Philadelphia has always been a city passionate about its sports teams. Through highs and lows, year after year, we, the Philly faithful, cheer our teams on, regardless how painful that may be.
Nineteen Hundred and Seventy Two. A memorable year. The Godfather dominated at the box office, Fiddler on the Roof, A Clockwork Orange, and Cabaret were among the year’s best films. All In the Family was the #1 TV show in America. Nights in White Satin by the Moody Blues, Roundabout by Yes, and American Pie by Don McLean took over the radio waves.
1972, the year of the Rat, was also the year Pong, Grease, Ziggy Stardust, ABBA, and HBO’s debut. The year the Miami Dolphins went 17-0. The year Richard Nixon kept the White House by taking 49 of 50 states in the election. The year the world was introduced to the Atkins Diet. It was also the year terrorists murdered 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team at the Munich Olympics.
While we watched that tragedy unfold on our TV sets each night, Steve Carlton, in his first season with the Phillies, was quickly making everyone forget about Rick Wise. Carlton would go on to win 27 games and his first Cy Young Award in 1972. Carlton won 27 of the Phillies 59 wins. A truly remarkable feat. It was the city’s only sports bright spot that year.
While the Oakland A’s were winning the World Series, the Dolphins were perfect, the Lakers were the toast of the NBA, and the Boston Bruins were hoisting the Stanley Cup, Philadelphia sports was mired in historic futility. 1972 was the worst sports year for any North American city.
Ever.
Anywhere.
43 years later Philadelphia did it again. In 2015, Philadelphia’s winning percentage wasn’t as bad as 1972, but at .375 for its four teams, it was a very close second. Furthermore, with the end of the Sixer’s season in May 2017, Philadelphia finished with its worst three-year run ever. The futility was staggering. Collectively, 2014-2016/17 was mind-blowingly awful.
There are twelve cities* in the US represented by teams in MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA. Of those twelve cities, four of them had all four teams make the playoffs over that 2014-2016/17 span. Three of the twelve cities have won championships in those three years. Two cities have done it twice.
city of teams # of # of champs Winning Winning
playoffs seasons percentage
1 Washington 4 8* 10/12 .572
2 Boston 4 8* 2 8/12 .534
3 Chicago 5 7 2 7/15 .524
4 Los Angeles 7 11 12/19 .523
5 Dallas 4 7* 7/12 .515
6 Detroit 4 6* 6/12 .495
7 Miami 4 3 3/12 .484
8 New York City 8 8 10/24 .466
9 Minneapolis 4 4 4/12 .435
10 Denver 4 2 1 3/12 .433
11 Phoenix 4 2 2/12 .407
12 Philadelphia 4 1 1/12 .389
WASHINGTON (Nationals, Redskins, Captials, Wizards), BOSTON (Red Sox, New England Patriots, Bruins, Celtics), CHICAGO (Cubs, White Sox, Bears, Black Hawks, Bulls), LOS ANGELES (Dodgers, Angels, Rams, Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Lakers, Clippers), DALLAS (Texas Rangers, Cowboys, Stars, Mavericks), DETROIT (Tigers, Lions, Red Wings, Pistons), MIAMI (Marlins, Dolphins, Florida Panthers, Heat), NEW YORK (Mets, Yankees, Giants, Jets, Rangers, New Jersey Devils, Knicks, Brooklyn Nets), MINNEAPOLIS (Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Wild, Minnesota Timberwolves), DENVER (Colorado Rockies, Broncos, Colorado Avalanche, Nuggets), PHOENIX (Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, Arizona Coyotes, Suns), PHILADELPHIA (Phillies, Eagles, Flyers, Sixers)
-NHL records are figured in wins and losses. Overtime losses and shootout losses may get you a point in the standings, but here, they are still losses and are calculated as such. – Los Angeles is part of the twelve because the Rams played in LA in 2016. * – all teams made playoff appearance
So as you can see, Philadelphia sports teams over those three seasons have won less than four out of every ten games. Four teams, three years, 12 seasons… one playoff series and one winning season.
But Philly has enjoyed some highs as well. Philadelphia had a nice run after the abysmal 1972 season. The Flyers would win back-to-back Stanley Cups just a few years later. The Phillies in 1980 and the Sixers in 1983 would win championships.
In fact, in 1980, all four teams competed in their league’s championship. It’s the only time it has ever happened. That we went 1-3 was a bit painful. But the Phillies parade down Broad Street was glorious. 1980 was a year of excitement and magical sports moments. The Flyers incredible 35-game unbeaten streak, Pete Rose catching the ball that popped out of Bob Boone’s glove in game six, Tug McGraw striking out Kansas City Royals Willie Wilson to win the World Series, and Wilbert Montgomery rushing for 194 yards against Dallas to lead the Eagles to their first Super Bowl appearance.
Will Philadelphia once again enjoy greatness after enduring such futility?
There is cause for optimism in the City of Brotherly Love. The Eagles improbable run to their Super Bowl LII championship has ignited the fire in Philly sports once again. The Flyers and Sixers followed up the Eagles championship with playoff appearances of their own. And the Phillies look to be headed down that road, as well.
For the 2017-18 season, three of the four Philly teams made the postseason. That’s three times as many as the previous 3 years combined.
Will Aaron Nola, Jorge Alfaro, Scott Kingery, and Rhys Hoskins bring the Phillies back to power?
Will Joel Embiid, Markelle Fultz, Ben Simmons, and Dario Saric be a championship slam-dunk?
Can Ivan Provorov, Shayne Gostisbehere, Nolan Patrick, and Carter Hart net us a Cup and bring Lord Stanley back to Broad Street?
Can Carson Wentz, Fletcher Cox, Derek Barnett, Jordan Hicks, and the rest of the Eagles soar to another Super Bowl?
The future is now. Things could get very interesting very quickly. Either way, as Philly sports fans, we will endure. We will cheer, paint our faces, redefine the term tailgating, yell, scream, ingest copious amounts of antacids, and live and die with our teams.
From the fanatical fan to the dauntless diehard and all of Philly’s faithful, this blog is for you.
Philly by the Numbers is a collection of the best we have witnessed in our teams. It’s a celebration of our greatest moments, memories, and heroes of our beloved teams. I hope you enjoy Philly by the Numbers, and thanks for stopping by!
