The Philadelphia Phillies were a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1902. The team was a member of what was referred to as the National Football League—not to be confused 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 financed by the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team.
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 Penn 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.
Year | Year2 | Years | Name | Wins | Losses | Games | Win % | Champs | Playoffs | Tenure | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1902 | 1902 | 1902 | Ben Roller | 2 | 3 | 5 | .400 | 0 | 1 | ||
1901 | 1901 | 1901 | Blondy Wallace | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||