50 Fun Facts About Philadelphia Sports

In which year did all four of Philadelphia's major teams play for their league championship?

1980: the Phillies won the World Series, while the Eagles lost Super Bowl XV to Oakland, the Flyers lost the Stanley Cup Final to the Islanders and the 76ers lost the NBA Finals to the Lakers.

Founded in 1883, the Phillies hold what distinction in American pro sports?

Oldest continuous one-name, one-city franchise: the club has played in Philadelphia as the Phillies since 1883, while every older major-league club has either moved cities or changed its name.

In 2007 the Phillies became the first franchise in any pro sport to reach which unwanted milestone?

10,000 losses: the Phillies reached the mark on July 15, 2007, a 10-2 home loss to the Cardinals, making them the first club in North American pro sports to lose that many games.

Whom did the Phillies beat to win their first World Series in 1980?

Kansas City Royals: the Phillies won in six games, Tug McGraw striking out Willie Wilson to end Game 6 at Veterans Stadium, with Mike Schmidt named Series MVP.

The 1950 'Whiz Kids', led by pitcher Robin Roberts, were swept in the World Series by which team?

New York Yankees: they swept the 1950 Series in four games, three decided by one run, with Joe DiMaggio's 10th-inning homer beating Robin Roberts in Game 2.

How many World Series did the Philadelphia Athletics win before moving to Kansas City?

Five: Connie Mack's A's won in 1910, 1911, 1913, 1929 and 1930, all while playing at Shibe Park, the majors' first concrete-and-steel ballpark, before leaving Philadelphia after the 1954 season.

Which team did the Eagles temporarily merge with in 1943 because of wartime player shortages?

The combined 'Steagles' went 5-4-1; the Steelers merged with the Cardinals the following year.

The 1948 and 1949 Eagles remain the only NFL team to win back-to-back championships how?

By shutout: the Eagles beat the Cardinals 7-0 in a 1948 snowstorm and the Rams 14-0 in 1949 rain, the only consecutive NFL title games won without allowing a point.

The 1960 champion Eagles were the only team ever to beat which coach in a playoff game?

Lombardi's Packers won the next two NFL titles and the first two Super Bowls.

Whom did the Eagles beat in Super Bowl LII to win their first Super Bowl?

Doug Pederson's team won 41-33 in Minneapolis in February 2018; the second title came over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.

In the 'Philly Special' trick play in Super Bowl LII, who caught the touchdown pass?

Nick Foles: Corey Clement took the direct snap, pitched to Trey Burton, and Burton threw to Foles in the end zone, making Foles the first player to throw and catch a touchdown in one Super Bowl.

The Eagles' February 2025 Super Bowl win ended Philadelphia's run of title-game defeats in what kind of year?

Inauguration years: from the 76ers in 1977 through the Phillies in 2009, Philadelphia teams lost eight straight championship finals played in presidential inauguration years, until the Eagles beat the Chiefs in 2025.

Which Philadelphia team won the 1926 NFL championship?

Frankford Yellow Jackets: the club from Philadelphia's Frankford neighborhood went 14-1-2 in 1926 to take the NFL title, the same year the rival AFL's Philadelphia Quakers won that league's only championship.

The Philadelphia Stars won the 1984 championship of which spring football league?

USFL: the Stars beat the Arizona Wranglers 23-3 in the 1984 title game under coach Jim Mora, then moved to Baltimore and won again in 1985, the league's last season.

In which years did the Flyers win their first two Stanley Cups?

1974 and 1975: Bernie Parent won the Conn Smythe Trophy both times, and the 1974 win made the Flyers the first post-1967 expansion club to lift the Cup.

Which Flyers enforcer set the NHL record for penalty minutes in a season with 472?

Dave Schultz: 'The Hammer' piled up 472 penalty minutes in 1974-75, a single-season record no one has matched, and was traded to Los Angeles before the 1976-77 season.

Which team left the ice at the Spectrum in 1976 in protest at the Flyers' rough play?

The Soviet Central Red Army: after Ed Van Impe flattened Valeri Kharlamov on January 11, 1976, CSKA left the ice, returned when told they would forfeit the tour's pay, and lost 4-1.

Which singer's recording of 'God Bless America' became a Flyers good-luck tradition starting in 1969?

