[7][8][9][10] Founded in 1883, the Phillies are the oldest, continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in American professional sports and one of the most storied teams in Major League Baseball.

[11] Since their founding, the Phillies have won two World Series championships (against the Kansas City Royals in 1980 and the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008), eight National League pennants (the first of which came in 1915), and made playoff appearances in 15 seasons.

[17] In 1887, the team began to play at the newly constructed Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds, later renamed National League Park.

[18] The franchise's standout players in the era were Billy Hamilton, Sam Thompson, and Ed Delahanty, who in 1896 set the major-league record (since tied by several others) with four home runs in a single game.

The Phillies won their first pennant in 1915 thanks to the pitching of Grover Cleveland Alexander and the batting prowess of Gavvy Cravath, who set the 20th century single-season record for home runs with 24.

In 1917, Alexander had been traded to the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Mike Prendegrast and catcher Pickles Dillhoefer, when owner William Baker refused to increase his salary.

[19] Philadelphia's Baker Bowl proved to be a fertile hitting ground for Phillies opponents as well, and in 1930, the team surrendered 1199 runs, a major-league record still standing today.

The entire right field grandstand collapsed in 1926, forcing the Phillies to move to the A's Shibe Park (five blocks west on Lehigh Avenue from Baker Bowl) for 1927.

After lumber baron William D. Cox purchased the team with a group of investors for $190,000 and a $50,000 note on March 15, 1943,[20] the Phillies rose out of last place for the first time in five years.

Similarly, the university's student council, citing the Philadelphia team's long track record of failure, passed a resolution demanding "suitable satisfaction" for what they perceived as theft and sullying of the Blue Jays name.

In the final months of the season, a tailspin (triggered by the loss of starting pitcher Curt Simmons to National Guard service) caused the team to lose the next eight of ten games.

With players such as Carlton, third baseman Mike Schmidt, shortstop Larry Bowa, catcher Bob Boone, and outfielder Greg Luzinski, the Phillies won three straight division titles (1976–78).

In a memorable NLCS, with four of the five games needing extra innings, they fell behind 2–1 but battled back to squeeze past the Astros on a 10th-inning game-winning hit by center fielder Garry Maddox, and the city celebrated its first NL pennant in 30 years.

In 1990, Terry Mulholland lost a perfect game in the seventh inning when a San Francisco Giants' batter reached base on a throwing error.

Each member of the rotation posted at least 10 wins, while the bullpen was led by elder statesman Larry Andersen and closer Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams, who notched 43 saves and a 3.34 ERA.

[d] In June 2010, the team's scheduled series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre was moved to Philadelphia, because of security concerns for the G-20 Summit.

During the off-season, Jimmy Rollins waived his no-trade clause and was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Cliff Lee pitched his last game and was sidelined for the entire 2015 season due to injury.

He led the Phillies in the right direction in the first half of the 2018 season, as they had a 59–48 record at the July 31 trade deadline and were leading the NL East division by 1.5 games over the Atlanta Braves.

They were eliminated from the playoffs on September 24 in the first game of a day-night double-header against Harper's former team and the eventual World Series champions, the Nationals, on their way to finishing with a record of 81–81.

Owner John Middleton fired Manager Gabe Kapler on October 10, 2019, after ten days of intense deliberations with insiders and outsiders alike.

[101] Currently, during spring training, the Phillies wear solid red practice jerseys with pinstriped pants for Grapefruit League home games.

Yet the most important aspect of the 1970 uniform change was the adoption of one of the more distinctive logos in sports; a Phillies "P" that, thanks to its unique shape and "baseball stitched" center swirl, remained instantly recognizable and admired, long after its regular use had ended.

[109] A slightly different blue cap (with a red bill) was introduced in 2008 as part of the alternate home uniform for day games, a throwback to the late 1940s.

[117] Games between the two teams at Citi Field and Citizens Bank Park are often very intense, hard-hitting affairs, as each home crowd does its best to create an unfriendly, sometimes volatile atmosphere for any visiting-team fans.

The rivalry quickly spiked in intensity during the 2010s after Nationals team management introduced a campaign to block Phillies fans from overtaking home games.

Grover Cleveland Alexander *Dick Allen *Sparky AndersonRichie Ashburn *Dave Bancroft *Chief BenderDan BrouthersJim Bunning Steve Carlton *[151]Roger ConnorEd Delahanty *Hugh DuffyJohnny EversElmer FlickJimmie FoxxPat GillickRoy Halladay[152] Billy Hamilton *Bucky HarrisFerguson JenkinsHughie JenningsJim KaatTim KeefeChuck Klein *Nap Lajoie Pedro Martínez[153]Tommy McCarthyJoe MorganKid NicholsTony PérezEppa RixeyRobin Roberts *Scott Rolen *Ryne Sandberg Mike Schmidt *[154]Casey StengelJim ThomeSam Thompson *Billy Wagner Lloyd WanerHack WilsonHarry Wright * Herb Carneal Al Helfer Harry Kalas Tim McCarver By Saam

Tom McCarthy calls play-by-play for the television broadcasts, with John Kruk, Rubén Amaro Jr.,[209] Ben Davis, and Mike Schmidt[210] providing color commentary.

Phillies Phundamentals is another educational program, offered through after-school and summer camps, that is designed to make learning fun and support academic skills by using baseball.

[229] Phillies' fans are known for harsh criticism of their own stars such the 1964 Rookie of the Year Dick Allen and Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt.

In addition to costumed characters, animated Phil and Phyllis figures mounted on the center-field facade would "hit" the Liberty Bell after a Phillies home run.