What is a Philadelphia Phillie? Where did the name come from?
Did you know that the Philadelphia Phillies are the longest, continuous, one name, one city franchise in all of sports? It’s true.
But you’re probably wondering what exactly a Phillie is anyway? And where did it come from?
You see, way back in 1883 when the Phillies were founded, it was common to call other teams by where they were from. Teams didn’t have names or mascots as they do today.
Teams were referred to as “the Boston’s” or “the New York’s,” etc. But “the Philadelphia’s” didn’t really roll off the tongue. Newspapers began shortening the name to “the Phillies” to save space in the headlines.
The Phillies name first appeared in the Inquirer in 1883. The team quickly adopted the new, shorter nickname and the rest is history.
You can watch a fun little video that’s part of our “Ever Wonder?” series above.
