Sports in Philadelphia

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Citizens Bank Park in South Philadelphia, home of the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball, the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating back to 1883.[1]
Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia, home of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League
Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia, home of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League and the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association
Subaru Park in Chester, home of the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer

high-school
sports.

Sports play a very significant role in the culture of the city and the Greater Philadelphia area. Philadelphia sports fans are considered to be some of the most knowledgeable fans in sports, and are known for their extreme passion for all of their teams.[2] Philadelphia fans, particularly Phillies and Eagles fans, have a reputation for being the "Meanest Fans in America".[3]

Philadelphia's passionate and knowledgeable fans, combined with the number and extensive history and tradition of the city's teams have many times led the city to be described as the nation's best sports city.[4][5]

Philadelphia is one of

Philadelphia Athletics, the Frankford Yellow Jackets, the Philadelphia Warriors, the Philadelphia Quakers, Philadelphia Atoms, and the Philadelphia Field Club
.

The Greater Philadelphia area hosts several college sports teams. The Philadelphia Big 5 is an informal association of college basketball schools in Philadelphia, historically consisting of La Salle University, the University of Pennsylvania, Saint Joseph's University, Temple University, and Villanova University and also including Drexel University as of the 2023–24 school year. These six schools, along with Delaware State University and the University of Delaware, all represent the Greater Philadelphia area in NCAA Division I, while several other area schools field teams in other divisions of the NCAA. Temple fields the lone Division I FBS football team in the region, though many Philadelphia fans root for other programs, such as the Penn State Nittany Lions.

In addition to the major professional and college sports, numerous semi-pro, amateur, community, and high school teams play in Philadelphia. The city hosts numerous sporting events, such as the Penn Relays and the Collegiate Rugby Championship, and Philadelphia has been the most frequent host of the annual Army–Navy football game. Philadelphia has also been the home of several renowned athletes and sports figures. Philly furthermore has played a historically significant role in the development of cricket and extreme wrestling in the United States.

Major league professional teams

Main articles: Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Flyers, Philadelphia Phillies, and Philadelphia Union
See also:
U.S. cities with teams from four major league sports

Philadelphia has a long history of professional sports teams. Philadelphia is one of six cities that has won at least one championship in the NHL, NFL, MLB, and NBA. Philadelphia's combined total of 19 championships in these leagues ranks seventh among North American cities in total championships.

Club League Division Venue Location Founded Titles Head coach / manager General manager
Philadelphia Phillies MLB
NL East
 Citizens Bank Park Philadelphia 1883 2 Rob Thomson Sam Fuld
Philadelphia Eagles NFL NFC East Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia 1933 4 Nick Sirianni Howie Roseman
Philadelphia 76ers NBA Atlantic Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia 1946 2 Nick Nurse Elton Brand
Philadelphia Flyers NHL Metropolitan Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia 1967 2 John Tortorella
Daniel Briere
Philadelphia Union MLS Eastern Subaru Park Chester 2010 0 Jim Curtin Ernst Tanner

The Eagles, Phillies, Flyers, and 76ers all play their home games in the

NRG Station on SEPTA's Broad Street Line. The Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer plays its home games at Subaru Park in the satellite city of Chester, about 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Philadelphia.[6]

Philadelphia has also been home to relocated and defunct franchises. The Philadelphia Athletics (now the Oakland Athletics) of the MLB, the Philadelphia Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors) of the NBA, and the Frankford Yellow Jackets of the NFL each played in Philadelphia for over a decade. Other former Philadelphia teams, such as the Philadelphia Quakers of the NHL, have been more short-lived. Both of the major league teams that relocated (the Warriors and the Athletics) currently play in the San Francisco Bay Area.[7][8]

In 1980, Philadelphia became the only North American city in which all four major sports teams played for their respective championships in one year (although the Phillies were the only team to win the championship). The Flyers' run to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals made the city of Philadelphia the first North American city to have all four of its major professional sports league teams play in the league championship finals at least once since 2000, although the Phillies and the Eagles are the only teams to have won a championship since 2000.[9][10][11] Philadelphia has had an odd trend of losing championship games during presidential inauguration years; the Sixers, Eagles, Phillies, and Flyers collectively have an 0–8 record in such games since 1977.[12]

In 2011, the Phillies became the first team in the city's major professional sports history to finish the regular season in first place in five consecutive seasons.[13][14] Two other teams finished first during four consecutive seasons: the 1973–77 Flyers and the 2001–04 Eagles.[13] Five other teams finished first for three seasons in a row: the 1929–31 Athletics, 1947–49 Eagles, 1965–68 Sixers, 1976–78 Phillies, and 1984–87 Flyers.[13]

American football

Further information: Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are presented with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl LII, February 4, 2018
The Frankford Yellow Jackets 1926 team photo. Launched in 1899, the Yellow Jackets were Philadelphia's first professional football team and won the 1926 NFL season with a season record of 14–1–2.

The

National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team
.

The city's first professional football team was the

William R. Lyman
both played for the Yellow Jackets.

The greater Philadelphia area has had four other football teams that played in the NFL or in leagues that attempted to compete with the NFL. The Pottsville Maroons, a member of the National Football League, played in nearby Pottsville during the 1920s. In 1925, the Maroons were briefly suspended from the NFL for playing an unauthorized exhibition game at Philadelphia's Shibe Park. The team moved to Boston in 1929, but folded at the end of the season. The Philadelphia Quakers played one season in Philadelphia as part of the American Football League, a fledgling league intent on challenging the NFL as the premier football league in the country. The team took its name from the Union Quakers of Philadelphia, a local club which had been denied entry into the American Professional Football Association (as the NFL was known before 1922). The AFL Quakers won the league championship in 1926, giving Philadelphia two football championships in one year, as the Frankford Yellow Jackets won the 1926 NFL title. However, both the AFL and the Quakers folded after just one season of existence. The Philadelphia Bell was a franchise of the World Football League, which operated from 1974 to 1975 and attempted to challenge the NFL's dominance. The league was founded by Gary Davidson, who had also led the founding of World Hockey Association and the American Basketball Association, but the WFL folded after only two years and no teams were absorbed into the NFL. The Bell played its home games in JFK Stadium, and they employed the first African-American head coach in modern professional football history (retired Hall of Fame safety Willie Wood).[17]

The

XFL to form the United Football League, which announced that the Stars franchise would not be folded into the new league.[18]

Baseball

Further information:
History of the Philadelphia Athletics
The Philadelphia Phillies final game at Veterans Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium in South Philadelphia, on September 29, 2003. The Phillies played at Veterans Stadium from 1971 until 2003. The stadium was demolished in March 2004.
Phillies players rush the field at Citizens Bank Park after winning the 2008 World Series on October 29, 2008. The Phillies have won the World Series twice in their history, in 1980 and 2008.

