Philadelphia Baseball History

Beginning with Octavius Catto and Jacob White of the Philadelphia Pythians, the City of Brotherly Love played a large role in the development of African-American baseball. The origins of several talented African-American teams include ties to the Philadelphia area, such as the Cuban Giants, and the Philadelphia Giants. One such team that played in the early 20 th Century was the Hilldale Club. Hilldale played in a city just southwest of Philadelphia, Darby, PA.   The team had its roots in an athletic association for young men, called the Hilldale Athletic Club, formed in 1910. Ed Bolden, who worked in the main branch of the Philadelphia Post Office, founded the club, and had Hilldale Park built in 1914 at Chester and Cedar Avenues in Darby.   Bolden eventually incorporated the team in 1916 as the “Hilldale Baseball and Exhibition Company,” and began recruiting top African-American baseball players. Hilldale had no official nickname, and was mostly referred to as H...

It was the late seventies. As a seven or eight year old boy, I was excited to see my favorite baseball player, the Bull, Greg Luzinski, come to the Kiddie City on Erie Avenue near the Juniata Park section of Philadelphia. But the Bull was suffering from an injury that day, and couldn’t make it. In his place, the Phillies sent their star catcher, Bob Boone.  Sure, I was disappointed Luzinski couldn’t make it. But everyone knew Bob Boone. By 1979, he had already been an All-Star three times. He may not have been a serious offensive threat. But he did win Gold Gloves in 1978 and 1979.  And so, Boone showed up. He climbed up on to the temporary stage they had built in the Kiddie City parking lot, and demonstrated some toy. I think it was one of those machines that lobbed a plastic ball in the air that you then hit with a plastic bat. Of course, it didn’t matter. I wasn’t there to buy a new toy. I was there to meet one of the players on my favorite team.  Afterwa...

10.  Game One of the 1915 World Series The Phillies took the National League by surprise winning the pennant in 1915, led by the bats of Gavvy Cravath and Fred Luderus. Game One of the World Series took place in the Baker Bowl, pitting 31 game winner Grover Cleveland Alexander against the Boston Red Sox’s 19 game winner, Ernie Shore.  Alexander kept Boston to one run, while the Phillies scored three for the victory. This was the Phillies’ first World Series win. It would prove to be their last for the next 65 years, as the Red Sox took the next four games to win the series. With the Yankees sweeping the Whiz Kids team of 1950, Phillies fans would have to wait until 1980 for the team to win another World Series game.  9. Game Five of the 1993 World Series The 1993 Phillies may not have won the World Series; but they won a special place in the hearts of Phillies fans. Starting strong with a 17-5 record in the month of April, the team never looked back...

The 1929 Philadelphia Athletics boasted four future Hall of Famers: Jimmie Foxx, Robert “Lefty” Grove, Al Simmons and Mickey Cochrane. But the most unexpected hero of that season was a thirty-five year old right-handed pitcher with a submarine-style motion, Howard Ehmke.  Born in Silver Creek, New York, Ehmke moved to Los Angeles in 1913. The Los Angeles Angles of the Pacific Coast League signed him to a contract, and then sold his rights to the Washington Senators. Ehmke spurned the Senators in favor of signing with the Buffalo Blues of the upstart Federal League.  But Ehmke’s year with the Blues was disappointing. After the Federal League folded, Ehmke played with the Syracuse Stars, and was sold to the Detroit Tigers. However, the Senators claimed that they still owned the rights to Ehmke. AL President Ban Johnson agreed. The Senators then sold their rights to the Tigers.  Ehmke played six seasons with the Tigers, until he was traded to the Red Sox befor...

Controversial plays happen, particularly in the World Series.  Not all of them are as clear-cut as the blown call in the bottom of the ninth inning of game 6 of the 1985 World Series, where Royals Jorge Orta was called safe at first.  Had replay review existed back then, Orta would have been called out, and the Cardinals would have captured another World Championship.  Instead, the Royals staged a comeback in that inning, and then took game 7 to win their first World Championship. But other plays are not so clear-cut, and spark debate among sports fans for decades.  Had replay review existed, would it have changed the outcome of the entire World Series?  Some of those plays, though controversial at the time, have faded into the background of baseball history. One such play occurred in game 5 of the 1980 World Series.  Rookie phenom, and Pitcher of the Month for September, Marty Bystrom took the mound against the Royals.  Bystr...

In a season marred with over ninety losses, a heroic pitching performance stood out for the Phillies. But the man who through a no-hitter for an otherwise dismal team did not return the following season. Instead, he was dealt in a trade that turned around the franchise.  No, I'm not talking about Cole Hammels and the 2015 Phillies. This is the story of Rick Wise and the 1971 Phillies.  When you look closely, there are a lot of similarities between the Phillies of the early 1970s and today's Phillies. 1971 marked the first of three seasons in a row when the Phillies lost more than ninety games. Likewise, the Phils lost more than ninety games in each season from 2015 through 2017.  But even in the early 1970s there was hope. After obtaining Steve Carlton in the Rick Wise trade, the Phillies began to inject new life into the major league team from its farm system. Larry Bowa debuted in 1969. He was followed by the Bull, Greg Luzinski, in 1971, and Bob Boone and M...