Philadelphia Phillies (NFL)
Encyclopedia
The Philadelphia Phillies were a professional American football
team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
in 1902. The team was member of what was referred to as the National Football League
. This league has no connection with the National Football League
of today. The whole league was a curious mixture of football players as well as baseball players who adapted to playing football. The Phillies were owned and financed by baseball's Philadelphia Phillies
just as the owners of the Philadelphia Athletics financed their team, the Philadelphia Athletics
. The Pittsburgh Stars
made up the third team and was suspected of being fiananced by the Pittsburgh Pirates
baseball team.
graduate, was the team's manager and chief financial backer. The team, led by Penn's Blondy Wallace
, was largely made up of former Penn players along with a few veterans of such teams as the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club
and the Latrobe Athletic Association
.
and a tough squad from Lafayette College
. Next Philadelphia had to play the 1901 Homestead Library & Athletic Club football team
. Homestead was a successful team that gave up only seven points over a span of two seasons and was clearly the strongest of the many competitive teams of Western Pennsylvania. In fact Homestead was considered it the best professional team in the nation. This match-up was generally accepted as the professional championship of the United States. Both teams worked diligently to prepare for the game. However Philadelphia proved no match for the Homestead team and lost by a score of 18-0. The two teams then closed out their seasons in Pittsburgh
the following Saturday. This time Philadelphia lost by a score of only 6-5. They held Homestead to a single touchdown and managed to score the only touchdown against the team in two seasons.
, the owner of baseball's Philadelphia Phillies. In 1902 the war between baseball's well established National League
and the new American League
was really heating up. In an effort to get the upper hand in the battle for fans, Rogers took over the professional football club and renamed them the Phillies, after his baseball team. Blondy Wallace, who was a captain of the 1901 Pros team, left the team to join its cross town rival, the Athletics football team owned by baseball's Ben Shibe
. The Phillies baseball manager, Bill Shettsline
became the team's manager, while Ben Roller
, an offensive guard from Purdue
became the team's coach.
Both Rogers and Shibe knew that to lay claim to the "World Championship", they had to play a team from Pittsburgh, which was the focal point of football at the time. They called on pro football promoter Dave Berry and a Pittsburgh team was soon formed. These three teams are all that made up the first NFL. The league played all of its games on Saturdays, since there were no Sunday sports events according to Pennsylvania blue laws
in 1902. The teams began playing various colleges and local football clubs before finally playing each other.
in New York City
. While neither the Phillies nor Athletics participated in this event, several members of both squads joined together on a team known variously as "New York", the "New Yorks" and the "New York Philadelphians"
. The New York team played in the first indoor football game against the Syracuse Athletic Club.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
in 1902. The team was member of what was referred to as the National Football League
National Football League (1902)
The National Football League was the first attempt at forming a national professional football league in 1902. The league has no ties with the modern National Football League. In fact the league was only composed of teams from Pennsylvania, which was hardly "national". Two of the teams were based...
. This league has no connection with the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
of today. The whole league was a curious mixture of football players as well as baseball players who adapted to playing football. The Phillies were owned and financed by baseball's Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
just as the owners of the Philadelphia Athletics financed their team, the Philadelphia Athletics
Philadelphia Athletics (NFL)
The Philadelphia Athletics were a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1902. The team was member of what was referred to as the National Football League. This league has no connection with the National Football League of today. The whole "league" was a curious...
. The Pittsburgh Stars
Pittsburgh Stars
The Pittsburgh Stars were a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1902. The team was member of what was referred to as the National Football League. This league has no connection with the National Football League of today. The whole "league" was a curious mixture...
made up the third team and was suspected of being fiananced by the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
baseball team.
Origins
The Phillies began as the Philadelphia Athletic Club in 1901. The team was more commonly called throughout Philadelphia as the Philadelphia Professionals or the Philadelphia Pros. It was the region's first entirely professional football squad. Wilson Wright, a PennUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
graduate, was the team's manager and chief financial backer. The team, led by Penn's Blondy Wallace
Blondy Wallace
Charles Edgar "Blondy" Wallace was an early professional football player. He was a 240-pound, former Walter Camp second-team All-American tackle from the University of Pennsylvania. He also played two years at Peddie Institute, in New Jersey, winning state championships in 1896 and 1897...
, was largely made up of former Penn players along with a few veterans of such teams as the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club
Duquesne Country and Athletic Club
The Duquesne Country and Athletic Club was a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1895 until 1900. The team was considered one of the best, if not the best, professional football teams in the country from 1898 until 1900...
and the Latrobe Athletic Association
Latrobe Athletic Association
The Latrobe Athletic Association was a professional football team located in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, from 1895 until 1909. The team is best known for being the first football club to play a full season while composed entirely of professional players...
.
