Philadelphia Phillies Logo History: All-Time 1900-Today

Earlier this month, the Philadelphia Phillies had the longest playoff drought in the National League. Since then, the Phillies clinched the lowest seed in the Postseason (at Houston, no less), then proceeded to take out the Central Division champion Cardinals, the reigning World Series champion Braves, and finally, the San Diego Padres in the NLCS to win the pennant.

Not a bad few weeks, eh?

Yes, the Phillies are in the World Series! Their first trip to the Fall Classic since they made back-to-back appearances back in 2009 (L 2-4 vs NYY) and 2008 (W4-1 vs TB). Here in 2022, they’ll be taking on the Houston Astros, who they’d met previously during the 1980 NLCS, a 3-2 series victory on the way to winning the first World Championship in Phillies franchise history. Houston finished first in the American League, and the Phillies finished sixth in the National League. The Astros have played in three of the last four (and four of the last six) World Series… so this could be a tough one for the Phillies.

LINK: Philadelphia Phillies complete logo and uniform history

Anyways, you don’t read this site for analysis; you just want branding, logos, and history. So, here you go…

Philadelphia Phillies team logo history: 1900-Today

Philadelphia Phillies Team Name History

The Philadelphia Phillies franchise pre-dates the modern World Series, with their first season taking place in 1883. The club was originally named Quakers but was quickly referred to as the Phillies in newspaper articles; the club rolled with both names before they officially adopted the Phillies’ nickname in 1890. In the 1940s, the team briefly flirted with a name change to “Blue Jays” but backed off from dropping the Phillies name entirely; the club went as far as wearing a blue jay patch on their jersey sleeve but still retained the “Phillies” script across their chest.

Philadelphia Phillies Logo History

In 1900, in the days before official team logos, the Phillies wore a simple block blue “P” on their home uniform. In 1901 the “P” changed from blue to black and remained as such until the end of the decade. A drastic change in 1910 saw the Phillies use a calligraphic “P” and wear green-trimmed uniforms for just a single season before the club went back to the simple “P” and switched to a red-and-white colour scheme in 1911.

In 1915, the Phillies began using a seal featuring the statue of William Penn from Philadelphia City Hall in a baseball pitching pose with a detailed overview depiction of a baseball game in the background. The club name, “PHILADELPHIA BASE BALL CLUB NATIONAL LEAGUE” was arched around the top and bottom of this design. This seal was primarily used on team letterheads and other official publications and correspondence; again, this was during an era when teams didn’t really put out official logos in any way, shape, or form as we know them today. This design stuck around for nearly 30 years, with a few colour changes along the way.

In 1944, after several losing seasons, the Phillies tried to drum up some interest in the fanbase by holding a contest to rename the team. Five-thousand suggestions came in, with the winning entry of the Philadelphia Blue Jays credited to Elizabeth Crooks, who received a $100 war bond for her efforts. The team never officially dropped the “Phillies” name but did add a blue jay patch to their uniform sleeves for two seasons.

Now, this is where exact dates and what’s considered “official” gets a little swampy. The nickname “Fightin’ Phils” started popping up in the media in the late 1940s, and the club began using it on merchandise such as pennants and programs (again, during an era of unofficial logos). In 1950 the club adopted an actual logo, showing a Phillies team cap with a baseball whizzing around it and the team name scripted below, and retained this style through to the end of the 1960s.

With the team moving into a new stadium in 1970, the Phillies overhauled their logos and uniform set with a new style “P” logo containing a baseball in the, uh, middle of the “P” (I really didn’t want to say P-hole). Uniforms were pinstriped with stripes down each sleeve. A traditional, patriotic change came with the U.S. Bicentennial year in 1976 with the team introducing Phyl and Phyllys, two cartoon characters dressed in 18th Century uniforms and playing baseball, though the club’s uniforms didn’t change during this transition (aside from a darkening of the red to a burgundy). In 1981, following their first World Series title, the Phillies went back to the “P” as their primary logo before darkening the burgundy to more of a maroon from 1984 to 1991. During the 1980s, the Phillies used an alternate logo fairly extensively featuring a depiction of Independence Hall in front of the team name and a baseball.

In 1992, with throwback uniforms very much in fashion, the Phillies decided to turn the clock back to wearing uniforms similar to what they had worn in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as a re-introduction of the traditional red and white colours. These uniforms came with a new logo featuring the Liberty Bell in white on a blue baseball field with the team name scripted across in red, with two blue stars dotting the “i”s. The Phillies used this logo for three National League pennants and a World Series championship in 2008 before making a modification in 2019, eliminating the field and changing the Liberty Bell from white to blue.

And that takes us to today, where the Phillies are bringing their blue Liberty Bell logo into the World Series, and their first pennant with the new logo. Can the Phillies make it three World Series championships with three different logos? We’ll find out in about a week or so. In the meantime, you can check out a much more comprehensive collection of Philadelphia Phillies logos, caps, jerseys, uniforms, anniversary logos, uniform patches, and so much more right here.