Philadelphia Baseball History

From a certain set of Phillies fans, Jimmy Rollins gets no love.   It’s hard to see why.   Rollins is only the all time Phillies leader in hits (2,306) and doubles (479).   In stolen bases, he’s second only to the legendary Slidin’ Billy Hamilton, whose numbers may be inflated due to how stolen bases were credited in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.   He’s second only to Mike Schmidt in extra base hits and total bases.   In triples, he is third behind Hall of Famers Ed Delahanty and Sherry Magee. Certainly, in a team that has suffered through the likes of Steve Jeltz and Ivan DeJesus, Rollins has been a highlight of the shortstop position. Having grown up in the 1970s, I loved Larry Bowa.   He was a team leader.   In his twelve years with the Phillies, Bowa batted .264 with 1,798 hits and 421 RBIs.   But, in his fifteen years with the Phillies, Rollins edges out Bowa, his mentor, with a .267 average, and 887 RBIs.   Additionally, Rollins’ career fielding

By: William J. Kovatch, Jr. Dick Allen burst on the scene as the second Phillies Rookie of the Year in 1964.  He became a respected power hitter, making the All-Star Team seven times in his career.  Allen was the 1972 AL MVP and finished his career with a .292 batting average, a .534 slugging percentage and a .374 on base percentage. In 2104, he missed being inducted by one vote of the Golden Era Committee.  When the Committee next meets in 2017, he should be in a good position to win election.

By:  William Kovatch A power hitter during the dead ball era, Gavvy Cravath set the 20th century records for most home runs in a season and a career. Leading the league in home runs, RBIs, runs, walks and on base percentage, Cravath played a key role in the Phillies first pennant winning team of 1915. References  Fitzpatrick, Frank, "Before there was Babe Ruth, there was the Phillies Gavvy Cravath," Philadelphia Inquirer (September 23, 2015).   "Gavvy Cravath," Baseball-Reference.com .   Swank, Bill, "Gavvy Cravath," SABR Baseball Biography Project .

By:  William Kovatch Harry Stovey was a premier power hitter in the dead ball era when home runs were rare.  Still, he amassed 122 home runs during his 14 year major league career, retiring in 1893 as the career leader. Stovey played a vital role with the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association, and would make a fine representative of a team that vanished when the league folded. Stovey is one of a class of players and executives nominated for consideration for induction by the Pre-Integration Committee when it meets this Winter. Harry Stovey's career statistics . Announcement of Nominees for Pre-Integration Committee consideration . Rules for consideration by the eras committee . #HarryintheHall

William J. Kovatch, Jr. In 1954, the Athletics were the only baseball team in Philadelphia that had brought a World Championship to the city.  In fact, the team won five!  Arguably, the team was more popular than the Phillies. But 1954 was the last season that the American League had a team in Philadelphia.  In the off season, the A's were sold, and by 1955 they were opening in Kansas City. The loss of the Athletics had a number of causes. Connie Mack had guided the team for over fifty years, but was having memory problems.  Because the ownership comprised of his family and the Shibe family, no one was willing to tell him that it was time to leave.  The result was decades of bad baseball, and lost attendance. In the midst of all of this, Mack's children from his late wife did not see eye to eye with his son with his second wife.  The older Mack children then mortgaged the team to buy all of the shares.  But this move was done when attendance was still in decline.  Thi

By William J. Kovatch, Jr. This week I address the arguments against Pete Rose's reinstatement, and show that as a legend of the game he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

William J.Kovatch, Jr.             The first Philadelphia Athletics baseball club, according to star second baseman Alfred J. Reach, had its roots in music.   A group of music lovers, calling themselves the Handel and Haydn Music Society met regularly along Philadelphia’s Spring Garden Street.   In addition to their penchant for singing, the members also had a joy for playing ball.             In a meeting held in 1859, over which a coal merchant named John J. Heisler presided, the Philadelphia Athletic Ball Club was created.   Heisler became the club’s first treasurer and second baseman.   William Ernst was elected president.             When the club was formed, the popular ball game in the Philadelphia area was called town ball.   The game involved a bowler lobbing a ball to a batsman or striker, who tried to hit the ball, and run around a set of bases.   The rules, however, were much looser than the game we know today as baseball.     A player could be thrown out by lite

William J. Kovatch, Jr.             In 1947, Jackie Robinson burst on the scene, breaking the color barrier that plagued the major leagues for seventy years.   Adept with the bat and quick on the base path, Robinson helped make the Dodgers perennial contenders and eventually World Champions in 1955.             Robinson’s accomplishments were made possible by Dodger General Manager Branch Rickey, one of the game’s greatest innovators.   Through Robinson, Rickey was exorcizing his own demons.   As the manager of the Ohio Wesleyan University baseball team in the early twentieth century, Rickey’s star catcher was Charles Thomas, the only black player on the team.   Rickey watched as Thomas encountered racism across the Midwest, and was refused lodging during the team’s road trips.   The memory of the mistreatment Thomas suffered haunted Rickey for decades.             The torment Robinson suffered was personified in Phillies manager Ben Chapman.   Chapman, known for his bigo

William J. Kovatch, Jr.             On July 9, 1903, the naked, mangled body of a man with his leg shorn off was fished out of the Niagara Gorge, downstream from Niagara Falls.   The body was identified as Ed Delahanty, outfielder for the Washington Senators and former offensive powerhouse for the Philadelphia Phillies.   Delahanty had last been seen on July 2, when a train conductor, John Cole, fed up with Delahanty’s drunken misconduct, threw him off of the train before crossing the International Railway Bridge.   A New York Times obituary reported that Delahanty had an open razor and was terrorizing passengers in a sleeper compartment.   Delahanty had been drinking too excess, and became confused and irate when he tried to enter a sleeper compartment that was already occupied.   Cole failed to follow proper procedures and simply left Delahanty at the Bridgeburg station, instead of leaving Delahanty in police custody.   Delahanty then tried to cross the bridge on foot.   A nig