Philadelphia Phillies

Founded: 1883

Formerly known as: Philadelphia Quakers (1883-1889). The name changed to "Phillies" in 1890. Some newspapers tried to call them the Quakers in the 1910s, but the name never really stuck. During World War II, the team management tried changing the team's nickname to the Blue Jays, but it was unpopular with players and fans alike.

Home ballpark: Citizens Bank Park (2004), a baseball-only field next to the Vet.

Former home ballparks: Veterans Stadium (1971-2003), Shibe Park (1938-1970), Baker Bowl (1895-1938), Philadelphia Baseball Grounds (1887-1894), Recreation Park (1883-1886)

Uniform colors: Red and white

Logo design: A stylized "P".

Wild Card titles won (0): none

Division titles won (7): 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1993

National League pennants won: 1915, 1950, 1980, 1983, 1993

World Series championships won: 1980

Franchise history

Founded in 1883, the National League's Philadelphia Phillies are the longest standing, one-name, one-location team in all professional American sports. Also, amongst franchises having played enough all time games to have eliminated most statistical anomalies, they are the worst team in the history of all American professional sports (in terms of winning percentage.)

Imaginitively named for a verbal shorthand of their city of residence ("Philly"), the Phillies were before coming to Philadelphia the Worcester, Massachusetts Brown Stockings. The name has absolutely nothing to do with horses. Their initial owners were John Rodgers and Al Reach, the first ever professional baseball player according to many definitions.

The Phillies Franchise historically had four strong winning periods:

• the 1890s, when they featured one of the strongest outfields of all time in Hall of Famers Billy Hamilton, Sam Thompson and Ed Delahanty. The 1894 team set an all-time mark for team batting average, but finished low in the standings due to weak pitching. The team still contended throughout the decade.
• the 1910s, winning the National League pennant in 1915 and contending for another three. These team featured Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander and hitting stars Gavvy Cravath and Sherry Magee.
• the "Whiz Kids" of the 1950s, pennant winners in 1950 and contenders throughout. Hall of Famers Richie Ashburn (center fielder) and Robin Roberts (pitcher) played here.
• the late 1970s and early 1980s, winning quite a few division titles, two pennants, in 1980 and 1983, and one World Series, in 1980. This stands as the only World Series victory in the Phillies' 121 year history. This was a team with such notable names as Steve Carlton, Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Greg Luzinski, and Larry Bowa.

Since Mike Schmidt retired in 1989, the Phillies have had 14 losing seasons, a streak broken only once by a World Series berth in 1993. Beloved by the city of Philadelphia, this team with names such as Darren Daulton, John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra, and Curt Schilling surprised the city and the nation with their achievements. Losing to the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series, giving the Canadians two consecutive World Series titles, was nonetheless disappointing. The team was often described as "shaggy," "unkempt" and "dirty." The previous year, noting the presence of the clean-cut Dale Murphy, Kruk himself described the team as "24 morons and one Mormon." Some possibly justified detractors noted: "awfully white, aren't they? You'd think a major league baseball team ought to have more blacks and latinos." Their character, with the exception of the lack of diversity, endeared them to Philadelphia, and attendance records were set the following season. But with that season's (1994) player strike, most of the Phillies' fan base was greatly offended, and since then the Phillies have consistently placed near the bottom of the league in both record and attendance.

Players of note

Baseball Hall of Famers

• Pete Alexander
• Sparky Anderson
• Richie Ashburn
• Dave Bancroft
• Chief Bender
• Dan Brouthers
• Jim Bunning
• Steve Carlton
• Roger Connor
• Ed Delahanty
• Hugh Duffy
• Johnny Evers
• Elmer Flick
• Jimmie Foxx
• Billy Hamilton
• Ferguson Jenkins
• Hughie Jennings
• Tim Keefe
• Chuck Klein
• Nap Lajoie
• Tommy McCarthy
• Joe Morgan
• Kid Nichols
• Tony Perez
• Eppa Rixey
• Robin Roberts
• Mike Schmidt
• Casey Stengel
• Sam Thompson
• Lloyd Waner
• Hack Wilson

Current stars

• Bobby Abreu
• Pat Burrell
• Kevin Millwood
• Eric Milton
• Jimmy Rollins
• Jim Thome
• Billy Wagner

Not to be forgotten

• Richie Allen
• Bob Boone
• Larry Bowa
• Greg Luzinski
• Bake McBride
• Tug McGraw
• Pete Rose

Retired numbers

• 1 Richie Ashburn
• 32 Steve Carlton
• 36 Robin Roberts
• 20 Mike Schmidt
• 42 Jackie Robinson (retired throughout baseball)

External links

• Philadelphia Phillies official web site

Referenced By