70 Fun Facts About Philadelphia Phillies

In what year did the Phillies begin play as a National League franchise?

Sporting-goods maker Al Reach and attorney John Rogers won the expansion franchise, making the club the oldest continuous one-name, one-city team in American pro sports.

Which team did the Phillies beat for their first World Series championship in 1980?

The Phillies were the last of the 16 original 1903-1960 franchises to win a World Series.

Who did the Phillies defeat in the 2008 World Series?

The win gave Philadelphia its first major championship in 25 years, going back to the 1983 NBA Finals.

Which pitcher was named MVP of the 2008 World Series?

He had already been named MVP of the NLCS that October, going 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA against the Dodgers.

In what year did the Phillie Phanatic make his debut?

He first appeared at the Vet against the Cubs on April 25 and has been riding an ATV around the field ever since.

According to his official biography, where was the Phillie Phanatic born?

The green creature was inducted as a charter member of the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2005.

Phanatic designer Bonnie Erickson had previously created which Muppet?

Erickson also designed the balcony hecklers Statler and Waldorf before turning to a furry green Phillies fan.

The Phillies paid $3,900 for the Phanatic costume in 1978. What price would have included the copyright?

Bill Giles chose the cheaper option, and the club later had to pay far more to secure rights to its own mascot.

In what year was Veterans Stadium imploded?

The 32-year-old building came down in 62 seconds on March 21, less than a month before the Phillies opened their new park.

What did Philadelphia station inside Veterans Stadium on game days to deal with ejected fans?

Judge Seamus McCaffery presided over the stadium courtroom, an idea born of the notorious 700 Level crowd.

Ashburn Alley at Citizens Bank Park honors a Hall of Famer who played which position?

The concourse also holds a bronze statue of broadcaster Harry Kalas.

Who managed the Phillies during the infamous collapse of 1964?

TV Guide had already gone to press with a World Series preview featuring a photo of Connie Mack Stadium.

When the 1964 collapse began, the Phillies led by 6.5 games with how many games left to play?

Ten straight losses followed, and the club finished 92-70, one game out and tied for second with the Reds.

The Phillies' 1964 September collapse began with a 1-0 loss when Cincinnati's Chico Ruiz did what?

Ruiz took off with slugger Frank Robinson at bat, and the run he scored held up as the only one of the game.

Jim Bunning threw a perfect game on Father's Day 1964 against which team?

It was the first perfect game in the National League since 1880 and the first in Phillies history.

Which 1964 NL Rookie of the Year had his number 15 retired by the Phillies in 2020?

He wore his batting helmet in the field after clashes with fans, earning the nickname 'Crash', and reached Cooperstown in 2025.

Which Phillies closer gave up Joe Carter's Series-ending home run in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series?

He received death threats from fans and was traded to Houston before the next season began.

What was the nickname of the Phillies' erratic 1993 closer, who saved a career-high 43 games that year?

He racked up 192 saves over 11 seasons despite control that lived up to the name.

What nickname did the scruffy, mullet-wearing 1993 Phillies earn?

Lenny Dykstra led that lineup with 194 hits and 143 runs scored on the way to a 97-65 record.

The 1950 'Whiz Kids' were swept in the World Series by which team?

Game 1 was a 1-0 affair, the third straight year a World Series had opened with that score.

Which relief pitcher won the 1950 NL MVP and started Game 1 of that World Series?

Manager Eddie Sawyer turned to his bullpen ace because Robin Roberts had pitched three of the previous five games in the pennant chase.

Which Dodgers runner did Richie Ashburn throw out at home on the last day of 1950?

The throw preserved a 1-1 tie in the ninth and set up Sisler's extra-inning heroics.

What nickname did Richie Ashburn's minor-league teammates give him because of his light blond hair?

The two-time batting champion later spent 34 years in the Phillies broadcast booth, from 1963 until his death in 1997.

In a 1957 game, how many times did Richie Ashburn hit spectator Alice Roth with a foul ball?

The first foul broke her nose; the second struck her as she was being carried out on a stretcher.

How many games did Robin Roberts win in 1952, the most by any NL pitcher since 1935?

It was the middle of a run of six straight 20-win seasons, and he later coached baseball at the University of South Florida.