The city's sole existing

NL East division titles. In 2007, the Phillies lost a game for the 10,000th time in franchise history; according to the Elias Sports Bureau, no professional sports franchise in any sport has lost more games.[20] For its first 30 years, the franchise often finished in the middle of the National League. Led by pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander, the franchise appeared in the 1915 World Series and made strong finishes in 1916 and 1917. After trading Alexander in 1917, the franchise had one of the worst stretches in professional sports history, as it managed just one winning season between 1918 and 1948. The "Whiz Kid" Phillies, led by pitcher Robin Roberts, reached the 1950 World Series, but the team was swept by the New York Yankees. The team finished towards the middle of the pack for much of the 1950s and 1960s. After a down period in the early 1970s, third baseman Mike Schmidt and pitcher Steve Carlton led the Phillies to six playoff appearances in eight years. The Phillies won their first World Series in 1980, defeating the Kansas City Royals in six games. The Phillies also appeared in the 1983 World Series, but lost to the Baltimore Orioles. The franchise had just one winning season between 1987 and 2000, although the 1993 Phillies appeared in the 1993 World Series, losing to the Toronto Blue Jays. The franchise experienced a resurgence starting in 2001, though it did not make the playoffs until 2007. From 2007 to 2011, the Phillies made the playoffs for five straight seasons, winning the 2008 World Series over the Tampa Bay Rays and also appearing in the 2009 World Series. After an 11-year playoff drought, the Phillies reached the 2022 World Series, losing to the Houston Astros
in six games.

The

Chargers). The Athletics would later relocate to Oakland after the 1967 season, becoming the Oakland Athletics, and plans are now in place for the Athletics to relocate to Las Vegas in 2028. Philadelphia Athletics players such as Lefty Grove, Jimmie Foxx, and Al Simmons have been inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, as has long-time manager and owner Connie Mack, who holds the record for most games managed, won, and lost. While the Athletics played in Philadelphia, they frequently played the Phillies in exhibition games known as the City Series. However, the teams never met in the World Series, and did not play each other in the regular season until 2003 (after the introduction of interleague play).[citation needed
]

Before the

Negro National League: the Philadelphia Stars played from 1934 to 1948, while the Bacharach Giants played in the league in 1934. In 2020, Major League Baseball retroactively extended major league recognition to seven negro leagues,[22] making the Giants, the Tigers, the Hilldale Club, the Bacharach Giants, and the Stars major league franchises for part or all of their existences. The Hilldale Club and the Stars, two of the longest lasting Negro League franchises, were both led by local postal official Ed Bolden. Hilldale was defeated in the inaugural Negro World Series of 1924 but won the following year in 1925, while the Stars won the Negro National League championship in 1934.[23]

The first game in the history of Major League Baseball was played in Philadelphia, on Saturday, April 22, 1876, at the

Boston Red Caps defeated the Philadelphia Athletics, 6–5, in the inaugural game of the National League.[24][25] These Athletics (officially known as the Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia) were formed in 1860, and played in the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), then the National Association (NA), and finally the National League (NL; for only one year). The Athletics won the inaugural National Association title, making the franchise the winner of arguably the first title in major league history. After the end of the 1876 season, the franchise folded, having been expelled from the National League for refusing to make a late-season road trip. Three other franchises would later use the name "Athletics", including the now–Oakland Athletics. Though the 1860–76 Athletics were the first prominent Philadelphia baseball club, the history of baseball in Philadelphia extends to even before the Athletics, as Philadelphians were playing town ball by the 1820s.[26]

Basketball

Further information: Philadelphia 76ers and History of the Golden State Warriors § 1946–1962: Philadelphia Warriors
Four-time NBA MVP Wilt Chamberlain (right) of the Philadelphia 76ers and former Golden State Warriors teammate Nate Thurmond

The

NBA record for most losses in one season, with 73. However, the team quickly bounced back after it acquired Julius Erving, and Erving and Moses Malone led the Sixers to a championship in 1983. The franchise continued to experience success until the early 1990s, when it traded Charles Barkley. The Sixers missed the playoffs for seven straight seasons until the emergence of Allen Iverson, who led the team to the 2001 Finals. The team hovered around .500 for most of the 2000s decade, and missed the playoffs from 2013 to 2017.[28] However, the team has since made six consecutive playoff appearances with star center Joel Embiid. In 1996, the NBA named the 1967 and 1983 championship-winning teams two of the ten greatest teams
in NBA history.

The

American Basketball League, which had been started in 1961 by Abe Saperstein as an attempt to compete with the NBA, moved a franchise to region. Both the team (the Philadelphia Tapers
) and the league folded in December 1962.

Ice hockey

Further information: Philadelphia Flyers
Dave Schultz, who played for the Philadelphia Flyers from 1971 to 1976, helped lead the Flyers to two Stanley Cup victories while also helping establish their reputation as the Broad Street Bullies, setting the all-time NHL record for most penalty minutes in a season (472 in 1973–74).[29]

The

1970s Flyers earned the nickname "Broad Street Bullies" for their aggressive style of play, and the nickname is still applied to the franchise.[33] Flyers enforcer Dave Schultz holds the record
for most penalty minutes in a season, with 472.