Kate Smith: the Flyers first played her recording in place of the anthem on December 11, 1969, beat Toronto 6-3, and saved it for big games as their record with it soared.

What is the name of the furry orange, googly-eyed mascot the Flyers unveiled in 2018?

Gritty: unveiled on September 24, 2018, the seven-foot orange creature's official biography says arena renovations disturbed his secret hideout, and he became an internet sensation within days.

The Phillie Phanatic made its debut in 1978 at the Vet against which team?

Chicago Cubs: the Phanatic debuted on April 25, 1978, at Veterans Stadium against the Cubs; Bill Giles later called paying $3,900 for just the costume, not $5,200 with the copyright, his worst decision.

The 76ers began in 1946 as the Syracuse Nationals in which league, before the 1949 merger created the NBA?

National Basketball League: the Nationals joined the NBL in 1946 and entered the NBA when it absorbed NBL clubs in 1949, won the 1955 title, and moved to Philadelphia in 1963.

How many games did the 1966-67 76ers win, a record at the time, on the way to the title?

68: the 1966-67 76ers went 68-13, then a league record, with Wilt Chamberlain at center, and became the only team besides Boston to win an NBA title in the 1960s.

Which NBA franchise played in Philadelphia from 1946 to 1962 before moving to San Francisco?

The Warriors: Philadelphia's Warriors won the first BAA title in 1947 and the NBA title in 1956, and Wilt Chamberlain scored his 100 points in their uniform in 1962 before the move west.

Which supporters group is credited with helping bring the Philadelphia Union to MLS in 2010?

Sons of Ben: founded in 2007, before Philadelphia had an MLS team, the group rallied and petitioned to prove a fan base existed, and the Union kicked off their first season in March 2010.

What was the Union's first major trophy, won in 2020?

The Supporters' Shield: the Union finished atop the 2020 regular-season table, 14-4-5 in a pandemic-shortened season, for the club's first major trophy after losing three U.S. Open Cup finals.

The Philadelphia Atoms won the 1973 championship in their first season in which competition?

North American Soccer League: the expansion Atoms beat the Dallas Tornado 2-0 in the 1973 NASL final, and goalkeeper Bob Rigby became the first soccer player on a Sports Illustrated cover.

Which of these schools was added to the Big 5 college basketball rivalry in 2023?

Drexel: the Dragons became the sixth Big 5 school in 2023, when the series replaced its round-robin, played since the 1955-56 season, with pod play and a tripleheader at Wells Fargo Center.

What nickname does Penn's home gymnasium, the Palestra, carry?

The Cathedral of College Basketball: opened in 1927 on Penn's campus, the Palestra earned the name as the shared home of every Big 5 game for some thirty years after 1955.

Which Big 5 school won the 1954 NCAA men's basketball championship?

La Salle: Tom Gola, the 1954 tournament's Most Outstanding Player, led the Explorers past Bradley 92-76 in the final for the school's only NCAA championship.

Villanova's 1985 'Perfect Game' against Georgetown saw the Wildcats shoot what percentage from the field?

78.6%: Villanova made 22 of 28 shots, including 9 of 10 after halftime, to beat Georgetown 66-64 in the 1985 final, setting a championship-game record.

Penn's rivalry with the neighbouring Dragons, the geographically closest in Division I, is known by what name?

The Battle of 33rd Street: the Palestra and the Dragons' Daskalakis Athletic Center sit three blocks apart on 33rd Street; the 'Holy War' is Saint Joseph's against Villanova.

Which stadium hosts the Penn Relays, the largest early-season track meet in the United States?

Franklin Field: Penn's stadium opened in 1895, the year the first Penn Relays were run there, and it was the Eagles' home from 1958 to 1970, including the 1960 NFL title game.

How long is the Broad Street Run, held annually since 1980?

10 miles: the Broad Street Run sends runners straight down Broad Street from near Central High School to the Navy Yard and grew into the largest 10-mile race in the United States.

Which annual college football game has Philadelphia hosted more often than any other city?

Army–Navy: Philadelphia, roughly midway between West Point and Annapolis, first hosted the game in 1899 and had staged it about 90 times by 2024, far more than any other city.

