Philadelphia Phillies, American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia that plays in the National League (NL). The Phillies have won seven NL pennants and two World Series titles (1980 and 2008) and are the oldest continuously run, single-name, single-city franchise in American professional sports.

Steve Carlton. © Jerry Coli/Dreamstime.com

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The Phillies were founded in 1883 and were informally known as both the Quakers and the Phillies (a shortened version of “Philadelphians”) until they officially adopted the Phillies name in 1890. The team was not an early success and first qualified for the playoffs in 1915, behind the pitching of all-time great Grover Cleveland Alexander. Philadelphia traded Alexander after the 1917 season and entered into a period of prolonged failure that saw the team finish last or second to last in the NL in 24 of the 30 seasons from 1919 to 1947. In 1950 star outfielder Richie Ashburn and pitcher Robin Roberts led a Phillies team of “Whiz Kids” to Philadelphia’s first berth in the World Series in 35 years, where they were swept by the New York Yankees.

The Phillies began another extended playoff drought after 1950, during part of which (1963–69) the unpredictable behaviour of temperamental slugger Dick Allen kept things interesting. The team began a turnaround in 1972, when future Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton made their Phillies debuts. Behind Carlton’s dominant pitching and Schmidt’s timely power hitting, the Phillies experienced the most prolonged period of success in franchise history, winning six NL East Division titles between 1976 and 1983. Though the team advanced to the World Series only twice in those years, it won the franchise’s first world championship, in 1980. In 1993 the Phillies returned to the World Series only to lose to the Toronto Blue Jays on Joe Carter’s dramatic series-winning home run in game six.

The Phillies set an ignoble mark in 2007, when they became the first franchise in sporting history to lose its 10,000th game. The 2007 season ended on a bright note, however, as the Phillies won their first NL East Division title in 14 years. The Phillies repeated as division champions in 2008, and they advanced to the World Series behind the dominant pitching of Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge. There they defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in five games to win the franchise’s second World Series title. In 2009 the Phillies won their second consecutive NL pennant but lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series. Between the end of the 2009 season and beginning of the 2011 campaign, the team acquired All-Star pitchers Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cliff Lee. The three teamed with Hamels to create a strong pitching staff that helped the Phillies win a team-record 102 games in 2011. However, Philadelphia was upset by the St. Louis Cardinals in the opening round of the playoffs.

Cole Hamels. © Rick Seeney/Shutterstock.com

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Injuries and an aging roster took their toll on the Phillies in the following seasons, as the team finished well out of playoff contention in those years. Philadelphia added star outfielder Bryce Harper in free agency during the 2019 off-season, but the Phillies finished with only a .500 record during his first season with the team.