Philadelphia Phillies

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Lore & Background

The National League approved a new franchise for Philadelphia to begin play in 1883, at its annual meeting in Providence on December 7, 1882. The Phillies are the oldest, continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in American professional sports. The team has played at several stadiums in the city, including Recreation Park (1883–1886), the Baker Bowl (1887–1938), Shibe Park (later renamed Connie Mack Stadium) (1938–1970), Veterans Stadium (1971–2003), and now at Citizens Bank Park (2004–present). The resignation of the Worcester and Troy franchises from the National League after the 1882 season created openings for two new franchises, which were granted to New York and Philadelphia.

In Their Own Story

It was during the 1970s that the rivalry became intense. The Phillies and the Pirates made up 10 of the possible 11 National League Championship Series appearances from 1970 to 1980. From 1970 to 1980, the two teams reigned exclusively as National League East champions, except in 1973, when the New York Mets won the National League pennant. In 1978, the Pirates came from fourth place and 11+1⁄2 games behind in mid-August to challenge the Phillies for the division title and the teams met in the last regular-season series of the season to decide the division title. The Phillies arrived in Pittsburgh for a four-game series ahead of the Pirates by 3+1⁄2 on September 29. The Pirates swept a double-header to extend their winning streak of home wins to 24 and to trim the gap to 1+1⁄2 games. In the third game of the series, Willie Stargell hit a grand slam home run and it looked like the lead would be cut to half a game. Instead, Phillies pitcher Randy Lerch hit two home runs to help the Phillies come from behind to win the game, 10–8, to win their third straight division title on the next-to-last day of the season. This was the first time that visiting teams won a division title at Three Rivers Stadium.

Reader's Guide

The Phillies have won two World Series championships (against the Kansas City Royals in 1980 and the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008) and eight National League pennants (the first of which came in 1915). As of the end of the 2025 season, the Phillies have played 21,810 games, with a regular season record of 10,303–11,392–115 (.475). The team's Triple-A affiliate is the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Double-A affiliate is the Reading Fightin Phils, and the Class-A affiliates are the Jersey Shore BlueClaws and the Clearwater Threshers. Spring training facilities are at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Florida.

Did You Know?

• The Phillies were the first American sports franchise to amass over 10,000 losses.
• The Phillies are one of only ten teams to have won over 10,000 games in their history.
• Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt is widely considered the franchise's greatest player of all time.