50 Fun Facts About Philadelphia Sports

In which year did all four of Philadelphia's major teams play for their league championship?

Only the Phillies won; the Eagles lost Super Bowl XV to Oakland, and the Flyers and 76ers both lost their finals too.

Founded in 1883, the Phillies hold what distinction in American pro sports?

They are also, per the Elias Sports Bureau, the losingest franchise in pro sports.

In 2007 the Phillies became the first franchise in any pro sport to reach which unwanted milestone?

They then won the World Series the very next year, ending the Curse of Billy Penn.

Whom did the Phillies beat to win their first World Series in 1980?

Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton led six playoff trips in eight years; the second title came in 2008 over Tampa Bay.

The 1950 'Whiz Kids', led by pitcher Robin Roberts, were swept in the World Series by which team?

Between 1918 and 1948 the franchise had managed just one winning season.

How many World Series did the Philadelphia Athletics win before moving to Kansas City?

Connie Mack's A's won in 1910, 1911, 1913, 1929 and 1930 and played at Shibe Park, the majors' first concrete-and-steel ballpark.

Which team did the Eagles temporarily merge with in 1943 because of wartime player shortages?

The combined 'Steagles' went 5-4-1; the Steelers merged with the Cardinals the following year.

The 1948 and 1949 Eagles remain the only NFL team to win back-to-back championships how?

Steve Van Buren, Chuck Bednarik and Pete Pihos from that era all made the NFL's 75th Anniversary team.

The 1960 champion Eagles were the only team ever to beat which coach in a playoff game?

Lombardi's Packers won the next two NFL titles and the first two Super Bowls.

Whom did the Eagles beat in Super Bowl LII to win their first Super Bowl?

Doug Pederson's team won 41-33 in Minneapolis in February 2018; the second title came over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.

In the 'Philly Special' trick play in Super Bowl LII, who caught the touchdown pass?

Kelce snapped to Clement, who pitched to Burton, who threw to the quarterback: the first player ever to throw and catch a touchdown in a Super Bowl.

The Eagles' February 2025 Super Bowl win ended Philadelphia's run of title-game defeats in what kind of year?

The city's teams had gone 0-8 in such games from 1977 to 2021.

Which Philadelphia team won the 1926 NFL championship?

That same year the AFL's Philadelphia Quakers won their league too, giving the city two football titles; both the AFL and the Quakers folded after one season.

The Philadelphia Stars won the 1984 championship of which spring football league?

Jim Mora coached them at Veterans Stadium before the franchise moved to Baltimore for the league's last season.

In which years did the Flyers win their two Stanley Cups?

They were the first non-Original Six team to lift the Cup since the Montreal Maroons in 1935.

Which Flyers enforcer set the NHL record for penalty minutes in a season with 472?

He set it in 1974-75 and was traded to Los Angeles before the 1976-77 season as the Bullies era wound down.

Which team left the ice at the Spectrum in 1976 in protest at the Flyers' rough play?

They came back after being warned they would forfeit their pay for the whole Super Series tour; the Flyers won 4-1.

Which singer's recording of 'God Bless America' became a Flyers good-luck tradition starting in 1969?

The team seemed to win more often when it replaced the national anthem, so it was saved for big games.

What is the name of the furry orange, googly-eyed mascot the Flyers unveiled in 2018?

His official biography says arena construction disturbed his secret hideout; he became an internet celebrity within months.

The Phillie Phanatic made its debut in 1978 at the Vet against which team?

Owner Bill Giles later called paying $3,900 for just the costume instead of $5,200 for costume plus copyright the worst decision of his life.

The 76ers began in 1946 as the Syracuse Nationals in which league, before the 1949 merger created the NBA?

They were the Syracuse Nationals then, and won their first title in 1955 before moving to Philadelphia in 1963.

How many games did the 1966-67 76ers win, a record at the time, on the way to the title?

They were the only team besides Boston to win an NBA championship in the 1960s.

Which NBA franchise played in Philadelphia from 1946 to 1962 before moving to San Francisco?

They won the first BAA title in 1947 and again in 1956, and Wilt Chamberlain scored his 100 points wearing their uniform.

Which supporters group is credited with helping bring the Philadelphia Union to MLS in 2010?

They formed in 2007 to prove a fan base existed; the club plays at Subaru Park in Chester.

What was the Union's first major trophy, won in 2020?

They lost the 2022 MLS Cup on penalties to LAFC after a 3-3 draw and have lost three U.S. Open Cup finals.

