Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame
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The Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame is a collection of plaques, mounted on a brick wall next to the Left Field Gate at Citizens Bank Park, the ballpark of 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 ...
. From 1978 to 2003, the Phillies inducted one figure from their franchise history and one notable person from the
Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oakla ...
(A's) organization each year—with the exception of 1983, when the Phillies inducted their Centennial Team. Once
Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street (Philadelphia), Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating capa ...
closed in 2003, the wall plaques used to recognize the Phillies' members were moved to Citizens Bank Park; however, the Phillies no longer induct notable Athletics. Each person inducted into the Wall of Fame was honored with a metal plaque showing the person's face; their position with, and years of service to the team; and a summary of their most important contributions. In March 2004, the Athletics' plaques were relocated to the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, and a single plaque listing all of the A's inductees was attached to a statue of Connie Mack located across the street from Citizens Bank Park. Originally, the goal of the Wall of Fame was to induct the greatest players in Phillies and Athletics history; however, exceptions have been made for non-players who have made significant contributions to the organization. Mack, the Athletics' first inductee, had an 11-year playing career in the
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
and the
Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Prof ...
, but is most remembered for his
managerial Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...
career, and was honored as such on the Wall. Members have been inducted for contributions in more than one area; Paul Owens, inducted in 1988, spent 48 years as a member of the Phillies organization, contributing as a
scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, secti ...
, manager,
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
, and team executive. The Phillies have inducted four
first basemen A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
, four second basemen, five
third basemen A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...
, three
shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...
s, one utility infielder, three
catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...
s, 21
outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
s, 18
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...
s, seven managers, one general manager, one
coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...
, two team executives, and two sportscasters. Twenty-one members of the Wall of Fame are also members of the
Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
. All of the inductees in the first four seasons from both teams are members; Del Ennis was the first non-member to be inducted. The first figures to be inducted into the Wall of Fame were Robin Roberts, who was inducted for the Phillies; and Mack, inducted for the A's. Roberts pitched in Philadelphia for 13 seasons as a member of the National League team, and Mack managed the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...
club from 1901 to 1950. Although the Athletics have retired no numbers for players from their Philadelphia years, all seven players for whom the Phillies have retired a number or honored a "P" have been inducted into the Wall of Fame: Roberts (1978), Richie Ashburn (1979), Chuck Klein (1980), Grover Cleveland Alexander (1981), Jim Bunning (1984),
Steve Carlton Steven Norman Carlton (born December 22, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher for six different teams from 1965 to 1988, most notably as a member of the Philadelph ...
(1989), Mike Schmidt (1990), and Dick Allen (1994). On April 10, 2017, it was announced Pete Rose would be that year's inductee into the wall of fame. However, on August 12, 2017, just 10 days before the ceremony, the Phillies announced Rose would not be inducted amid statutory rape allegations. Instead of inducting someone new, they celebrated past inductees. For the 2018 season Citizens Bank Park was renovated, resulting in the Phillies Wall of Fame being moved from Ashburn Alley. A new Wall of Fame area was created behind the Left Field scoreboard, next to the Left Field gate. This overhauled Left Field Plaza honors the team’s history and incorporates new concession offerings. Featuring large replicas of the team’s World Series trophies from 1980 and 2008, statues of its retired numbers along with the relocated Wall of Fame it is an area for fans to learn about and honor the team's past.


Inductees


Centennial Team

In 1983, rather than inducting a player into the Wall of Fame, the Phillies selected their Centennial Team, commemorating the best players of the first 100 years in franchise history. The Centennial Team includes players from several periods in Phillies history. The team is honored with a plaque listing the names of all players selected at the left end of the Wall of Fame. 11 members of the Centennial Team also have their own individual plaques on the Wall; those not otherwise included on the Wall are Jim Konstanty and Pete Rose.


Footnotes

* The induction committee judges entrants based on "longevity, ability, contributions to the eam/nowiki> and baseball, character and special achievements". The committee has consisted of a variety of personnel, including team executives and members of the media. *This denotes that the player's number has been retired by his respective team. The Athletics have not retired any numbers from those who played their careers in Philadelphia.


References

;General * * ;Inline citations


External links


Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society
Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball museums and halls of fame
Baseball 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 t ...
Halls of fame in Pennsylvania Culture of Philadelphia Philadelphia Athletics Sports in Philadelphia Tourist attractions in Philadelphia Awards established in 1978 South Philadelphia 1978 establishments in Pennsylvania {{Oakland Athletics