History Of The Philadelphia Phillies
The history of the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball's National League is a long and varied one. The Phillies are based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and are a member of the National League East division. Since 2004, the team's home has been Citizens Bank Park in the South Philadelphia section of the city. The franchise has won two World Series championships (against Kansas City in 1980 and Tampa Bay in 2008) and seven National League pennants. The franchise has also experienced long periods of struggle.
After replacing the Worcesters in 1883, the franchise made its first post-season appearance in 1915, losing to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. The Phillies franchise also has the second-longest streak of consecutive losing seasons in American professional sports, sixteen straight from 1933 to 1948; the record stood until 2009, when it was broken by the Pittsburgh Pirates. After another National League pennant in 1950, the Phillies did not return to the post-season until 1976, beginning a period of extended success for the franchise. Compared to the team's early days, the Phillies have recently been more successful than not, with two such periods: the first from 1975 to 1983, when they won five East Division championships as well as the first-half championship in the strike-shortened 1981 season, and the second starting in 2001, with a winning percentage of .534 in those eight seasons, finishing above .500 in all but one, and making the playoffs from 2007 through 2011.
In its 127-season history, the franchise has employed 51 managers and 10 general managers (GMs). Dallas Green and Charlie Manuel are the only Phillies managers to win a World Series: Green in 1980, and Manuel in 2008. Manuel is also the only Phillies manager to win two pennants, and on the last day of the 2011 regular season, surpassed Gene Mauch's 644-win record as the winningest manager in franchise history, taking two fewer seasons than Mauch to accomplish that feat. The longest-tenured general manager is Paul Owens, with 11 years of service to the team as the general manager, from 1972 to 1983. Owens also served as the team manager in 1972, and from 1983 to 1984. After this time, he served as a team executive until 2003, and was inducted into the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame in recognition of his services. The manager with the highest winning percentage over a full season or more was Arthur Irwin, whose .575 winning percentage is fourth on the all-time wins list for Phillies managers.
Read more about History Of The Philadelphia Phillies: Origins, Early 20th Century, 1930s–1940s, "Phold" of 1964, 1970s, 1980: First World Series Championship, 1981–1992, 1993: Fifth National League Championship, 1994–2005, 2006, 2007: 10,000 Losses and An Incredible Regular-season Finish, 2008: A Second World Series Championship, 2009: Two Straight Series Appearances, 2010: Fourth Consecutive NL East Title, 2011: Fifth Consecutive NL East Title, 2012: Fall From Grace
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