Philadelphia has had only brief experiences with top-level hockey aside from the Flyers. The

Philadelphia Firebirds of the North American Hockey League and the American Hockey League). After the 1972–73 season, the Blazers moved to Vancouver and then Calgary, but the franchise folded in 1977. Another World Hockey Association franchise, the Jersey Knights, moved in November 1973 to the Cherry Hill Arena in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and then relocated to San Diego before the start of the 1974–75 season.[35]

Soccer

Further information: Philadelphia Union
Subaru Park, home of the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer (MLS)
Bethlehem Steel F.C., c. July 1921
Philadelphia Union club photo in 2017

The

supporters group that helped bring the Union to the Philadelphia area and continues to support the Union. The Union's top affiliate is Philadelphia Union II. Originally known as Bethlehem Steel FC as a tribute to the early 20th century soccer powerhouse, the team began play in 2015 in the second-level United Soccer League, now known as the USL Championship. Steel FC played its first four seasons at Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, but moved to Subaru Park for at least the 2019 season because Goodman Stadium no longer meets league stadium requirements. Steel FC was renamed Union II in advance of the 2020 season, and went on hiatus for the 2021 season. Union II returned the next year as one of the inaugural teams of MLS Next Pro
, an MLS-operated third-level league made up mainly of MLS reserve sides.

The Union have also reached the

Houston Dynamo). In 2020, the Union won the Supporters' Shield, given to the team in MLS with the best regular season record, the first major trophy in the team's history.[36]

The original

Maccabi Los Angeles). The club also won the American Cup six times. Hall of Fame Bethlehem Steel players include Jock Ferguson, Robert Millar, Harry Ratican, Tommy Fleming, and Archie Stark, whose international record of 70 goals in one season stood for 87 years before it was broken by Lionel Messi in 2012.[39] In 2013, the Philadelphia Union unveiled a third uniform that pays homage to Bethlehem Steel F.C.[40]

Following the collapse of the ASL, soccer in the United States

Philadelphia Fury played from 1978 to 1980, but were bought by Molson Brewery and moved to Montreal to become the Manic
. The Atoms and the Fury both played at Veterans Stadium, though the Atoms played their final season in Philadelphia at Franklin Field. The NASL folded in 1984, leaving the United States without a top-level soccer league until Major League Soccer (MLS) began play in 1996.

Philadelphia is one of eleven U.S. cities which will host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[42]

Team tennis

Two teams named the Philadelphia Freedoms played in World TeamTennis, the original Philadelphia Freedoms, for which the Elton John song was written and a second Philadelphia Freedoms team from 2001 until the league folded in 2021. Elton John and Freedoms star Billie Jean King were good friends, and John and his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, wrote the song for the team to be used as a team anthem at home matches in the Spectrum.[43] John was such a big fan of the Freedoms that he attended home matches wearing the team's uniform and sat on the bench with the players.[44] He recorded the song in the summer of 1974, and it was released on February 24, 1975.

WTT's inaugural season was 1974, and the Freedoms were one of the charter franchises. Teams had the opportunity to sign players to contracts prior to the draft held by the new 16-team league, and King signed with the Freedoms. She served as the team's player-coach, making her the first female head coach of a professional sports team that included male players, since WTT was a co-ed league. The Freedoms finished with WTT's best regular-season record at 39–5 in the league's inaugural season. King was the league's MVP. The Freedoms defeated the

Denver Racquets
, and that proved too much to overcome, as the Freedoms were swept in two straight matches.

Following the 1974 season, WTT owners concluded it would be in all their interests to have a successful franchise in New York City, and they pressured Freedoms co-owner, Dick Butera, to trade King to the New York Sets, who were 15–29 in 1974, in a complicated deal on February 5, 1975. Upon announcing the trade, Butera said, "It's not an easy thing to let Billie Jean go. I feel like King Faisal giving away his oil wells."[43][45]

After King was traded, a group of investors that included Bob Mades, Paul Slater, Herbert S. Hoffman, Robert K. Kraft and Harold Bayne expressed interest in buying the original Boston Lobsters. However, the Lobsters franchise had already been contracted by WTT. With Freedoms owners Dick and Ken Butera far less enthusiastic about their team after trading King, the two sides struck a deal, and the Freedoms were sold on March 27, 1975, and moved to Boston. In order to claim the name and intellectual property of the original Lobsters, the new ownership group was required to settle some of the debts of the former team. Once they accomplished this, the Freedoms were renamed as the Boston Lobsters.[46][47] As a consequence, "Philadelphia Freedom" was never paid at a home match of the original Philadelphia Freedoms. King went on the win two WTT championships in New York in 1976 and 1977. The team changed its name to New York Apples after the 1976 season.

Billie Jean King and the Freedoms returned in 2001, when they became a WTT expansion franchise with King as their owner. The team first played its home matches at

Cabrini College in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania and won WTT championships in 2001 (as an expansion team) and 2006. For the 2008 and 2009 seasons, home matches were played at a temporary stadium erected in the parking lot of the King of Prussia mall. From 2010 to 2016, the Freedoms played their home matches at The Pavilion on the campus of Villanova University. In 2017, the Freedoms home court moved to Hagan Arena on the campus of Saint Joseph's University, returning to play within the City of Philadelphia for the first time since 1974.[48][49]

Timeline of franchises

The timeline includes Philadelphia franchises that played in major professional sports leagues after 1900.

Philadelphia UnionPhiladelphia Fury (1978–80)Philadelphia AtomsPhiladelphia BlazersPhiladelphia SpartansPhiladelphia FlyersPhiladelphia 76ersPhiladelphia WarriorsPhiladelphia EaglesPhiladelphia Quakers (NHL)Frankford Yellow JacketsPhiladelphia AthleticsPhiladelphia Phillies

Baseball Football Basketball Hockey Soccer

Major professional championships, awards, and events

Major professional championships

Franchise League Championships
Philadelphia Eagles NFL 1948, 1949, 1960, 2017
Frankford Yellow Jackets 1926
Philadelphia Phillies MLB 1980, 2008
Philadelphia Athletics 1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, 1930
Hilldale Club ECL 1925
Philadelphia 76ers NBA 1967, 1983
Philadelphia Warriors
 1947, 1956
Philadelphia Flyers NHL 1974, 1975
Philadelphia Atoms NASL
1973

Championship game/series appearances

Franchise Season[a]
Athletics 1905
Athletics 1910
Athletics 1911
Athletics 1913
Athletics 1914
Phillies 1915
Athletics 1929
Athletics 1930
Athletics 1931
Warriors 1946-47
Eagles 1947
Warriors 1947-48
Eagles 1948
Eagles 1949
Phillies 1950
Warriors 1955-56
Eagles 1960
Sixers 1966-67
Atoms 1973
Flyers 1973-74
Flyers 1974-75
Flyers 1975-76
Sixers 1976-77
Flyers 1979-80
Sixers 1979-80
Phillies 1980
Eagles 1980
Sixers 1981-82
Sixers 1982-83
Phillies 1983
Flyers 1984-85
Flyers 1986-87
Phillies 1993
Flyers 1996-97
Sixers 2000-01
Eagles 2004
Phillies 2008
Phillies 2009
Flyers 2009-10
Eagles 2017
Phillies 2022
Union 2022
Eagles 2022

Awards

MVPs

The following Philadelphia players won the regular season

AP), MLB, NHL, NBA, or MLS. Note that MLB confers an MVP award to one player in the American League and one player in the National League
.

