The “What Is A Phillie?” Answer – Sports Talk Philly: Philadelphia Sports News and Rumors

By Tal Venada, Sports Talk Philly Contributor If you’ve ever wondered about the local franchise’s nickname and its origin, this article provides more than just an explanation of the byname for the Philadelphia Phillies and some other baseball organizations. Yeah, a writer’s Wild West.    Monikers: Many handles existed –some for only a few weeks– because scribes created team nicknames instead of, for instance, awkwardly writing The Philadelphia National League Base Ball Club. So, they became the Phillies –or Quakers to some– in 1883. But their long-lasting byname didn’t appear on their jerseys until 1933.      IN OTHER WORDS:     “Baseball has always been slow to accept change. Only through dire pressure can any radical change be accomplished.” – Ford Frick. In those days, players wore knickerbockers: short pants gathered at the knee. And they had long stockings up to their knees. Instead, though, of their official name, writers went with the Red Caps, Blues, White Stockings, Browns, Red Sox, Dark Blues, Reds, and Cardinals (cardinal red).     Baseball monikers came from geography, local animals, a skipper’s name or nickname, local disasters and an Easterner’s fascination with the Wild West. So, pirates and Indians equated respectively to rough, burly, rowdy men and…
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