Reading Phillies

From SoSH

Reading Phillies

Location:	Reading, Pennsylvania
Established:	1967
MLB Affiliation:	Philadelphia Phillies
League:	Eastern League
Level:	AA
Ballpark:	FirstEnergy Stadium
Championships:	4 (1968, 1973, 1995, co-champions in 2001)
Division Titles:	2
Wild Card:

The Reading Phillies are an Eastern League team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. They are the AA affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The affiliation with the Phillies has lasted unbroken since 1967. The Phillies play in FirstEnergy Stadium, previously known as Reading Municipal Memorial Stadium. Built in 1951, the stadium seats 9,000 fans. On July 3rd, 2007, the stadium celebrated their ten-millionth fan to attend a game.

1 Franchise History
- 1.1 Early baseball in Reading (1858-1932)
- 1.2 Reading in the Eastern League (1933-1966)
2 Major League Affiliations
3 Franchise Names
4 Notable Alumni
5 Notable Red Sox Who Played Here
6 External Links
7 See Also

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Franchise History

In November of 2006, the City of Reading announced that it received a grant from Berks County Community Foundation to study the costs and benefits of building a new riverfront stadium and the costs and benefits of renovating the existing stadium. That study will probably be completed in 2007.

The R-Phils won the Eastern League championship in 1968, 1973, and 1995, and were co-champions in 2001.

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Early baseball in Reading (1858-1932)

Reading's first official baseball team, the Reading Athletic Club, formed in November 1858 and, for the next 15 years, played other local teams for unofficial championships and bragging rights. After the National Agreement of 1883, which organized major and minor leagues, the Reading Actives became a member of the Interstate Association, one of the two original minor leagues. The Actives went 33-35 in 1883 against teams from Brooklyn, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Trenton, New Jersey, Wilmington, Delaware, Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey (which disbanded that July), finishing in third place before the league folded after the season. The Actives played sporadically for the next 12 years.

The Reading Coal Heavers played in the Atlantic League from 1897 until the league disbanded in mid-June 1900. During this time, the world's first female professional baseball player, Lizzie Arlington, pitched the final inning of a game for the Coal Heavers. Baseball returned to Reading in 1907 when the York White Roses of the Class-B Tri-State League relocated and became the Reading Pretzels. In 1911, the Pretzels finished with the best record in the league, but lost a best-of-seven postseason series to the team from Trenton. On June 14 of that season, George "Jake" Northrop pitched the only perfect nine-inning game in Reading baseball history. The Tri-State League folded after the 1914 season, but the Pretzels were resurrected when the Albany Senators of the New York State League relocated to Reading in August 1916. That league folded at the end of 1917 due to the first World War.

Beginning in 1919, Reading played in the Class-AA International League as the Coal Barons (1919), Marines (1920), Aces (1921-22), and Keystones (1923-32). Several future major leaguers played for the Keystones, owned by the Chicago Cubs from May 1927 until the end of 1930, including shortstop Bill Jurges and pitcher Lon Warneke. In August 1929, George Quellich set a professional baseball record that still stands today by collecting 15 hits in 15 consecutive at-bats.

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Reading in the Eastern League (1933-1966)

Reading became the Class-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox in the New York-Penn League (now the Eastern League) in 1933. The Reading Red Sox had a successful two-year run before the affiliation ended. The Brooklyn Dodgers moved its affiliate to the city as the Reading Brooks, but that team left town for Allentown, Pennsylvania in July.

Five years later, Reading got another baseball franchise -- this time, an unaffiliated team in the Class-B Interstate League called the Reading Chicks, which lost the league title series to the team from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Dodgers returned in 1941 and the Brooks were reborn, featuring future Dodger outfielder Carl Furillo. The Dodgers again left town after the season, and Reading was without at team for 10 years.

In 1952, the Cleveland Indians moved its Eastern League franchise to Reading from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Reading Indians played at Municipal Memorial Stadium for the next decade, capturing the league title in 1957. Several Indians went on to successful major-league careers, including Rocky Colavito and Roger Maris. The Indians left town in 1961 and, after one year without a team, the Red Sox returned to Reading in 1963 for two years. The Indians came back for one more season in 1965, and Reading was without a baseball team in 1966

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