PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The Philadelphia Phillies are the longest standing same-named, same-city team in American professional sports, having been born to the National League in 1883. Unfortunately for them, longevity does not constitute greatness. In fact, the Phillies have been dogged by bad management, poor players and general ineptness for almost the entire span of their long history, so much so that they have lost more games than any other American professional sports team.

Their all-time record through 2005 is 8,694-9,879, almost one-thousand two-hundred games under .500. They hold the unenviable records of losing twenty-three straight games (1961) and going ninety-two years (1883-1979) without a championship (a record tied by the Cubs in 2005).

The Phillies played their first game on May 1, 1883, losing to the Providence Grays 4-3. They would lose eighty-one of ninety-eight games, a harbinger of things to come. Hall of Famer Harry Wright took over the team in its sophomore season and for the next ten years, they finished out of the first division only once. Wright added great talent, starting with Ed Delahanty. "Big Ed" hit over .400 three times, won a batting title, hit four home runs in a game in 1896, and was the slugging leader in 1893 (nineteen home runs & one-hundred forty-six runs batted in).

In 1894, Delahanty was a member of an All-Hall-of-Fame outfield with Sam Thompson and "Sliding" Billy Hamilton. All three hit over .400 that year. Hamilton would set a record by scoring one-hundred ninety-two runs that year. He would win two batting titles and four stolen base crowns (thus his nickname) and Thompson would twice lead the league in home runs.

The Phillies had a tough time in the first decade of the 20th Century after the upstart American League signed away their three biggest stars - Delahanty, Elmer Flick and Nap Lajoie - all future Hall of Famers. Their rebound started when they signed a young Grover Cleveland Alexander. One of the greatest of all pitchers, he won twenty-eight games as a rookie in 1911. He averaged twenty-seven wins in his seven years with Philly, winning thirty-plus games three times and twenty-plus games each year but 1912 when he won nineteen.

In 1915, he had one of the all-time great seasons (31-10, 1.22 ERA, twelve shutouts, four one-hitters and two-hundred sixty-four strikeouts) in sparking the Phillies to the pennant. His battery mate, Gavvy Cravath was the league's premier slugger, socking a then-record twenty-four home runs. The Phils lost to the Red Sox in the World Series, winning the first game by two runs, before losing four in a row, all by one run.

After two consecutive second place finishes, the Phils collapsed into a dark and dismal period virtually unmatched in the game's history. Over the next three decades, they would finish last seventeen times and next-to-last seven times, losing over one-hundred games for five straight seasons (1938-1942).

Because the Phils played in the Baker Bowl, an old stadium favorable to power hitters, they had their share of slugging stars, most notably Chuck Klein, who won three home run titles, including a Triple Crown in 1933 (twenty-eight home runs, one-hundred twenty-nine runs batted in, .368). Klein, like Delahanty, also hit four home runs in one game doing it in 1936. The Phils left the Baker Bowl for Shibe Park in 1938.

The Phils finally emerged from the darkness after World War II, building a team around what the fans came to call the "Whiz Kids" — Richie Ashburn, Curt Simmons, Granny Hamner, Andy Seminick, Robin Roberts and veterans Dick Sisler and Jim Konstanty.

The "Whiz Kids," won the 1950 pennant, but not without a scare. Flying high with a seven game lead and eleven left to play, they hit a wind shear of a slump, losing eight of ten while the Dodgers pulled to within one game. The two teams met on the final day of the season in Brooklyn and were tied 1-1 when Dick Sisler hit a three-run tenth inning homer. Roberts pitched the entire game and Ashburn saved the season by throwing out the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth. It was all academic, as the Phils lost to the Yanks in the World Series.

If the "Whiz Kids" survived a near collapse in 1950, their counterparts in 1964 were not so fortunate. After another decade of foundering near the bottom of the league, the Phils were the team to beat in 1964 behind manager Gene Mauch, pitching ace Jim Bunning (19-8, 2.63), the veteran John Callison (thirty-one home runs, one-hundred four runs batted in, .274) and newcomer Dick Allen (twenty-nine home runs, ninety-one runs batted in, .318). The team had a 6½ game lead with twelve games remaining, and unimaginably lost ten straight, allowing the St. Louis Cardinals to steal the pennant from them by one game.

The team returned to its second division doldrums. They moved out of ancient Connie Mack Stadium (nee Shibe Park) for Veterans Stadium in 1970, and a restocked farm system and some astute trades rejuvenated the franchise. Steve Carlton had been a good pitcher in St. Louis, but after being traded to the Phillies, he took his game to another plateau. On a team that won only fifty-nine games in 1972, Carlton won the Cy Young Award (27-10, 1.98).

Suddenly a new word was applied to the Phillies - dynasty. They won three consecutive National League East Titles (1976-77-78) with Carlton the mainstay (twenty, twenty-three, and sixteen wins) and Mike Schmidt the slugging star (thirty-eight, thirty-eight, and twenty-one home runs). He became the third Philly player (of the fifteen players in history) to hit four homers in a game in 1976. There was plenty of other power with Greg Luzinski (twenty-one, thirty-nine & thirty-five homers), Garry Maddox and Richie Hebner.

The Phils dynasty did not extend to the post-season as they lost all three National League Championship Series. Looking for the boost that would get them over the top, they brought in Pete Rose in 1979. The move paid huge dividends in 1980 when Rose's leadership and fiery competitiveness led the Phillies to their first - and to date only - World Championship. As always, Carlton was the pitching leader with another Cy Young year (24-9, 2.34) and Schmidt had one of his finest seasons as Most Valuable Player (forty-eight home runs, one-hundred twenty-one runs batted in, .286).

The Phils won a dramatic National League Championship Series over Houston and closed the deal against Kansas City in the World Series in six games with Carlton winning two and Schmidt hitting a pair of home runs. The Phils won a half-season pennant but lost to Montreal in the strike-forced 1981 Division Series. They were back on top in 1983 with Carlton winning his three-hundredth game. The Phils defeated the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series but succumbed to Baltimore in the World Series.

After another down decade, the Phils roared back in 1993 behind a group of blue collar veterans led by John Kruk (.316) Darren Daulton (twenty-four home runs, one-hundred five runs batted in, .257) and sparkplug Len Dykstra (.305). Tommie Greene and Curt Schilling each won sixteen games and Mitch Williams saved forty-three. After defeating Atlanta in the National League Championship Series, the Phils lost to Toronto in the World Series, best remembered for Joe Carter's walk-off, Series-winning home run against Williams in the sixth game.

Despite producing talent such as Scott Rolen, Jimmy Rollins, and Bobby Abreu, signing star slugger Jim Thome, and moving into a new ballpark in 2004, the Phils have been away from post-season for more than ten years. A stretch this long has to worry Philadelphia fans who know the long, dark recesses of ineptness this franchise can produce.