incredibly masculine. Just take a look at any old-timey movie. So, of course, it made sense that Philadelphia decided to elect Republican J. Hampton Moore as mayor in 1920. His facial hair aside, the dude had worked as a reporter for the Philadelphia Public Ledger and the Court Combination from 1881 to 1894, then had multiple jobs within city government thereafter. He would serve as mayor in a second nonconsecutive term, from 1932-1935, during the heart of the Depression. And if you can’t tell from the photo (below; Moore in center), taken at a homeless shelter, dude was quite the humanitarian.

4. The Guys From Mustaches for kids

The aptly named Mustaches for Kids’ Philadelphia chapter (note: not the name of a child porn Internet ring taken from a Law & Order: SVU episode) has raised more than $1 million since its founding in 1999 for children’s charities. They grow mustaches for DonorsChoose.org, Make a Wish, San Francisco Legal Services for Children and the Children’s Hospiral of New Orleans. Taking place between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the growers collect money and hold a pageant for kids at the end.

5. Zack Stalberg, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE COMMIITTEE OF SEVENTY

Since coming on the job in 2005, Stalberg has become one of the most quoted personalities in Philly media, leading the charge against things like the city’s DROP pension debacle and Voter ID. When applicable, Seventy has led information campaigns on election ballot questions and has provided tools and resources on figuring the basics and complications of the local political arena. Dude’s got a ’stache we must salute.