City Series (Philadelphia)
The City Series was the name of a series of intracity baseball games played between Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Athletics of the American League and Philadelphia Phillies of the National League that ran from 1883 through 1954. While the games were officially exhibitions, they were a matter of prestige in Philadelphia and a long rivalry existed between the players, management, and fans. The Athletics moved to Kansas City in 1955 which ended the Philadelphia City Series rivalry. Contemporary fans, along with the Phillies and Oakland Athletics franchises, have recognized and celebrated their shared history in different  commemorations. 1883–1889. The first City Series was held in 1883 between the Phillies and American Association Philadelphia Athletics. 1903–1938. The American League was established in 1901 and the Philadelphia Athletics were founding member and immediately rivaled the Phillies for city fans. The two teams did not play each other in 1901 and 1902 due to legal warring between the National League and American League. The rivalry between the Phillies and American League Athletics started with the establishment of the American League in 1901. Superstar Nap Lajoie had played for several years on the Phillies, but was displeased with the salary  cap of $2,400 placed by the National League. When the Athletics were established, Lajoie quit the Phillies and signed with the A's. In response, the Phillies filed an injunction lawsuit preventing Lajoie from playing on any other team. The case was ruled that Lajoie was barred from playing in Pennsylvania and Lajoie was sent to the Cleveland Bluebirds due to the financial assistance Cleveland had provided for the A's early on. In 1903, the injunction was dropped when the NL and AL made peace. Lajoie went on to have an outstanding Hall of Fame career. Eventually, he  did return to the A's at the twilight of his career. The first City Series game between the American League Athletics and Phillies was played on April 9, 1903 at the Phillies ballpark. The Phillies won 6-5 in ten innings. The Phillies and A's would play both a spring and fall series in 1903. The Phillies took four of five games in the spring. With Baker Bowl in disrepair following the collapse of a section of bleachers on August 8, 1903, all of the post-season games were played at Columbia Park. The A's won four  of the seven games. In 1905, the A's and Phillies only played the spring series as the A's were in the 1905 World Series against the New York Giants. The two teams played eight games between April 1 and April 12, 1905, alternating games between the A's Columbia Park and the Phillies' Philadelphia Park. The teams split the 1905 series four games to four. Seven games were scheduled for April 1909. Shibe Park was being completed for its grand-opening so the Phils and A's played the entire series at the Phillies' Baker Bowl. The teams  played six games with the Phillies winning five. Phillies Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander made his Philadelphia debut during the pre-season 1911 Series. Alexander pitched five-innings of no-hit no-run baseball. He would make his official Major League debut on April 15, 1911. The relationship between the Athletics and Phillies was severed in 1915, and the teams chose not to meet in 1916 or 1917. They agreed to play one game in April 1918 at National League Park as a benefit to the family of respected sportswriter Billy Weart who had died at age 46  in December 1917. Wert had grown up in Philadelphia, and risen to be secretary-treasurer of the Baseball Writers Association of America. The game was postponed by weather to July 18, 1918, with the gate receipts benefiting Weart's family. The Phillie and Athletic would return to play a five game series in April 1919. William Baker, Phillies owner from 1913 until 1930, had declared that only games played in Philadelphia counted in the City Series, and would not include spring training meetings in the standings which he considered practice games. This practice continued even after Baker's death in  1930. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in 1937 that the winner of the City Series was awarded the Harry A. Mackey cup, named for Harry Mackey, mayor of Philadelphia from 1928 to 1931, and a former college athlete. The Phillies left Baker Bowl after the 1938 season with a 30-38-1 record in City Series games at Baker Bowl against the A's. 1938-1954. From 1948 through 1954, the Athletics and Phillies played a mid-season exhibition game for the benefit of the Junior Baseball Federation of Philadelphia. The proceeds from the game were distributed for the benefit of  amateur baseball to the city's Police Athletic League, Department of Recreation, Fairmount Park, American Legion, and the Sandlot Sports Association. The 1950 series was planned for three games prior to Opening Day. Snow flurries and cold weather caused the cancellation of the first game. The Athletics beat the Phillies 7-4 in the first game and the Phillies won the following game 11-2. The Phillies and Philadelphia Athletics played their final game against each other on June 28, 1954 at their shared ballpark renamed Connie Mack Stadium before the 1953 season. The Phillies beat the Athletics 3–2 in  front of 15,993 fans. 1955–1967. The Athletics moved to Kansas City prior to the 1955 season. The A's, now based in Kansas City, traveled to Philadelphia at the end of spring training to play pre-season exhibitions against the Phillies. The A's beat the Phillies in the second game, 10-2, at Wilmington Park, home of the original Wilmington Blue Rocks. The Athletics continued to hold spring training in Florida through 1968 in West Palm Beach and then Bradenton which meant the franchises continued to face each other in Florida in spring training. The Athletics moved to Oakland  after the 1967 season and two teams played each other in spring training for the last time in 1968. Contemporary Legacy. The Phillies continued to play at Connie Mack Stadium through 1970 and moved to Veterans Stadium in 1971. In 1978 the Phillies created the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame through which they honored a great Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia Athletics player on an annual basis at Veterans Stadium. Veterans Stadium closed after the 2003 season and the Phillies moved only the Phillies wall plaques to Citizens Bank Park In March 2004, the Athletics' plaques were relocated to the Philadelphia  Athletics Historical Society in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, and a single plaque listing all of the A's inductees was attached to the statue of Connie Mack located across the street from Citizens Bank Park. The Athletics played the Phillies for the first time in interleague play in June 2003 at Veterans Stadium. The Phillies invited former A's Eddie Joost and Gus Zernial to the games. Connie Mack's daughter Ruth Mack Clark attended the first game. Former Florida U.S. Senator Connie Mack III, Mack's grandson, threw out the first ball. The Phillies played the Athletics in Oakland in June  2005. The A's invited Eddie Joost to throw out the first pitch before the series opening game on June 17, 2005. In 2011 the Athletics visited the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park for an interleague series in which the Phillies took two out of three games. The Phillies and Athletics were scheduled to have played a three game series at Citizens Bank Park June 12-14, 2020 and the Phillies planned a "1920s City Series Retro Night" for June 12. The series was cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic that shortened the 2020 Major League Baseball season. The Athletics  visited the Phillies for both teams opening series in 2022, with the Phillies winning two out of three games.