The Philadelphia Atoms won the 1973 championship in their first season in which competition?

Their goalkeeper Bob Rigby became the first soccer player on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Which of these schools was added to the Big 5 college basketball rivalry in 2023?

La Salle, Penn, Saint Joseph's, Temple and Villanova had played a round-robin city series since 1956.

What nickname does Penn's home gymnasium, the Palestra, carry?

For many years every Big 5 game was played there.

Which Big 5 school won the 1954 NCAA men's basketball championship?

Villanova has the city's other three titles: 1985, 2016 and 2018.

Villanova's 1985 'Perfect Game' against Georgetown saw the Wildcats shoot what percentage from the field?

As an 8 seed they remain the lowest seed ever to win it all; they went 9 for 10 in the second half.

Penn's rivalry with the neighbouring Dragons, the geographically closest in Division I, is known by what name?

Their arenas are three blocks apart; the 'Holy War' is Saint Joseph's versus Villanova.

Which stadium hosts the Penn Relays, the largest early-season track meet in the United States?

It is the oldest still-operating college football site in the country and was the Eagles' home from 1958 to 1970.

How long is the Broad Street Run, held annually since 1980?

The city's marathon, founded in 1954, is run on the third Sunday of November.

Which annual college football game has Philadelphia hosted more often than any other city?

The city also hosted the first NFL draft, held at Philadelphia's Ritz-Carlton in 1936.

In 1968, fans of the 2-11 Eagles infamously pelted whom with snowballs during a halftime show?

The incident cemented the fans' reputation and is still brought up every December.

What did Philadelphia install at Veterans Stadium in the late 1990s to deal with unruly Eagles fans?

Judge Seamus McCaffery held 'Eagles Court' on game days until the Vet closed in 2003.

The 'Curse of Billy Penn' was blamed on the 1987 opening of which skyscraper?

It broke a gentlemen's agreement that nothing would rise above the William Penn statue on City Hall; a Penn statuette on the Comcast Center's top beam preceded the 2008 title.

In what year did a Phillies World Series title end the curse tied to Billy Penn's statue?

They beat the Tampa Bay Rays a year after a Penn statuette was fixed to the Comcast Center's final beam.

Hosts at which radio station founded Wing Bowl, the pre-Super Bowl eating contest held until 2018?

Angelo Cataldi and Al Morganti started it in a hotel in 1993 with two contestants and about 150 spectators.

How many stone steps make up the 'Rocky Steps' at the Philadelphia Museum of Art?

A bronze Rocky statue stands at the top, and tourists re-create the climb daily.

'Smokin' Joe' Frazier beat Muhammad Ali in 1971 in a bout known as what?

He was born in South Carolina but trained fighters in his Philadelphia gym for the rest of his life.

Which 2006 film dramatized Vince Papale's rise from bartender to Philadelphia Eagle?

Silver Linings Playbook's hero is an Eagles fan; The Mighty Macs is about Immaculata's women's basketball team.

Which Elton John song was written as an anthem for a Philly World TeamTennis franchise?

He wrote it for friend Billie Jean King's team, but the Freedoms moved to Boston before it was ever played at a home match.

Billie Jean King's role with the 1974 Philadelphia Freedoms made her the first woman to do what?

She was player-coach in the co-ed league and its MVP that year, before being traded to New York.

Boathouse Row, a symbol of the city's rowing heritage, sits along which river?

Rowing has been popular in Philadelphia since the 18th century, and six local universities keep boathouses there.

The Philadelphia Quakers NHL team of 1930-31 set records for what?

They folded after one season and their marks stood for over forty years; the NHL did not return until the Flyers in 1967.

How many NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA titles had Philadelphia teams won as of Super Bowl LIX?

Philadelphia is one of only six cities to have won at least one title in all four leagues; the Eagles' Super Bowl LIX win in February 2025 was the 19th.

Which short-lived 1974-75 World Football League team employed Willie Wood, pro football's first modern Black head coach?

The Bell played at John F. Kennedy Stadium; the WFL folded after two seasons and none of its teams joined the NFL.

Which former Eagles quarterback served as president and co-owner of the Arena Football League's Philadelphia Soul?

Jaworski had led the Eagles to Super Bowl XV in 1981; the Soul were founded in 2004 and played at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Union's home ground, Subaru Park, is in which suburb about 13 miles southwest of Philadelphia?

The Eagles, Phillies, Flyers and 76ers all play inside the city at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex.