Sports in Philadelphia
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has a rich tradition of sports, from club sports in the mid-nineteenth century to the professional teams and events of today.
[edit] Major-league professional teams
Philadelphia has a long and proud history of professional sports teams. Philadelphia fans have a reputation of avid devotion to their teams, in good times and in bad. Of late, Philadelphia teams have been performing well, but have much more often than not missed championships by failing in the crucial stages. A few drunken locals jokingly attribute this to the "Curse of Billy Penn". The city's last major championship came in 1983, when the 76ers swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
The Eagles, Phillies, Flyers, and 76ers have each recently had new venues built for them. The Eagles currently play at Lincoln Financial Field ("The Linc"), built in 2003. The Phillies now play at Citizens Bank Park, opened in 2004. The Flyers and 76ers share the Wachovia Center (formerly the CoreStates Center (1996-1998), then the First Union Center (1998-2003)—still affectionately referred to by fans as the "F.U. Center"), opened in 1996, with the Philadelphia Wings (National Lacrosse League) and the Philadelphia Soul (Arena Football League) arena football team. The Wachovia Spectrum (1967) is now home to the Flyers' top farm team, the Philadelphia Phantoms (American Hockey League), and the Philadelphia KiXX (Major Indoor Soccer League), an Indoor soccer team.
Philadelphia can also lay claim to being the only North American city to have all of its teams (Eagles, Flyers, Phillies and 76ers) from the four major sports leagues play for their respective championships in one year, 1980. However, only the Phillies were able to earn a championship, by defeating the Kansas City Royals in six games in the 1980 World Series. The Eagles lost to the Oakland Raiders, 27-10, in Super Bowl XV, while the Flyers fell to the New York Islanders in six games in the Stanley Cup Finals, and the 76ers bowed to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals in six games, as well. Nevertheless, 1980 in Philadelphia sports was indeed a magical year, one that no other city has been able to match.
Philadelphia has also been home to the Philadelphia Athletics (MLB, now the Oakland Athletics), and the Philadelphia Warriors (NBA, now the Golden State Warriors).
| Club | Sport | League | Championships | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Eagles | American Football | National Football League; NFC | 3 (1948, 1949, 1960) | Lincoln Financial Field |
| Philadelphia Flyers | Ice Hockey | National Hockey League; Eastern | 2 (1973-74, 1974-75) | Wachovia Center |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Baseball | Major League Baseball; NL | 1 (1980) | Citizens Bank Park |
| Philadelphia 76ers | Basketball | National Basketball Association; Eastern | 2 (1966-67, 1982-83) | Wachovia Center |
| Philadelphia Phantoms | Ice Hockey | American Hockey League | 2 (1997-98, 2004-05) | Wachovia Spectrum |
| Philadelphia Wings | Indoor Lacrosse | National Lacrosse League | 6 (1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001) | Wachovia Center |
| Philadelphia Barrage | Field Lacrosse | Major League Lacrosse | 2 (2004, 2006) | Villanova Stadium |
| Philadelphia Soul | Arena football | Arena Football League | 0 | Wachovia Center |
| Philadelphia KiXX | Indoor soccer | Major Indoor Soccer League | 1 (2001-02) | Wachovia Spectrum |
[edit] Baseball
[edit] Phillies
Founded as the Philadelphia Quakers in 1883, the team changed its name to the Phillies in 1890.
[edit] Athletics
[edit] Stars
The Philadelphia Stars (baseball) were a baseball team in the Negro National League from 1934 to 1948.
[edit] Basketball
Philadelphia has been represented in the National Basketball Association by the Warriors (now in Oakland, California) and the 76ers. Defunct teams include the Fusion of the ABA and the Fox of the WBL.
[edit] Warriors
[edit] 76ers
[edit] Fusion
The Philadelphia Fusion, formerly the Jersey Squires, was an American Basketball Association (ABA) team. The team folded in February of 2005 with a record of 3-10.
[edit] Fox
The Philadelphia Fox was a team in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) from 1979 to 1980.
[edit] Football
Philadelphia has been the home of two National Football League teams, one Arena Football League team, one World Football League team, and one USFL league team.
[edit] Frankford Yellow Jackets
The city's first NFL team was the Frankford Yellow Jackets. Originally a community athletic-association team in the Frankford neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia dating back to about 1900, the club became one of the early NFL clubs in 1924. The Yellow Jackets won the NFL championship in 1926. Its home field was Frankford Stadium (also called Yellow Jacket Field). The club disbanded in the 1931 season.
[edit] Eagles
Two years after the Yellow Jackets folded, Bert Bell and Lud Wray bought the franchise rights and formed a new team, the Philadelphia Eagles.
[edit] Soul
The Philadelphia Soul is currently a member of the Arena Football League and began their existence in 2004. They currently play in the both the Wachovia Spectrum and Wachovia Center, depending on the schedule.