Other awards

Player League Award Year
Harry Byrd AL Rookie of the Year 1952
Jack Sanford NL Rookie of the Year 1957
Woody Sauldsberry NBA Rookie of the Year 1958
Buck Shaw NFL
Coach of the Year
 1960
Wilt Chamberlain NBA Rookie of the Year 1960
Dick Allen NL Rookie of the Year 1964
Dolph Schayes NBA Coach of the Year 1966
Steve Carlton NL Cy Young 1972
Fred Shero NHL Jack Adams Award 1974
Bernie Parent NHL Vezina Trophy 1974
Bernie Parent NHL Conn Smythe Trophy 1974
Bernie Parent NHL Vezina Trophy 1975
Bernie Parent NHL Conn Smythe Trophy 1975
Reggie Leach NHL Conn Smythe Trophy 1976
Steve Carlton NL Cy Young 1977
Pat Quinn NHL Jack Adams Award 1980
Steve Carlton NL Cy Young 1980
Manny Trillo NL NLCS MVP 1980
Mike Schmidt NL World Series MVP 1980
Steve Carlton NL Cy Young 1982
Bobby Clarke NHL Frank J. Selke Trophy 1983
Bobby Jones NBA Sixth Man of the Year 1983
Moses Malone NBA
NBA Finals MVP
 1983
John Denny NL Cy Young 1983
Gary Matthews NL NLCS MVP 1983
Mike Keenan NHL Jack Adams Award 1985
Pelle Lindbergh NHL Vezina Trophy 1985
Reggie White NFL
Defensive Player of the Year
 1987
Ron Hextall NHL Vezina Trophy 1987
Ron Hextall NHL Conn Smythe Trophy 1987
Dave Poulin NHL Frank J. Selke Trophy 1987
Steve Bedrosian NL Cy Young 1987
Curt Schilling NL NLCS MVP 1993
Ray Rhodes NFL Coach of the Year 1995
Dana Barros NBA Most Improved Player 1995
Allen Iverson NBA Rookie of the Year 1997
Scott Rolen NL Rookie of the Year 1997
Bill Barber NHL Jack Adams Award 2001
Aaron McKie NBA Sixth Man of the Year 2001
Dikembe Mutombo NBA Defensive Player of the Year 2001
Larry Brown NBA Coach of the Year 2001
Larry Bowa NL Manager of the Year 2001
Andy Reid NFL Coach of the Year 2002
Ryan Howard NL Rookie of the Year 2005
Ryan Howard NL Hank Aaron Award 2006
Brad Lidge NL Reliever of the Year 2008
Cole Hamels NL NLCS MVP 2008
Cole Hamels NL World Series MVP 2008
Ryan Howard NL NLCS MVP 2009
Roy Halladay NL Cy Young 2010
Michael Carter-Williams NBA Rookie of the Year 2014
Andre Blake MLS Goalkeeper of the Year 2016
Nick Foles NFL Super Bowl MVP 2017
Ben Simmons NBA Rookie of the Year 2018
Sean Couturier NHL Frank J. Selke Trophy 2020
Bryce Harper NL NLCS MVP 2022

Major sports events held in Philadelphia

Philadelphia has hosted the following all-star games and drafts, including the first NFL Draft:

Future

Rivalries

Philadelphia has rivalries with three of the four other major cities in the Northeast megalopolis, particularly New York City along with a long instate rivalry with Pittsburgh. Philadelphia teams also compete with teams from New York City and Pittsburgh for fans support among New Jersey and Pennsylvania residents.[50][51][52] In addition to regional rivalries, teams from Philadelphia have a number of other rivalries with teams from other cities.

New York City

The Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in New York City in January 2007
See also: Sports in the New York metropolitan area

As the two largest cities in the United States for much of the nation's history, New York and Philadelphia have a historical rivalry that has continued in the world of sports. There are intra-division rivalries among teams from New York City and Philadelphia in each of the five major leagues, as seen in the rivalries between the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East, the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East, the Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA's Atlantic Division, the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers, along with the New York Islanders and the Philadelphia Flyers in the National Hockey League's Metropolitan Division, and the Philadelphia Union and the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference.[53]

The Flyers also have an intense rivalry with the New Jersey Devils (who play in the New York metropolitan area). The New York Knicks and the 76ers are also divisional rivals, as both teams play in the Atlantic Division. The Phillies and Yankees play each other very rarely, but the teams met in the 1950 World Series and the 2009 World Series. The New York Jets and the Eagles have only played each other thirteen times, with the Eagles winning 12 out of the 13 matchups.[54]

Pittsburgh

See also: Sports in Pittsburgh

Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are the two major cities of Pennsylvania and the only two cities in the state with major professional sports franchises, and the teams of the two cities have had strong rivalries in the NHL, MLB, and NFL. Perhaps the strongest current rivalry is between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins, both of which play in the Metropolitan Division of the NHL. The rivalry is generally considered to be one of the fiercest in the NHL.[55][56]

Although not major rivals since the 1994 MLB divisional realignment, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Phillies had historically been heated rivals in the National League, and frequently competed for the National League East division title. The Phillies and Pirates still play regularly, but are no longer in the same division. The Pirates earned their name from a 19th-century incident with the Philadelphia Athletics; after the Pirates signed second baseman Lou Bierbauer, the Athletics protested that Pittsburgh's actions were "piratical."

The

AFL-NFL Merger
, and the Eagles and Steelers only play each other every four years.

There is also a spirited

Penn State University, as there are many students from both cities at both state-related
schools.

