Phillies Shed An Unwanted Record After 61 Years

[Philly-brownsfan]

After over six decades the Phillies finally are no longer the record holder for the most consecutive Losing seasons.
When the Pittsburgh Pirates lost to the Cubs this afternoon, it was their 82nd loss of the season, guaranteeing them a losing record for the season. It is their 17th straight losing record (1993-2009) breaking the old Phillies record of 16 straight losing years (1933 -1948).
There were probably many factors, but the loss of Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla to Free Agency after the '92 season probably was the most important factor triggering the Pirates' decline.
The Phillies actually were terrible for quite a long time with 30 losing seasons in 31 years between 1918 and 1948, with only the 1932 Phillies managing an above .500 season in that span, and with a 78-76 record in '32, that was by the smallest of margins.

*Philly-brownsfan*

[PhanInPhlorida]

but pittsburgh always has thier nba team to count on

[Seattle1]

The Phillies actually were terrible for quite a long time with 30 losing seasons in 31 years between 1918 and 1948, with only the 1932 Phillies managing an above .500 season in that span, and with a 78-76 record in '32, that was by the smallest of margins.

Didn't you post this information in a thread somewhere else too recently?

[Philly-brownsfan]

Didn't you post this information in a thread somewhere else too recently?

I've raised the possibility of this happening in other threads, but on Labor Day, 2009, that speculation became a reality. The 1993-2009 Pittsburgh Pirates have relieved the 1933-1948 Phillies of the burden of having the most consecutive under .500 finishes in MLB history, or in the history of any of the major team sports.

[PlayJay]

Franchise still boasts of 10,000 plus losses. I'd like to lose that one. I might not live long enough to see anyone pass that one.

[BigRon]

The Phillies and the Philadelphia-then Kansas City Athletics set the overall standards for futility. In addition to the Phillies' unmatched track record between 1918-1948- 30 losing seasons in 31- they were almost matched by the Athletics, beginning in 1934. The As had losing seasons 30 of 34 years from 1934-1967. Both the Phils and As had numerous 100 game losing seasons. The recent Pirates have often been bad and they have the most consecutive losing seasons, but they pale in comparison to the long and awful track records established by the Phillies and Athletics.

[Philly-brownsfan]

The Phillies and the Philadelphia-then Kansas City Athletics set the overall standards for futility. In addition to the Phillies' unmatched track record between 1918-1948- 30 losing seasons in 31- they were almost matched by the Athletics, beginning in 1934. The As had losing seasons 30 of 34 years from 1934-1967. Both the Phils and As had numerous 100 game losing seasons. The recent Pirates have often been bad and they have the most consecutive losing seasons, but they pale in comparison to the long and awful track records established by the Phillies and Athletics.

Good point in bringing the Philadelphia Athletics into the discussion. The A's really compounded awfulness of the Phillies, with two poor teams sharing the same stadium after 1938, and setting new standards for terribleness. It's no surprise that some Philadelphia area fans turned their back on Philly teams and looked to New York, the Yankees, and other New York teams. At least the Philadelphia Eagles were pretty formidable in the late 1940s, getting to the NFL title game three years in a row between 1947 and 1949 and winning the last two of those championship games.
I was surprised to learn that the A's finished over .500 two times in their last six seasons in Philadelphia (1949 & 1952). They had some individual stars such as Ferris Fain, Gus Zernial, Bobby Shantz, Alex Kellner, Wally Moses, Dave Philley, Pete Suder, Eddie Joost and Elmer Valo (not all at the same time or that would have been a contending team) but the team had problems at some positions and lacked depth preventing them from being any more than a fourth or fifth place team, finishing just over .500 at best.

You can' beat the Kansas City Athletics mark for futility between 1955 and 1967, their entire stay in that city before moving to Oakland in 1968:
13 seasons in Kansas City, with 13 under .500 Athletics' finishes. Perfect!

I mentioned this before in another thread, so as the expression goes "Stop me, if you've heard this one!": In 1932 the one year in 31 seasons between 1918 & 1948 that the Phillies finished over .500, the went into the final day of the season at 77-75 and had only a Sunday Doubleheader remaining on the schedule. They lost the first game to drop to 77-76 and were leading in the second game when in that era before night baseball, the second game was called on account of darkness with the Phillies declared the winner of game two and their final record going into the books at 78-76. If that game had been played to it's natural conclusion, who knows if the Phillies would have won to remain above .500?

*Philly-brownsfan*