[edit] Bell
The Philadelphia Bell was a franchise of the World Football League, which operated in 1974 and for a portion of a season in 1975. It played its home games in JFK Stadium.
[edit] Stars
The Philadelphia Stars (football) were a football team in the USFL in 1983-84, after which they became the Baltimore Stars for their final season in 1985.
[edit] Ice hockey
[edit] Quakers
The Philadelphia Quakers were a National Hockey League team that played only one full season, 1930-31, at the Philadelphia Arena. They were the successors of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
[edit] Flyers
[edit] Soccer
Main Article: Philadelphia Kixx
[edit] Lacrosse
[edit] Barrage
The Philadelphia Barrage Major League Lacrosse team play at Villanova University's stadium, in suburban Villanova.
[edit] Wings
[edit] Team tennis
[edit] Freedom
[edit] Minor-league professional teams
[edit] Ice hockey
[edit] Phantoms
[edit] Firebirds
The Philadelphia Firebirds were a minor-league hockey team from 1974-1979. They played in the defunct North American Hockey League from 1974-1977, winning the league championship in 1976. When the NAHL folded in 1977, they joined the American Hockey League, where they played from 1977-1979. In 1979, the team moved to Syracuse, N.Y. They played their home games at the Philadelphia Civic Center, razed in 2005.
[edit] Semi-professional, amateur, and community teams
[edit] Football
[edit] Soccer
[edit] Rugby
The Philadelphia Whitemarsh RFC are the only semi-professional rugby union team in Philadelphia. The team was formed in 1985, due to the merging of the Philadelphia and Whitemarsh clubs. The team competes in the Rugby Super League.
Philadelphia is the home of rugby league in the US and has two community clubs in the American National Rugby League, the Glen Mills Bulls and the Philadelphia Fight. The game was re-introduced into the USA by David Niu, an Australian who is now an American national and is still a regular in the United States national rugby league team who will soon be competing in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup qualifying match against Japan in Philadelphia in October 2006.
Philadelphia hosted the St Patrick's Day international between USA and Ireland six times between 1995 and 2004.
[edit] Cricket
The Philadelphia Cricket Club was founded in 1854; the team disbanded in 1924 but was revived in 1998. There are also cricket clubs in Germantown and Merion.
Since 1993, the city has been home to the annual Philadelphia International Cricket Festival, held during the first weekend in May, benefitting the Inglis Foundation. Each year, twelve teams, including five from the area and seven from across the United States or guest international sides, are invited to participate in the Festival.
[edit] Professional and world-class events
Several events are competed in Philadelphia on a regular basis.
[edit] Cycling
[edit] Philadelphia International Championship
The Manayunk area of the city is home to the annual Philadelphia International Championship bike race. The main feature of the race is the "Manayunk Wall", an inclined street including all of Levering Avenue and a few blocks of Lyceum Avenue. The race has been largely credited with the economic revival of the neighborhood, and cycling is a prominent theme of many of the shops and restaurants in the area.
Competed at the same time and over the same course is the women's Liberty Classic.
[edit] Track and field, road racing
[edit] Penn Relays
Philadelphia hosts the annual Penn Relays, held at Franklin Field, the largest early-season track and field meet in the U.S.
[edit] Broad Street Run
One of the busiest streets in the city, Broad Street, is closed to traffic for the annual Broad Street Run, a 10-mile race contested since 1980.
[edit] Philadelphia Distance Run
[edit] Philadelphia Marathon
The Philadelphia Marathon (aka the Philadelphia Independence Marathon), founded in 1954, is an annual marathon sporting event held on the third Sunday of November each year.
[edit] Pro tour tennis
[edit] Pro tour golf
[edit] Collegiate sports
[edit] Football
Philadelphia, a neutral ground equidistant from the two service academies, hosts the annual Army-Navy football game, now played at Lincoln Financial Field. The Philadelphia-area schools with Division I football teams are Temple University and Villanova University.
[edit] Basketball
Since 1955, Philadelphia has been home to the Big Five, a unique basketball rivalry among five local Division I universities: Temple, St. Joe's, Penn, Villanova, and La Salle. The Big Five have played many of their games at the Palestra, Penn's venerable gymnasium.
Drexel University also fields a Division I team.
In addition, Division II teams are fielded by Philadelphia University (men and women) and University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.
[edit] Rowing
Philadelphia is home of the annual Dad Vail Regatta, the largest intercollegiate rowing event in the U.S., and the Stotesbury Cup Regatta [1], both held on the Schuylkill River.
[edit] High-school sports
[edit] Public League
[edit] Catholic League
[edit] Interacademic League
[edit] Interleague play
[edit] Other
[edit] Boxing
[edit] Joe Frazier
[edit] Olympic bid
Philadelphia was considering a bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, but on July 26, 2006, the USOC has announced that the city is no longer on the list [1].
