page_title: Philadelphia Phillies
section_title: Becoming the Phillies (1890–1917)
hierarchical_section_title: Philadelphia Phillies / History / Becoming the Phillies (1890–1917)
caption_attribution_description: 1890 Philadelphia Phillies
context_page_description: The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They compete in Major League Baseball as a member of the National League East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citizens Bank Park, located in South Philadelphia. The Phillies are the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in American professional sports.
  The Phillies have won two World Series championships and seven National League pennants, the first of which came in 1915. Since the first modern World Series was played in 1903, the Phillies played 77 consecutive seasons before they won their first World Series—longer than any of the other 16 teams that made up the major leagues for the first half of the 20th century. They are one of the more successful franchises since the start of the Divisional Era in Major League Baseball. The Phillies have won 11 division titles, including five consecutive division titles from 2007 to 2011; these are ranked sixth among all teams and fourth in the National League. Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt is widely considered the franchise's greatest player of all time.
context_section_description: The nickname "Phillies" first appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer for April 3, 1883, in the paper's coverage of an exhibition game by the new National League club. At some point in the 1880s, the team accepted the shorter nickname "Phillies" as an official nickname. "Quakers" continued to be used interchangeably with "Phillies" until 1890, when the team officially became known as the "Phillies". This name is one of the longest continually used nicknames in professional sports by a team in the same city.
  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. Due to growing disagreements about the direction of the team, Reach sold his interest to Rogers in 1899.
  With the birth of the more lucrative American League (AL) in 1901, the Phillies saw many of their better players defect to the upstart, including a number of players who ended up playing for their crosstown rivals, the Athletics, owned by former Phillies minority owner Benjamin Shibe. While their former teammates would thrive (the AL's first five batting champions were former Phillies), the remaining squad fared dismally, finishing 46 games out of first place in 1902—the first of three straight years finishing either seventh or eighth. 
  To add tragedy to folly, a balcony collapsed during a game at the Baker Bowl in 1903, killing 12 and injuring hundreds. Rogers was forced to sell the Phillies to avoid being ruined by an avalanche of lawsuits. In 1904 the team finished with a record of 52–100, making them the first team in franchise history to have lost 100 games.
  
   
  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 major-league single-season record for home runs with 24. They finished the season with a record of 90–62, seven games ahead of the Boston Braves. The Philles went up against the Boston Red Sox in the World Series, opening the series at home with a victory. The Phillies struggled against a strong Red Sox pitching lineup and surrendered the next four games, losing the series four games to one. 
  The team continued to dominate the National League in 1916 but fell short of a capturing a second consecutive pennant. The team finished two and a half games out of first place with a record of 91–62. Alexander won his second consecutive triple crown and posted 16 shutouts, tying the single season major league record.
  In 1917 Alexander had been traded when owner William Baker refused to increase his salary. Baker was known for running the Phillies very cheaply; for instance, during much of his tenure, there was only one scout in the entire organization. The Phillies finished the 1917 season in second place with a record of 87–65, ten games behind the New York Giants.
caption: 1890 Philadelphia Phillies
exif: {}