Which pitcher did the Phillies send to St. Louis in the 1972 trade for Steve Carlton?

The deal happened just before the season, on February 26, 1972, and became one of the most lopsided in Cardinals history.

How many Cy Young Awards did Steve Carlton win, a record at the time?

He won them in 1972, 1977, 1980 and 1982, and his number 32 was retired in 1989.

What did Steve Carlton famously do from 1976 through the rest of his Phillies career?

'Lefty' also struck out 19 Mets in a 1969 game and still lost it 4-3.

How many career home runs did Mike Schmidt finish with?

He led the National League in homers eight times and drove in a franchise-record 1,595 runs.

Ryan Howard set the Phillies single-season record with how many home runs in 2006?

He was NL MVP that year, one season after winning Rookie of the Year, and won the Home Run Derby with 23 homers.

What was Ryan Howard's nickname?

His Phillies career ended painfully in 2011 when he tore his Achilles running out the final ground ball of the NLDS.

Chase Utley's five home runs in the 2009 World Series tied which player's record?

Two of the five came in Game 5 alone, though the Yankees still won the Series in six.

Before the 2007 season, Jimmy Rollins riled the Mets by declaring the Phillies what?

He backed it up with an NL MVP season and a division title, and left the club as its all-time hits leader with 2,306.

Jimmy Rollins' 38-game hitting streak broke a franchise record held by which 19th-century star?

The streak began in 2005 and carried into 2006; the man he passed once hit four home runs in a single 1896 game.

How many years did Bryce Harper's $330 million contract with the Phillies run when he signed it in 2019?

He chose to wear number 3 with the club and won his second NL MVP in 2021.

Roy Halladay's 2010 perfect game came against which team?

That October he threw a no-hitter against the Reds in his first postseason start, only the second no-hitter in playoff history.

What phrase completed Harry Kalas' home run call, "Swing ... and a long drive, this ball is ..."?

Kalas called Phillies games from 1971 until 2009 and was also a longtime narrator for NFL Films.

Which pitcher, nicknamed 'Old Pete', led the Phillies to their first pennant in 1915?

'Old Pete' won the pitching Triple Crown that year and threw a record five one-hitters.

The Phillies' 1915 ace set a still-standing single-season record in 1916 with how many shutouts?

His 90 career shutouts are also a National League record, and the Phillies traded him to the Cubs after 1917 for two players and $55,000.

Which Phillies outfielder won the 1933 National League Triple Crown?

Three years earlier he drove in 170 runs, still the club record, feasting on the Baker Bowl's short right-field wall.

At its closest point, how far was the Baker Bowl's right-field wall from home plate?

Babe Ruth played his final major league game there in 1935 as a member of the Boston Braves, grounding out to first.

A vandal in 1936 famously added what phrase to the Baker Bowl's 'The Phillies Use Lifebuoy' soap sign?

The joke had circulated for years before someone snuck in at night and painted it on the wall itself.

Why was Phillies owner William Cox banned from baseball for life in 1943?

He had owned the club for barely eight months; the Carpenter family bought it for about $400,000 the same day he was banned.

Which alternate nickname did Phillies management pick from a fan contest before the 1944 season?

The name never stuck with fans and quietly faded within a few years.

In what year did the Phillies become the first American pro sports franchise to lose 10,000 games?

The young core answered by winning the NL East that same season and the World Series the next.

Which Royals batter did Tug McGraw strike out to end the 1980 World Series?

It was his 12th strikeout of the Series, a World Series record; McGraw's son Tim became a country music star.

Game 5 of the 2008 World Series was suspended by rain in the sixth inning. When was it resumed?

It was the first World Series game ever suspended rather than finished or called a tie, and Brad Lidge closed it out to cap a perfect season of saves.

How many consecutive NL East titles did the Phillies win under Charlie Manuel from 2007 to 2011?

Manuel retired as the winningest manager in club history at 780-636 and was once nicknamed 'Aka-Oni', the Red Devil, by fans in Japan.

The 2011 Phillies set a franchise record with how many regular-season wins?

The 'Four Aces' rotation of Halladay, Lee, Hamels and Oswalt still lost the NLDS to the eventual champion Cardinals in five games.

