In 1883, Philadelphia was awarded an expansion National League franchise to replace the Worcester Brown Stockings, a franchise that had folded in 1882. The new team was nicknamed the "Quakers" and immediately compiled a .173 winning percentage, which is still the worst in franchise history.

Few players have ever had a better game than Rick Wise did on June 23, 1971, when the 25-year-old pitched a no-hitter and added two home runs to lead the visiting Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium.

Despite the fact that the team was largely made up of rookies, the Whiz Kids won the Phillies their first National League pennant in 35 years.

Believing that Rose was the player who could put them over the top, the Phillies made him the highest-paid athlete not only in baseball, but in all of team sports, signing him to a four-year, $3.2-million contract as a free agent. Although they missed the postseason in Rose's first year with the team, the Phillies earned three division titles, two World Series appearances and their first ever World Series title (1980) in the following four years.

In 1972, the Phillies were the worst team in baseball, but newly acquired Steve Carlton won nearly half their games (27 of 59 team wins) and was awarded his first NL Cy Young Award.

Since the first modern World Series was played in 1903, the Phillies played 77 consecutive seasons (and 97 seasons from the club's establishment) before they won their first World Series--longer than any of the other 16 teams that made up the major leagues for the first half of the 20th century.

Mike Schmidt had some of the most impressive numbers when it came to belting the ball out of the park, but those who saw him play will always remember him for the way he stood at the plate. Schmidt turned his back almost entirely to the pitcher and shook his behind while waiting for the pitch, which earned him many female fans.

Chase Utley had a perfect stolen-base percentage in 2009 with 23 steals.

On June 8, 1989, Steve Jeltz hit two of his five career home runs in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, despite not even starting the game. A switch-hitter, Jeltz hit one of these homers from the right side of the plate and one from the left side.

In August 1967, Dick Allen was pushing a 1949 Ford up a hill with his right hand on a headlight. The headlight broke and severed the nerves and tendons leading to his ring and little fingers. Despite the impairment, he hit 33 and 32 home runs in '68 and '69.