In 1968, fans of the 2-11 Eagles infamously pelted whom with snowballs during a halftime show?

Santa Claus: on December 15, 1968, fans of a 2-11 team booed and pelted fill-in Santa Frank Olivo with snowballs as he circled the field at halftime, cementing the fan base's reputation.

What did Philadelphia install at Veterans Stadium in the late 1990s to deal with unruly Eagles fans?

A courtroom with a sitting judge: from 1997 Judge Seamus McCaffery held 'Eagles Court' in the Vet's basement on game days, fining rowdy fans on the spot, until the stadium closed in 2003.

The 'Curse of Billy Penn' was blamed on the 1987 opening of which skyscraper?

One Liberty Place: its 1987 completion broke the gentlemen's agreement that no building would rise above the William Penn statue atop City Hall, and the title drought that followed became the curse.

In what year did a Phillies World Series title end the curse tied to Billy Penn's statue?

2008: the Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays, Brad Lidge striking out Eric Hinske to close the rain-suspended Game 5 on October 29, 2008, for the city's first major title since 1983.

Hosts at which radio station founded Wing Bowl, the pre-Super Bowl eating contest held until 2018?

WIP: morning hosts Angelo Cataldi and Al Morganti of sports-radio station WIP started it in 1993 in a hotel lobby with two contestants and about 150 spectators; it grew to fill the Wells Fargo Center.

How many stone steps make up the 'Rocky Steps' at the Philadelphia Museum of Art?

72: the 72 stone steps to the museum's east entrance became famous through Rocky's 1976 training run; the bronze statue made for Rocky III was placed at the bottom of the steps in 2006.

'Smokin' Joe' Frazier beat Muhammad Ali in 1971 in a bout known as what?

The Fight of the Century: Frazier floored Ali in the 15th round and won a unanimous decision at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1971; born in South Carolina, he trained fighters at his Philadelphia gym for decades.

Which 2006 film dramatized Vince Papale's rise from bartender to Philadelphia Eagle?

Invincible: Mark Wahlberg played Vince Papale, the 30-year-old bartender who made Dick Vermeil's Eagles in 1976 through an open tryout; Silver Linings Playbook's hero is merely an Eagles fan.

Which 76er was named NBA Most Valuable Player for the 2000-01 season?

Allen Iverson: at six feet and 165 pounds he led the league in scoring (31.1 points a game) and steals in 2000-01, won the MVP award, and carried the 76ers to the Finals against the Lakers.

Billie Jean King's role with the 1974 Philadelphia Freedoms made her the first woman to do what?

Coach a pro team that included male players: as the Freedoms' player-coach in 1974, World TeamTennis's first season, King became the first woman to coach professionals of both sexes, and the team finished as league runners-up.

Boathouse Row, a symbol of the city's rowing heritage, sits along which river?

Schuylkill: the Victorian boathouses of Boathouse Row line the east bank of the Schuylkill above the Fairmount Dam, and the river's Schuylkill Navy, founded in 1858, is America's oldest amateur athletic governing body.

The Philadelphia Quakers NHL team of 1930-31 set records for what?

Worst winning percentage and longest losing streak: the Quakers went 4-36-4 with a 15-game losing streak, marks that stood until the 1974-75 Washington Capitals; the NHL did not return to Philadelphia until the Flyers in 1967.

Which Phillies pitcher threw both a perfect game and a postseason no-hitter in 2010?

Roy Halladay: he retired all 27 Marlins on May 29, 2010, then no-hit the Reds in the Division Series that October, only the second postseason no-hitter in MLB history.

Which short-lived 1974-75 World Football League team employed Willie Wood, pro football's first modern Black head coach?

The Bell played at John F. Kennedy Stadium; the WFL folded after two seasons and none of its teams joined the NFL.

Which former Eagles quarterback served as president and co-owner of the Arena Football League's Philadelphia Soul?

Jaworski had led the Eagles to Super Bowl XV in 1981; the Soul were founded in 2004 and played at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Union's home ground, Subaru Park, is in which suburb about 13 miles southwest of Philadelphia?

Chester: the Union's stadium opened on the Chester waterfront beside the Commodore Barry Bridge in June 2010 as PPL Park, was renamed Talen Energy Stadium in 2016 and Subaru Park in 2020.