Who took over as interim manager when the Phillies fired Joe Girardi in June 2022?

The team went from 22-29 to the pennant, beating the Cardinals, Braves and Padres before falling to Houston in six games.

The Phillies signed shortstop Trea Turner in the 2022-23 offseason to an 11-year deal worth how much?

The Turner deal was announced on December 8, 2022, and the club then spent the rest of the month adding pitchers Matt Strahm and Taijuan Walker.

In July 2023, Bryce Harper made his first career big-league start at which position?

Harper had come back from Tommy John surgery in early May as a designated hitter, wearing a large arm brace, before moving onto the infield in the summer.

Kyle Schwarber batted just .197 in 2023 yet finished with how many home runs?

He also drew 126 walks and struck out an MLB-leading 215 times, and became the fifth Phillie to hit 40 homers in back-to-back seasons.

After a viral fan campaign, how did Phillies fans greet a slumping Trea Turner on August 4, 2023?

Superfan Jon McCann, "The Philly Captain," posted the video the day before; Turner then hit .337 with 16 homers over his next 48 games.

Which MLB record did Trea Turner set in 2023?

Turner went a perfect 30-for-30 on stolen-base attempts, a feat no one had managed over a full season with that many steals.

Who hit the sixth-inning grand slam that broke open Game 2 of the 2023 Wild Card Series against Miami?

The slam off Andrew Nardi made it 7-0 behind seven strong innings from Aaron Nola, completing the two-game sweep of the Marlins.

Which Phillie hit two home runs in Game 3 and two more in Game 4 of the 2023 NLDS against Atlanta?

His fourth homer in two days extended the Game 4 lead to 3-1 as Philadelphia eliminated the 104-win Braves in four games for the second straight October.

Which team beat the Phillies in seven games in the 2023 National League Championship Series?

It was the first Game 7 in Phillies franchise history, and Philadelphia became only the fourth home team since 1985 to win the first two games of an LCS and still lose it.

Which Phillies closer recorded the 400th save of his career in Atlanta on May 26, 2023?

The milestone came against the Braves, the club that had signed him as an undrafted teenager and where he became a rookie-record closer.

Who struck out 12 over six shutout innings as the Phillies won Game 2 of the 2023 NLCS 10-0?

It sent Philadelphia to Arizona with a 2-0 lead; Nola then re-signed with the club for seven years that November.

What was the Phillies' regular-season record in 2023, good for the National League's fourth seed?

They clinched on September 26 and finished second in the NL East, then swept Miami as the top wild card before the run to Game 7 of the NLCS.

Which sporting goods manufacturer co-founded the Phillies with attorney John Rogers in 1883?

The new club replaced the folded Worcester franchise and posted a .173 winning percentage, still the worst in team history.

Which newspaper first printed the nickname 'Phillies' on April 3, 1883?

The name has been in continuous use ever since, one of the longest-running nicknames in pro sports.

Which manager of baseball's first openly professional team was hired by the Phillies in 1884?

Wright had managed the Cincinnati Red Stockings; the team never seriously contended under him despite improving.

A balcony collapse at the Baker Bowl in 1903 killed how many people?

Hundreds were injured; the lawsuits forced owner John Rogers to sell the club.

The Phillies' one-off 'Saturday Night Specials' uniforms of 1979 were worn in a loss to which team?

The pyjama-like look was panned by players, media and fans alike and dropped after the 10-5 loss.

What was the main Phillies colour from 1970 to 1991, paired with the 'baseball stitched' P logo?

Away uniforms in that era used a pale powder blue base instead of grey from 1972 to 1988.

Who was the first Phillie to hit four home runs in one game, in 1896?

Chuck Klein and Mike Schmidt later matched the feat, giving the Phillies three of the 18 players ever to do it.

Which Phillies starter won the 1983 NL Cy Young Award?

Denny won in 1983 and reliever Steve Bedrosian in 1987; Carlton's four came in 1972, 1977, 1980 and 1982.

Which third baseman won the 1997 NL Rookie of the Year for the Phillies?

Ryan Howard's 2005 win made him only the second player, after Cal Ripken Jr., to follow Rookie of the Year with an MVP.