Historic Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA
PHILLIES
✧
Dick Sisler’s home run brought the Phillies
the 1950 National League Pennant for the
first time in thirty-five years. The “Whiz
Kids” of 1950 captured the city’s attention,
but they lost to the New York Yankees in the
World Series in four straight games.
PHOTO © 2000 THE PHILLIES.
HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA
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For more than 100 years, the Phillies have
been a part of the Philadelphia sports scene.
In that time, there have been many thrills,
much disappointment, and the comings and
goings of heroes who, years after they have
passed, remain a part of the city’s lore.
The Phillies story goes back a bit further,
though. In 1869, the Cincinnati Red
Stockings became the first professional baseball
team. A year later, a professional team,
the Athletics, was organized in Philadelphia.
The National Association was formed in 1871
with the Athletics as one of the teams.
By 1876, the National League was formed,
again with the Philadelphia Athletics as one
of the teams. The league opened play in
Philadelphia on April 22, 1876, with the
Athletics facing the Boston Red Stockings at
25th and Jefferson Streets. The Red Stockings
won the game, 6-5; one of forty-five losses in
fifty-nine games the Athletics played that
year. By the end of the season, with low
funds, the Athletics players refused to go on
the team’s final road trip. The team was
expelled from the league, and there was no
professional baseball played in the city until
the following decade.
In 1882, the Worcester Brown Stockings
folded. Alfred J. Reach, a former ballplayer and
then a sporting goods merchant, bought the
team, moved it to Philadelphia, and renamed it
the Phillies. Of the name, Reach said, “It tells
you who we are and where we’re from.”
Besides identifying the city in which the
team plays, the Phillies is the oldest team
name in the National League. The team
opened play in its new city inauspiciously.
The Phillies lost to the Providence Grays, 4-3,
in a game played at Recreation Park at 24th
Street and Columbian Avenue before 1,200
fans on May 1. That was one of eighty-one
losses against seventeen wins.
The Phillies finished in second place twice
before the century ended. By the time the
1915 season opened, things were about to
change. Pat Moran, a former Phillies catcher,
was named manager. With Grover Cleveland
Alexander winning thirty-one games, including
the first game of the World Series, the
Phillies took the league championship. But
they lost to the Boston Red Sox in the World
Series, four games to one.
The Phillies of the teens finished second
the following two seasons, and then began to