Boston

See also: Sports in Boston

Philadelphia and

Boston Bruins seven times in the NHL playoffs, including a stretch where they met four out of five years, one of those meetings being the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals. The Philadelphia Phillies and the Boston Red Sox are interleague rivals, and the two franchises met in the 1915 World Series. The Eagles and the New England Patriots rarely play, but the teams met in both Super Bowl XXXIX and Super Bowl LII. The Union and the New England Revolution both play in the MLS's Eastern Conference
.

Washington, D.C.

See also: Sports in Washington, D.C.

Philadelphia and

same division since 1933. The Flyers and the Washington Capitals both play in the Metropolitan Division; the rivals have met five times in the NHL playoffs. The Washington Nationals franchise (including their predecessor, the Montreal Expos) and the Phillies have competed in the NL East since 1969. The Union have developed an intraconference rivalry with D.C. United.[60] The Washington Wizards and the 76ers also both play in the NBA's Eastern Conference, and the two teams met in the NBA playoffs five times, most recently in 2021. They also met in the 1971 playoffs, when the current Washington franchise was based in Baltimore
.

Other rivalries

Philadelphia teams have rivalries with teams from outside of the

rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers. The two teams met in the NBA Finals in 1980, 1982, 1983, and 2001. The Phillies have developed a rivalry with the Atlanta Braves. The teams met in the 1993 NLCS, and the two franchises are the most frequent winners of the NL East
.

Other professional teams

Club League Division Venue Location Founded Titles
Delaware Blue Coats G League Atlantic Chase Fieldhouse Wilmington, Delaware 2018 1
Philadelphia Union II MLS Next Pro Northeast Subaru Park Chester, Pennsylvania 2015 0
Philadelphia Wings
 NLL Eastern Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia 2018 0
Philadelphia Waterdogs PLL Eastern Subaru Park and Villanova Stadium[62] Chester and Villanova 2020 0[b]
Philadelphia Phoenix
 UFA East South Philadelphia Super Site Philadelphia 2013 0

American football

Ron Jaworski, former Eagles quarterback and owner of the now defunct Soul

The Philadelphia Soul were an Arena Football League (AFL) franchise founded in 2004. The team played in the Wells Fargo Center. The Soul won ArenaBowl XXII in 2008 before the league formally disbanded in 2009. The Soul returned in 2010 after the AFL restarted its operations as a new entity. The Soul won four conference championships and four division championships. The Soul won back-to-back championships in 2017 (ArenaBowl XXIX) and 2018 (ArenaBowl XXX), making it a total of three ArenaBowl Championships. The Soul disbanded in 2019 when the AFL folded again.

Philadelphia hosts some women's football teams as well. The city's first women's tackle football team was the

Legends Football League
.

Other football teams in the city have folded. In 1902 the owners of the three MLB teams in Pennsylvania founded the National Football League (a league unrelated to the modern NFL). The league consisted of the Phillies, Athletics, and the Pittsburgh Stars, and lasted only one year. Many of the players from the Philadelphia teams played for the "New York Philadelphians" during the 1902 World Series of Football. Other early football clubs include the Union Club of Phoenixville, Conshohocken Athletic Club, Union Quakers of Philadelphia, and Holmesburg Athletic Club. The Clifton Heights Orange & Black competed from 1921 to 1932, and played in the short-lived Eastern League of Professional Football. The Philadelphia Bulldogs played in the Continental Football League from 1965 to 1966. They won the 1966 championship. The Pottstown Firebirds competed in the Atlantic Coast Football League from 1968 to 1970; the franchise was an affiliate of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Baseball

The Philadelphia Athletics, formed in 1860, were the first major league baseball team in Philadelphia

Although the Philadelphia Phillies are the only active major league professional baseball team in Philadelphia, other professional baseball teams play in the Delaware Valley. The Reading Fightin Phils are the Double-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The club was established in 1967 and play in the Eastern League. Notable alumni of the Fightin Phils include Mike Schmidt, Ryne Sandberg, and Jimmy Rollins. The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Washington Nationals affiliate that play in Wilmington, Delaware. Three other Phillies affiliates play in Pennsylvania or New Jersey: the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs play in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the High-A Jersey Shore BlueClaws play in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. After the 2021 restructuring of Minor League Baseball (MiLB), the Trenton Thunder in Trenton, New Jersey and the Williamsport Crosscutters in Williamsport, Pennsylvania are unaffiliated collegiate summer baseball teams.

During the 19th century, Philadelphia was home to numerous franchises that played in

National Association during the 1870s. Joe Borden of the White Stockings pitched the first no-hitter in professional history. The Philadelphia Keystones and the Wilmington Quicksteps both played parts of the Union Association
's lone season in 1884.

Basketball

The

Utah Flash in 2007, but the Flash suspended operations in 2011. The Sixers acquired the franchise in 2013 and renamed it as the Delaware 87ers; the team assumed its current name upon its move to Wilmington. Between 2013 and 2018, the 87ers played in Newark, Delaware. NBA players such as Kendall Marshall, Sean Kilpatrick, and Jordan McRae
have played for the Blue Coats or the 87ers.

The Philadelphia area had three teams that played in the

ABL: the Wilmington Bombers
played in the league in the 1940s.

The Philadelphia area has hosted numerous other defunct basketball teams. Two franchises named the

Jersey Squires, was an American Basketball Association
team that folded in February 2005.

Esports

In 2017,

Philadelphia Fusion. The Overwatch League differs from traditional esports, with a set of permanent teams and regular season play, compared to the use of promotion and relegation commonly used in other esports leagues. The Fusion moved to South Korea and rebranded as the Seoul Infernal in December 2022.[63]

Ice hockey

Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the primary development team of the Philadelphia Flyers, playing at PPL Center in Allentown in December 2019

Both of the Flyers' minor league

Spectrum and were known as the Philadelphia Phantoms. The franchise won the Calder Cup in 1998 and 2005. The Reading Royals are the ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers. The franchise was founded in 1991 as the Columbus Chill, but moved to Reading in 2001. The Royals won the league championship for the first time in 2013. The Flyers have had other affiliates in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The Trenton Titans of Trenton, New Jersey, played in the ECHL from 1999 to 2013, and served as the affiliate of the Flyers before they were bought by the New Jersey Devils. The Hershey Bears of Hershey, Pennsylvania, are the oldest continuously operating professional hockey franchise outside of the NHL's Original Six
. The Bears served as the AHL affiliate of the Flyers for parts of the 1980s and 1990s.

