Philadelphia Phillies still trailing the A's in World Series titles in Philly

Jason Burke | Oct 27, 2024

Oct 31, 2008; Philadelphia, PA, USA; A vehicle carrying the Philadelphia Phillies during the parade honoring the World Series championship outside of Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-Imagn Images / Howard Smith-Imagn Images

For fans of a certain age, it seems as though the Philadelphia Phillies have always been pretty good, and are often flirting with contention if not winning the World Series. However, they surprisingly trail the A's, a team that left Philadelphia after the 1954 season, in World Series titles in Philadelphia.

The A's came into existence in 1901 as one of the founding members of the American League. Meanwhile, the Phillies began in 1883 and became the Phillies in 1886. Obviously, there was no World Series until 1903, so the early start didn't help out the National Leaguers there.

The A's made their first World Series in 1905, ultimately losing to the New York Giants, four games to one. They'd return 1910 and 1911, defeating the Chicago Cubs and New York Giants and becoming Baseball's second two-time champions, joining the Cubs. In a cruel twist of fate, the Cubs won in 1907 and 1908, then had to wait until 2016 to see another title after winning two of the first five.

The A's could have stopped right there and would still currently be tied for the most World Series titles in Philadelphia history 113 years later.

Yet, the A's kept going. After missing the postseason in 1912 during a 90-62 season, the team made it back to the World Series in 1913, once again beating the New York Giants. One of the standouts on these A's teams was Hall of Famer "Home Run" Baker, who led MLB for four straight seasons in home runs, hitting 42 of them from 1911-14. Not 42 per season, but in total, peaking at a 12 homer campaign in 1913.

From there it was the Phillies' time to play in a World Series, losing to the Boston Red Sox in 1915, which is memorable, because that had been the last Sox title until they broke the Curse of the Bambino in 2004. The Phillies would also make, and lose the World Series in 1950 after not making the postseason in the time in between.

Meanwhile, the A's would go on to play in three straight World Series from 1929-31, winning the first two against the Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, before losing in seven games to the Red Birds in '31. That gave the A's four World Series titles in their time in Philadelphia, and from that last appearance in 1931 until they moved to Oakland in 1968 and started winning with their core group in 1971, the A's didn't make the postseason again.

Luckily for the A's, they ran off three straight World Series wins from 1972-74 in what has to be the least talked about dynasty in sports, and then collected a fourth in the Bay Area with their win over the San Francisco Giants in 1989. The A's have won eight total titles, which ranks tied for third all-time with the Red Sox. Both teams trail just the Yankees (27) and Cardinals (11).

The A's have made the postseason plenty in the time since that '89 title, but have not made it back to the World Series since losing in 1990.

The Phillies, meanwhile, won their first championship in 1980 and added another in 2008. Ultimately the Phillies are 2-6 when playing in the World Series, which has to be a little painful for their fans, getting so close so many times, yet coming up short so often. With the team that they are currently assembling, they should be in the mix to challenge for, if not win, another Series title in the coming years.

In the meantime, the A's will lead the Philadelphia World Series counter 4-2.