Where were you in the Summer of ‘76?

Yes, a good majority of us probably immediately thought of the “Frampton Comes Alive” double-album, which still had plenty of ripple effects after its January debut.

Like the World Cup has captured the nation, the 1976 Summer Olympics certainly had a polarizing effect on all of us with their share of gripping storylines.

There also was with the Phillies, who suddenly emerged as division and playoff contenders, as they would produce the first of two 101-win seasons. The Eagles were also on the rise with new coach Dick Vermeil.

There also was the buzz of MLB’s All-Star Game in town during the bicentennial year.

Along with Frampton, the Pet Rock, CB Radios, 7-11’s “Big Gulp” were instant hits.

TV shows “Charlie’s Angels,” “The Muppets,” “Happy Days,” “Laverne and Shirley,” “Welcome Back Kotter,” “The Bionic Woman,” and “All in the Family” were among the most popular.

In this version of my Yesterday column — reminiscing about sports and pop culture from the 1960s, 70s, 80s and sometimes before and beyond — I’ll look back at the Summer of ‘76 in the sports and pop culture world.

Thinking back, does anyone know the famous Cuban Olympic heavyweight boxer who turned down millions to turn pro? Who was the lone Met voted to the All-Star Game? Was there a calculator/watch hybrid? What former Phillies backup catcher had the same last name as a pro wrestler? What was the Captain and Tennille’s top 10 hit this week? Did the Beatles reunite under a Canadian band pseudonym?

And how many of you have a Phillies’ bicentennial cap?

Canadian Summer ... Without a doubt, the ‘76 Summer Olympics were one of the most intriguing events in the last 50 years. There were plenty of US storylines along with several notable ones from other countries.

Some of my favorite moments were Bruce — now Caitlyn — Jenner’s dominance in the decathlon, Romania’s Nadia Comaneci and her perfect scores in gymnastics, the Spinks’ (Leon and Michael) brothers making a splash in boxing and Sugar Ray Leonard also showing how he was on his way to a stellar professional career in the squared circle.

Ironically, host-country Canada didn’t win a gold medal.

More Than Cigars ... Don’t forget Cuban heavyweight boxer Teofilo Stevenson, who dominated again to win his second of three gold medals. Stevenson knocked out American hopeful John Tate in an earlier round.

Stevenson was offered a multi-million-dollar deal to fight then heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, but he turned it down to stay in his native country.

There also was fellow countryman Alberto Juantorena (I always remember his name), who set a new world record in the 800 in 1:43.50. Juantorena also won the 400 and became the first athlete to achieve the mark of winning golds in both events.

Big Time ... On July 2, 1976, the Phillies were 50-20 and had a 9.5-game lead. The All-Star Game came to town two weeks later, and Greg Luzinski was voted in as a starter.

He was joined by Mike Schmidt, Bob Boone, Dave Cash, Larry Bowa and Dick Ruthven.

The National League won easily, 7-1, and George Foster was the MVP with his three-run homer. Foster led the league with 121 RBIs.

Who was the lone Mets’ starter? It was outfielder Dave Kingman, who hit 37 homers that year.

Ticket prices for the game ranged from $6 to $15.

Last Time Hammerin’ ... On July 20, Hank Aaron hit his last home run against the Angels as a Milwaukee Brewer. It was his 10th of the season.

The 42-year-old Aaron would finish with 755 for his career, and he had a double-digit total in each of his 23 seasons.

Fly Like an Eagle ... That was the title cut of the Steve Miller album, and the song played for Eagles’ pre-game shows on Channel 10.

There was plenty of hype around the Eagles and new head coach Dick Vermeil. The relatively unknown UCLA coach had hoped to turn around a 4-10 team from the previous year, but his team compiled the same record. However, two years later, Vermeil had the Eagles in the playoffs.

The real story for ‘76 was walk-on wide receiver Vince Papale, who had played two seasons for the WFL Philadelphia Bell. Papale was later compared to “Rocky” when the movie debuted in December.

Check out the Eagles’ exhibition schedule that summer: San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Hard to believe Vermeil will turn 90 in October.

Plenty of Silly Love Songs ... On the week of June 30, 1976, Wings’ “Silly Love Songs” topped the Billboard chart.

How many of you remember these?

The top remaining songs for the week was the classic “Afternoon Delight” by Starland Vocal Band followed by “Kiss and Say Goodbye (Manhattans), “I’ll Be Good to You” (Brothers Johnson), “Shop Around” (Captain and Tennille), “More, More, More” (Andrea True Connection), “Love Is Alive” (Gary Wright), “Sara Smile (Hall and Oates), and “Got to Get You into My Life” (Beatles).

The Beatles song was a 10-year-old Beatles song. Capitol Records released it as a single in 1976 to promote their Rock ‘n’ Roll Music compilation album, driving the 1966 Revolver classic straight into the Top 10 a decade after it was recorded.

More Beatles ... In ‘76, there was a wild rumor that the Canadian group “Klaatu” was actually the Beatles recording under a pseudonym.

But the rumor was quickly debunked.

More Trips for the Captain ... The Captain and Tennille had a TV variety show on ABC that ran in 1976 and 1977.

It began in September 1976, and ended in March of 1977 due to their scheduling commitments.

After 39 years of marriage in 2014, the couple divorced.

Readers Write

In response to one of the previous columns about players’ numbers, reader Brian McCloskey responded with the following Phillies’ numbers:

Jimmy Rollins switched to No. 6 and went back to No. 11, Howard wore No. 12 originally. John Kruk wore No. 11 switched to No. 19 then switched to No. 28, gave the number to Wild Thing (who would switch to No. 99) when he got signed and switched to his most well-known No. 29.

Bryce Harper wanted and requested number No. 7 but it was Mikel Franco’s (who wouldn’t even last the next season) so he went with No. 3. I dream about Mike Trout getting traded here, and because of Aaron Nola wearing No. 27, he pulls a Carlton Fisk and flips the digits to No. 72.

Add It Up ... Anyone have a calculator watch in ‘76? They were an offshoot of the rapid calculator phase.

The Hughes Aircraft Calculator watch was manufactured in that year. The watch was actually popular because it was associated with the film, Battlestar Galactica.

The watch has a very simple design and was able to subtract, multiply, divide and add.

But it was very expensive, as most watches were priced at $150 and above.

WWWF/WWE Wrap ... In each column, I will recall a wrestler we watched in our youth or teens.

Do you remember Crusher Blackwell? Born Jerry Blackwell in Georgia, he was also known as Bruiser Blackwell or Man Mountain Blackwell for his 477-pound frame.

Blackwell wrestled in the WWWF in the 70s, and he also made his mark in the NWA as a tag-team champion. He once held the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship belt.

Over his 16-year career, Blackwell had a record of 737-815-152. He passed away at age 45 in 1995.

Memory Lane ... In each column, I will recount the career of a former player, manager or media personality from our yesterday.

Speaking of Blackwells, do you remember Phillies’ backup catcher Tim Blackwell? He was acquired from Boston in April 1976, and had a cup of coffee in Philly appearing in only five games with eight at-bats (.250) over two seasons.

Blackwell and pitcher Wayne Twitchell (remember his potential?) were sent to Montreal on June 15, 1977 for pitcher Dan Warthen and catcher Barry Foote.

The catcher also played with the Cubs over his 10-year career. He hit .228 with six homers and 80 RBIs over his 426 games.

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