The Hot Pants Patrol was a group used by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

baseball team Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding te ...

in the 1970s, designed to attract greater attendance, particularly by men, to home games at

Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating capacities were 65,358 for footb ...

. It consisted of a number of attractive young "fillies" or "usherettes" who were assigned to various sections throughout the stadium. Their uniform consisted of red jumpsuit incorporating

hot pants Hotpants or hot pants are extremely short shorts. The term was first used by ''Women's Wear Daily'' in 1970 to describe shorts made in luxury fabrics such as velvet and satin for fashionable wear, rather than their more practical equivalents th ...

(hence the name) emblazoned with the Phillies logo and white trim, albeit slightly longer pants than what normally was worn along with white

go-go boot Go-go boots are a low-heeled style of women's fashion boot first introduced in the mid-1960s. The original go-go boots, as defined by André Courrèges in 1964, were white, low-heeled, and mid-calf in height, a specific style which is sometimes ...

s. The Hot Pants Patrol debuted on April 10, 1971, the opening game at Veterans Stadium. There were 140 Fillies at the first game who were recruited from 432 applicants and advised by letter to wear "your shortest skirt and tightest blouse" to interviews. The 35 Fillies designated best looking were called, collectively, the Hot Pants Patrol and wore red hot pants. The Fillies last season was 1982 by which time the Phillie Phanatic mascot had established itself as the center of Veterans Stadium in-game entertainment.

References

Philadelphia Phillies 1971 establishments in Pennsylvania 1971 Major League Baseball season 1982 disestablishments in Pennsylvania {{Philadelphia-sport-stub