1901
Philadelphia opened its 1901 season with shut outs of the Conshohocken Tigers, the Orange Athletic Club, Susquehanna UniversitySusquehanna University
Susquehanna University is a liberal arts college in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, United States, north of the state capital, Harrisburg.-Academics:...
and a tough squad from Lafayette College
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...
. Next Philadelphia had to play the 1901 Homestead Library & Athletic Club football team
1901 Homestead Library & Athletic Club football team
The 1901 Homestead Library & Athletic Club football team won the professional football championship of 1901. The team was affiliated with the Homestead Library & Athletic Club in Homestead, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh...
. Homestead was a successful team that gave up only seven points over a span of two seasons and was clearly the strongest of the many competitive teams of Western Pennsylvania. In fact Homestead was considered it the best professional team in the nation. This match-up was generally accepted as the professional championship of the United States. Both teams worked diligently to prepare for the game. However Philadelphia proved no match for the Homestead team and lost by a score of 18-0. The two teams then closed out their seasons in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
the following Saturday. This time Philadelphia lost by a score of only 6-5. They held Homestead to a single touchdown and managed to score the only touchdown against the team in two seasons.
Phillies
Although still lacking the established fan base of college football, Philadelphia Athletic Club benefited from being built on a strong foundation of well known local college talent. Philadelphia's first experience with pro football left fans in anticipation for the next season. This gained the attention of John RogersJohn Rogers (baseball)
John Ignatius Rogers , was part-owner of the Philadelphia Phillies from to , and majority owner from 1899 to . He also owned the Philadelphia Phillies of the short-lived National Football League of 1902.Rogers was born to Irish immigrant parents in Philadelphia on May 27, 1844...
, the owner of baseball's Philadelphia Phillies. In 1902 the war between baseball's well established National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
and the new American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
was really heating up. In an effort to get the upper hand in the battle for fans, Rogers took over the professional football club and renamed them the Phillies, after his baseball team. Blondy Wallace, who was a captain of the 1901 Pros team, left the team to join its cross town rival, the Athletics football team owned by baseball's Ben Shibe
Ben Shibe
Benjamin Franklin Shibe was an American sporting goods and baseball executive who, along with his sons John and Tom, was half-owner of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League from 1901 until his death. He is credited with the invention of the automated stitching machinery to make...
. The Phillies baseball manager, Bill Shettsline
Bill Shettsline
William Joseph Shettsline was a baseball manager for the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League from to . He was club secretary when, upon the firing of George Stallings, he was given the managerial reins. In his five seasons at the helm, Shettsline posted a 367–302 record, with his best...
became the team's manager, while Ben Roller
Ben Roller
Dr. Benjamin Franklin Roller was a physician, a professional wrestler and a football player. He played football for the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, Philadelphia Athletic Club and was later a player-coach with the Philadelphia Phillies of the first National Football League. Also in 1902, he played...
, an offensive guard from Purdue
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
became the team's coach.
Both Rogers and Shibe knew that to lay claim to the "World Championship", they had to play a team from Pittsburgh, which was the focal point of football at the time. They called on pro football promoter Dave Berry and a Pittsburgh team was soon formed. These three teams are all that made up the first NFL. The league played all of its games on Saturdays, since there were no Sunday sports events according to Pennsylvania blue laws
Blue Laws
The Blue Laws of the Colony of Connecticut, as distinct from the generic term "blue law" that refers to any laws regulating activities on Sunday, were the initial statutes set up by the Gov. Theophilus Eaton with the assistance of the Rev. John Cotton in 1655 for the Colony of New Haven, now part...
in 1902. The teams began playing various colleges and local football clubs before finally playing each other.
1902
The Athletics had split on the 1902 season with the Phillies, as had the Pittsburgh Stars. However each team carried a record of 2-2 for league play, with a complete record of 8-3. Pittsburgh had by far the better point ratio, scoring 39 points to their opponents' 22. Both the Athletics and the Phillies gave up more points than they scored in their league games. This led to a championship game between the A's and Stars. After playing the first game to a scoreless tie, Pittsburgh finally won the second championship game late in the fourth quarter to give them a controversial championship win. The defeated A's then went home and defeat the Phillies 17-6 to give them the city championship and a second showing in the league.World Series of Football
In late December the 1902 World Series of Football was held at Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden (1890)
Madison Square Garden was an indoor arena in New York City, the second by that name, and the second to be located at 26th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. While neither the Phillies nor Athletics participated in this event, several members of both squads joined together on a team known variously as "New York", the "New Yorks" and the "New York Philadelphians"
New York (World Series of Football)
"New York" was a term given to a professional football team formed by promoter Tom O'Rouke for the World Series of Football in 1902. The event was held in New York City at Madison Square Garden...
. The New York team played in the first indoor football game against the Syracuse Athletic Club.