Philadelphia has had several minor league hockey teams play in the city and the surrounding area. The

Jersey Aces, which started the 1979–80 Northeastern Hockey League season in Cherry Hill but moved mid-season, playing the final 18 games of its season in Hampton, Virginia
, where it continued operating until 1981. In 2017, and starting again in 2022, the Philadelphia Rebels play NAHL tier-2 junior ice hockey.

Lacrosse

The Philadelphia Wings versus the Minnesota Swarm. The Wings relocated from Philadelphia in 2014 to become the New England Black Wolves.

Philadelphia has hosted several professional lacrosse teams. The original

Philadelphia Wings, playing at the Wells Fargo Center, was launched in the NLL and named itself after the previous team.[64]

Another lacrosse franchise, the

league championship in three out of the five years they played in Philadelphia, but the franchise folded after the 2008 season. The Barrage were resurrected for the 2020 season, but MLL was merged into the Premier Lacrosse League at the end of the season and the Barrage were not included as a team in the merged league. The PLL uses a tour-based model unique in North American professional sports, in which each round of matches is played at a separate location. Since the league had 8 teams in its most recent 2022 season, this allows all teams to play at each tour stop. The semifinals and championship game are held at two additional tour stops. In the 2022 season, Subaru Park hosted the PLL championship game. In 2023, the PLL shifted to a new model in which touring would continue, but teams would also be affiliated with specific cities. The Philadelphia Waterdogs were announced as the team representing Philadelphia.[65]

Soccer

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Philadelphia has been the home of numerous defunct professional soccer teams. The Philadelphia Phillies and other baseball clubs established the

Major Indoor Soccer League from 1978 to 1982. The Philadelphia KiXX were an indoor team that played from 1995 to 2010 in the National Indoor Soccer League and the Major Indoor Soccer League
. The KiXX won the championship in 2002 and 2007, but disbanded in 2010. Philadelphia has also been home to defunct women's soccer teams.

Philadelphia has two defunct women's teams that played at the top level of the

United States soccer pyramid. The Philadelphia Charge played in the Women's United Soccer Association from 2000 to 2003, while the Philadelphia Independence played the 2010 and 2011 seasons in Women's Professional Soccer, reaching (and losing in) the championship game each year before the league folded in 2012. Philadelphia has not yet had a team play in the National Women's Soccer League, which is currently the top women's league in the United States. However, the current NWSL side NJ/NY Gotham FC, normally based at Red Bull Arena
in New York City's New Jersey suburbs, played one home game at Subaru Park in both 2021 and 2022. Presumably, this arrangement was intended to develop a fanbase in southern New Jersey.

Collegiate sports

See also: List of college athletic programs in Pennsylvania and List of colleges and universities in Philadelphia

Philadelphia is the home of nine

NCAA members, including Division I schools Villanova University, Delaware State University, and the University of Delaware
.

The following table shows all

NCAA
schools in Philadelphia.

School Team Est. Type Location Varsity Sports Division Conference Football
Chestnut Hill College Griffins 1924 Catholic Chestnut Hill 16 II Central Atlantic No
University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens 1743 Public Newark 20 I
CAA
FCS[c]
Delaware State University Hornets 1891 Public Dover 16 I MEAC
FCS
Drexel University Dragons 1891 Private University City 18 I
CAA
 No
Holy Family University Tigers 1954 Catholic Torresdale 15 II Central Atlantic No
Thomas Jefferson University (Jefferson) Rams 1884 Private East Falls 16 II Central Atlantic No
La Salle University Explorers 1863 Catholic Logan 23 I Atlantic 10 No
University of Pennsylvania Quakers 1740 Private University City 27 I Ivy League
FCS
Princeton University Tigers 1746 Private Princeton 12 I Ivy League
FCS
Saint Joseph's University Hawks 1851 Catholic
Wynnefield
 20 I Atlantic 10 No
Temple University Owls 1884 Public North Philadelphia 19 I The American
FBS
Villanova University Wildcats 1842 Catholic Villanova 24 I Big East
CAA
)

American football

The 2005 Army–Navy football game, played at Lincoln Financial Field; Philadelphia has hosted the annual game more often than any other city.

Temple University, which began playing football in 1894, fields the only Division I FBS football team in the Delaware Valley. Temple plays in the American Athletic Conference. An independent for the first several decades of its history, Temple also played in the Big East Conference for several years, and was briefly affiliated with the Mid-American Conference. The University of Delaware plays in the Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference of Division I FCS, but will be moving to the FBS as part of Conference USA prior to the 2025 season.[68] Delaware's football team began playing in 1889, and the school won the 2003 FCS championship.

Although Temple is the lone FBS school in the region, the Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions are the most popular college football team in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.[69] Penn State is a member of the Big Ten, one of the "Power Five conferences" in college football. The school began playing football in 1887, and has won two consensus national championships. Many fans in the Philadelphia area also root for the Atlantic Coast Conference-affiliated University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish or the Big Ten-affiliated Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

The University of Pennsylvania, Delaware State University, Villanova University, and the University of Delaware all field Division I FCS football teams; Penn plays in the Ivy League, Delaware State plays in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, and Villanova is a member of Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference. The Penn Quakers first played in 1876, and share a claim to six national championships. Villanova, which began playing football in 1894, won the 2009 FCS national championship. Delaware State began playing football in 1924, and the school lays claim to the 2007 black college football national championship. Delaware and Villanova have played each other every year since 1988 in the Battle of the Blue, while Delaware and Delaware State have played every year since 2011 in the Route 1 Rivalry. St. Joseph's, Drexel, and most recently La Salle have all discontinued their football programs.

The

service academies, the United States Military Academy (West Point) and the United States Naval Academy (Annapolis) — has been held more often in Philadelphia (which is located approximately midway between the two schools) than in all other locations put together. Eleven of the past 15 Army–Navy Games have been held in Philadelphia. Philadelphia also formerly had a bowl game: from 1959 to 1963, the city hosted the Liberty Bowl, the only cold-weather bowl game of its time. The bowl game moved to Memphis, Tennessee
in 1965.

