The Phillies have been around for a long time. They played their first season in 1883, making them one of the oldest franchises in the MLB. And they are the oldest team to keep one name in stay in one city. Other teams, like the Braves, are older than the Phillies but were not in Atlanta that whole time. Then you have the Reds, who have played in Cincinnati longer but used to go by different names.
Unfortunately, being around that long has not led to much winning. Apart from a period in the 80, the 2000’s, and now the 2020s, they have mostly been a bad baseball team. They have the most losses in MLB history, and just two World Series in about 140 seasons.
But that does not mean they have not had amazing players. Even when they were perennial losers, they had some true Hall of Fame Level players giving Philadelphians something to enjoy. 32 Phillies have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. They have inducted 47 players managers or broadcasters onto their Wall of Fame. But they, like every pro team, save a special honor for only the best players in team history. Retired numbers.
10 players, 9 of whom played for the Phillies, have their number retired with the team. Including guys who played in 1911, all the way through to someone who played their last MLB game in 2013. Which 10 players were so good they earned that honor? Let’s run through those names. And while we are at it, let’s look at 3 names who should go up on that wall and have their numbers retired soon.