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| Philadelphia
Phillies History |
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| The Philadelphia Phillies
are the oldest, continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of
professional sports. Al Reach, who in 1866 had become the first professional
baseball player and was later a successful sporting goods dealer,
became the Phillies first owner along with attorney John Rogers. Hall
of Famer, Harry Wright was named Manager of the Philadelphia Phillies
in 1884, Wright changed the Phillies fortunes and lead them to respectability
during the next decade. The Phillies finished out of the first division
only once during his reign. Found in 1883 as Philadelphia Quakers
(1883-1889), the Philadelphia Phillies is a Major Major League Baseball
team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are among the five
teams in the East Division of the National League (NL). Phillies have
their home ballpark is Citizens Bank Park. The Park was opened on
April 9, 2004. Constructed at a cost of $326 million the stadium has
a seating capacity of 43,000. The Philadelphia Phillies won their
first National League pennant in 1915 with a great performance by
infielder Dave Bancroft. Philadelphia Phillies came out as a powerful
team in the 1970s, winning five division titles from 1976 to 1983,
including three straight under Manager Danny Ozark. In 1980 the team
won their first World Series, defeating the Kansas City Royals. The
Phillies won the Series with the help of superstars Pete Rose and
Mike Schmidt, outfielder Greg Luzinski, and pitchers Steve Carlton
and Tug McGraw. In 1983 the Phillies included two former players from
Cincinnati Reds; second baseman Joe Morgan and first baseman Tony
Perez. After a long pause, in 1993 Philadelphia won another pennant.
But the team had little success in the late 1990s. The uniform colors
worn by the Philadelphia Phillies players are, red and white. The
logo design for the Phillies is a stylized "P". Some of
the Hall of Famers of the Philadelphia Phillies includes players such
as Pete Alexander, Sparky Anderson, Richie Ashburn, Dave Bancroft
and Chief Bender. George Lee "Sparky" Anderson has a lifetime
record of 2194-1834, for a .545 percentage. He was inducted to the
United States Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager in 2000. Philadelphia
Phillies have won seven Division titles in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980,
1981, 1983 and 1993; won five National League pennants in 1915, 1950,
1980, 1983, and 1993 and won the World Series championships in 1980.
With that season's (1994) players' strike, most of the Phillies' fan
base was greatly offended, and since then the Phillies have had little
success either on the field or at the gate - the realignment of the
Atlanta Braves into the National League East in 1994 having had a
negative effect on both as the Braves have won the division every
year since joining it, often by lopsided margins. In 2004 the team
was second in the National League East, only the third time the Phillies
have finished that high since the 1994 realignment. |
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