Men's basketball

Big Five games, an intense college basketball rivalry among the Philadelphia area's five major NCAA Division I
teams.

Philadelphia enjoys a unique basketball rivalry among the

split into two leagues in 2013 (it had joined Big East football a year earlier). Prior to the Big East split, Temple had been a member of the Atlantic 10, and it still holds the most A-10 basketball tournament championships
.

University of the Sciences
also fielded a Division II team before it merged into Saint Joseph's University in 2022.

In 1939, Philadelphia hosted the first game of the first NCAA tournament.

Final Four
in 1976 and 1981.

Women's basketball

NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship tournament, while La Salle, Penn, Drexel, Delaware, and Delaware State have all appeared in at least one tournament. Villanova has advanced further than any other area school, making the Elite Eight in 2003. Immaculata University, a small Catholic school in the Philadelphia suburbs, won the first three AIAW women's basketball tournaments. The three championship teams were collectively inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.[72] One of the players on the Immaculata team, Theresa Grentz, served as head coach of the United States women's national basketball team
.

Rowing

Rowing has been popular in Philadelphia since the 18th century.

Stotesbury Cup Regatta, and the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta, all of which are held on the Schuylkill River. The regattas are hosted and organized by the Schuylkill Navy, an association of area rowing clubs that has produced numerous Olympic
rowers.

Rugby

Philadelphia has several rugby teams in professional leagues. The

semi-professional rugby league football team, was founded in 1998, and the Northeast Philadelphia Irish, a team within the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union, was founded in 2011 and has both men and women clubs.[73]

Colleges in the area also offer club rugby teams, with most area teams competing as part of the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union. The

college rugby competition in the United States, with the tournament broadcast live on NBC every year. The Collegiate Rugby Championship has succeeded in drawing media attention, corporate sponsorships and attendance.[74][75][76][77][78]

Boathouse Row on the Schuylkill River, an enduring symbol of Philadelphia's rich rowing history, April 2006

Other sports

In addition to basketball, football, and rowing, schools in the Philadelphia area offer other

soccer, volleyball, and several other sports.[79] In 1905, Haverford College played in the first modern intercollegiate soccer match.[80] Penn's fencing team has won three national championships. The schools also offer intramural sports
.

Semi-pro, amateur, and community teams

Cricket

first class cricket from 1878 to 1913, and played against some of the top teams in the world. Players on the team include George Patterson, John Lester, and Bart King, perhaps the greatest American cricket player.[82]

The Philadelphia Cricket Club was founded in 1854.[83] Greats such as Bart King, Percy Clark, and Christie Morris played for the team in its prime. Though it was disbanded in 1924, it was revived in 1998. Other cricket clubs in Germantown, Merion, Belmont flourished during the late 19th and early 20th century.

Since 1993, the city has been home to the annual Philadelphia International Cricket Festival, held during the first weekend in May, benefiting 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.

Rugby league

Aston, Pennsylvania is considered as the birthplace of rugby league in America.[84]

Rugby union

Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union. The Philadelphia Whitemarsh RFC
is a division 3 rugby union team in Philadelphia. The team was formed in 1985 after the merging of the Philadelphia and Whitemarsh clubs. The Hibernian RFC formed in 1976 by former Blackthorn RFC players right outside of Philadelphia, in Bucks County. The Northeast Philadelphia Rugby team, also known as the Fish, is a division 3 team in Philadelphia that was formed in 2011.

There are several women's rugby union teams in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs. Philadelphia Women's Rugby and Keystone Women's Rugby (in King of Prussia) compete in USA Rugby Division I. Brandywine Women's Rugby (in West Chester) and Doylestown Women's Rugby compete in Division II. Northeast Philadelphia Women's Rugby, associated with the Fish, joined the EPRU in 2011.[85]

Soccer

The Philadelphia area has a long history of successful amateur soccer teams. The

Premier Development League. The Philadelphia Fever and Philadelphia Liberty FC play in the Women's Premier Soccer League
.

Other sports

Olympic
gold medals in the 1920s

There are a number of

EHL
.

Diamond State Roller Girls is a roller derby league based in Wilmington, Delaware
.

The

Philadelphia Phoenix play ultimate in the Ultimate Frisbee Association, while the Philadelphia Spinners were previously a Major League Ultimate franchise until that league folded. The Philadelphia Justice are a professional dodgeball team that has played in the National Dodgeball League since 2011. The United States Australian Football League is represented by the Philadelphia Hawks
, since 1998.

Due to a long history of Irish immigration, the Philadelphia area has hosted Gaelic games for over a hundred years.[90] The Philadelphia Division GAA Board is the governing body of Gaelic games in Philadelphia. Eddie Alvarez is the former Lightweight Champion of both the UFC and Bellator MMA.

Individual sports

Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania hosts the annual Penn Relays

Philadelphia's

2300 Arena
hosts boxing, mixed martial arts, and professional wrestling events.

Boxing

Joe Frazier of Philadelphia, known as "Smokin' Joe", was the world's undisputed heavyweight boxing champion from 1970 to 1973

Philadelphia has a rich history in

Wednesday Night Fights. The Blue Horizon was also a popular venue before it closed in 2010. Another contribution to the city's love of boxing, comes in the form of fiction, with the classic movie Rocky
taking place in the city.

Philadelphia has been the home of several prominent boxers. Though born in

Danny García, Bryant Jennings, Jesse Hart, Tyrell Biggs, Tommy Loughran, Jimmy Young, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Meldrick Taylor, Tyrone Crawley, Steve Cunningham, Buster Drayton, Joey Giardello, Eric Harding, Matthew Saad Muhammad, Harold Johnson, and David Reid. Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston also lived in Philadelphia during their boxing careers.[93][94]

Racing

Philadelphia Park Racetrack

Philadelphia does not currently host any professional

Dover International Speedway and Pocono Raceway. Defunct racing facilities in the area include Trenton Speedway, Langhorne Speedway, Nazareth Speedway, and Flemington Speedway. Midget car racing was popular during the 1930s and 1940s; the two major tracks were Yellow Jacket Speedway, which closed in 1950, and National Speedway, which closed during World War II as a result of fuel rationing. Races were sanctioned by the American Automobile Association.[95] In 2005, the Champ Car World Series negotiated with the city to organize a race, but no agreement was reached.[96] Philadelphia has produced multiple winners of the Indianapolis 500, including Pete DePaolo, Kelly Petillo, and Bill Holland. Other notable drivers from Philadelphia include Skip Barber, Al Holbert, Spencer Wishart, and Kirk Shelmerdine. Mario Andretti and other members of the Andretti family live in nearby Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
.

horse of the century by The Blood-Horse magazine. Riddle also owned Triple Crown-winning horse War Admiral. In 2004, Smarty Jones, who was bred in the Philadelphia area, won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. Other horses with ties to the area include Afleet Alex,[97] Barbaro, Hard Spun, and Lil E. Tee.[99] Parx Casino and Racing hosts numerous horse races, including the Pennsylvania Derby, the Cotillion Handicap, and the Greenwood Cup Stakes. The Atlantic City Race Course
also hosts horse racing.

Tennis player Bill Tilden, widely considered one of the best tennis players of the first half of the 20th century.[100]

The

Philadelphia International Championship bike race, which ran from 1985 to 2016. The main feature of the race was the "Manayunk Wall", an inclined street including all of Levering Avenue and a few blocks of Lyceum Avenue. The race may have helped promote a local economic revival, and cycling is a prominent theme of many of the shops and restaurants in the area. The women's Liberty Classic
was held at the same time and over the same course.

Other sports

AT&T National. Merion Golf Club has hosted five U.S. Opens, most recently in 2013. The Philadelphia PGA Championship and the Philadelphia Open Championship are both hosted in the Philadelphia area. Golfers from the Philadelphia area include Jim Furyk, Dorothy Germain Porter, Jay Sigel, and John McDermott
.

The Championships, Wimbledon and was one of the most prominent sports figures of the first half of the 20th century.[101]

Willie Mosconi, a Philadelphia native, won the World Straight Pool Championship 15 consecutive times. Mosconi is considered one of the greatest pool players in the history of the game.[102]

The Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society is the oldest figure skating club in the United States, and was one of the clubs that founded U.S. Figure Skating.

Olympics

Philadelphia bid to host the 1920, 1948, 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics but lost to Antwerp, London, Helsinki, and Melbourne respectively. As part of the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, Philadelphia hosted the Liberty Bell Classic. Philadelphia has expressed interest in hosting other Olympic Games, including the 2024 Summer Olympics.[103][104] Many Philadelphians have competed in the Olympics.

High-school and youth sports

Many high school teams play in the Inter-Academic League, the Philadelphia Catholic League, and the Philadelphia Public League. In 2005, the Philadelphia Public League joined the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. In 2014, Mo'ne Davis was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year for her performance in the 2014 Little League World Series as a member of the Taney Dragons.

People

See also: Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame and Category:Sportspeople from Philadelphia
Paul Arizin, one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History

Numerous notable athletes were

Joe McCarthy, long-time NBA coach Jack Ramsay, UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma, Jefferson basketball coach Herb Magee, Mount St. Mary's coach Jim Phelan, La Salle basketball coach Speedy Morris, Wisconsin basketball coach Bo Ryan, and Temple basketball coach John Chaney
.

Olympians from the Philadelphia area include gymnast

John B. Kelly Jr., figure skater Tara Lipinski, diver Elizabeth Becker-Pinkston, and sailor Don Cohan
.

Other prominent Philadelphia sports figures include Flyers owner Ed Snider, Philadelphia Warriors owner Eddie Gottlieb, Sixers director of statistical information Harvey Pollack, Philadelphia Athletics owner Connie Mack, former NFL commissioner Bert Bell, former Phillies general manager Pat Gillick, former Phillies managers Larry Bowa, Charlie Manuel, and Dallas Green, former Flyers coach Fred Shero, former Sixers coaches Alex Hannum and Billy Cunningham, and former Eagles head coaches Doug Pederson, Greasy Neale, and Dick Vermeil. Since 2004, many of the most accomplished Philadelphia athletes and sports figures have been inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.

Sports media

Harry Kalas, a beloved play-by-play announcer for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1971 until his death in 2009

As of 2023, Philadelphia has the fourth-largest media market in the United States, with almost three million television homes.[105] NBC Sports Philadelphia is a cable television channel that covers Philadelphia and Delaware Valley sports. The channel carries all Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers games that are not nationally televised, along with numerous Philadelphia-area college sports events. Sister channel NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus carries games when more than one team is playing at the same time. Due to the NFL's centralized television rights format, the Eagles, as an NFC team, usually play on WTXF-TV Fox, although games can also appear on KYW-TV CBS, WPVI-TV ABC, WCAU NBC, ESPN, NFL Network, or streaming on Amazon Prime Video. All Union games are broadcast on Apple's MLS Season Pass. The two major sports radio stations in Philadelphia are 94.1 WIP and 97.5 WPEN. WIP broadcasts all Phillies and Eagles games, while WPEN broadcasts all Sixers, Flyers, and Union games. 1210 WPHT carries Phillies games when the Eagles are playing at the same time on WIP, and 93.3 WMMR carries Flyers games when the Sixers are playing at the same time on WPEN.

Prominent members of the sports media (past and present) include Richie Ashburn (who also played for the Phillies), Gene Hart, Harry Kalas, Merrill Reese, Jayson Stark, Jack Whitaker, Bill Campbell, Ray Didinger, Phil Jasner, Bill Conlin, Michael Barkann, Angelo Cataldi, Mike Missanelli and Howard Eskin. The Philadelphia Sports Writers Association presents annual awards.

Several films have depicted sports in Philadelphia. Most prominently, the

Jim Ellis in 1970s Philadelphia. The Mighty Macs depicts the 1970s Immaculata College women's basketball teams of the early 1970s. The main character of the film Silver Linings Playbook is an Eagles fan who closely follows the 2008 Eagles season
throughout the film.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Includes conference championships and post-1900 MLB league pennants.
  2. ^ The Waterdogs won the 2022 PLL championship, prior to being affiliated with Philadelphia.
  3. ^ Delaware will be joining the Conference USA of Division 1 FBS prior to the 2025 season

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Further reading

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