The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins ) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania , playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League . The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium . The Reading Fightin Phils were founded in 1967 as the Reading Phillies (commonly referred to as the R-Phils and sometimes Reading Phils ) and they have been the Double-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies since 1967. This affiliation is currently tied for the longest affiliation in Minor League Baseball. The Phillies bought the team outright in 2008. Many fans still refer to the team as the Reading Phillies or R-Phils.
30-555: The franchise has always been based in Reading and maintained its original name "Reading Phillies" from its establishment in 1967 through 2012. The Reading Fightin Phils are the oldest team in the Eastern League to play in their original and current city with the most seasons under their original name (Reading Phillies). The Fightin Phils' stadium, FirstEnergy Stadium which was built in 1951 and
60-538: A member of the Interstate Association , one of the two original minor leagues. The Actives went 33–35 in 1883 against teams from Brooklyn , Harrisburg, Pennsylvania , Trenton, New Jersey , Wilmington, Delaware , Pottsville, Pennsylvania , and Camden, New Jersey (which disbanded that July), finishing in third place before the league folded after the season. In 1884 the Active Club became founding members of
90-446: A mustard bottle to form a mustard circle inside the surrounding sky blue circle. Inside the mustard circle but surrounding Bunbino, are the words "READING" and "PENNSYLVANIA" as in the ostrich alternate logo, but in a different yellow font, separated by a mustard stain. The caps are sky blue with Bunbino from the aforementioned logo. Like the home white jersey, the road gray jersey is given a faux-flannel effect; it carries blue piping on
120-400: A red feathered "R", or the aforementioned ostrich logo without the wordmarks. The home jerseys are cream and have traditional red pinstripes, but are given a faux-flannel look to the design. In the center is the red "Fightin Phils" wordmark with the player's number in red right below it. On the left sleeve is the aforementioned circular alternate logo, with the parent Phillies' red "P" logo on
150-751: A statistical list of the century's top teams. Weiss and Wright further took into account intangibles such as winning a pennant, significant achievements, or reputation in creating their final list. Of the 69 franchises to make the list, 14 appeared more than once. The Baltimore Orioles took 6 places on the list, the most of any team, followed by the Ft. Worth Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs (5), Newark Bears and San Francisco Seals (4); Kansas City Blues , Los Angeles Angels , and St. Paul Saints (3); and Charlotte Hornets , Columbus Senators/Red Birds , Houston Buffaloes , Indianapolis Indians , Memphis Chicks , and Milwaukee Brewers (2). Thirty leagues are represented on
180-530: A white and gray ostrich outlined in blue with flesh-colored beak and legs putting up his fists in a fighting stance, with the red block "READING" and blue script "Fightin Phils" wordmark right above it. There is also an alternate logo with said ostrich's upper body in a blue circle outlined in red, surrounded by a red burst and "READING" and "PENNSYLVANIA" tilted near the top and bottom, respectively. The Fightin Phils' home uniforms resemble those of their Philadelphia parent. The caps are navy blue, and feature either
210-625: The 100 greatest minor league teams of all time . Reading's first official baseball team, the Reading Athletic Club , formed in November 1858 and, for the next 15 years, played other local teams for unofficial championships and bragging rights. The Reading Actives date their existence to 1874. After the National Agreement of 1883, which organized major and minor leagues, the Actives became
240-525: The Charleston Indians , Reading was without professional baseball for that year. For the 1962 season, the Williamsport Grays moved to Reading and became the second Reading Red Sox team, serving as a Boston Red Sox affiliate for two years, owned by Joe Buzas . The new Reading Red Sox relocated to Pittsfield, Massachusetts , and were renamed Pittsfield Red Sox (this Eastern League franchise
270-670: The Cleveland Indians . The team was briefly named the Wilkes-Barre Indians from 1949 to 1951 and were managed by Bill Norman . They won a league championship in 1950 and made the league playoffs each year they played between 1949 and 1951. From 1953 to 1955 the team regained the Barons name and once again played in the Eastern League, and in 1954 they were affiliated with the Chicago White Sox . In 1955, they were affiliated with
300-607: The Eastern League of Professional Base Ball Clubs . The Actives played sporadically for the next 12 years. The Reading Coal Heavers played in the Atlantic League from 1897 until the league disbanded in mid-June 1900. During this time, Lizzie Arlington became the first woman to play for a professional men's baseball team when she pitched the final inning of a game for the Coal Heavers. Baseball returned to Reading in 1907 when
330-546: The Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons and played in the Central League in 1888, but the league disbanded after that season. Two Wilkes-Barre team took the field in 1889 and 1892, with the later sharing representation with Pittsburgh , as Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons/Pittsburgh in the record books. The team then played from 1893 until 1898 in the Eastern League , and from 1898 to 1900 in the Atlantic League . After spending
SECTION 10
#1732876476503360-649: The York White Roses of the Class-B Tri-State League relocated and became the Reading Pretzels . In 1911, the Pretzels finished with the best record in the league, but lost a best-of-seven postseason series to the team from Trenton. On June 14 of that season, George "Jake" Northrop pitched the only perfect nine-inning game in Reading baseball history. The Tri-State League folded after the 1914 season, but
390-575: The centennial celebration of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues , Minor League Baseball tasked baseball historians Bill Weiss and Marshall Wright to develop a list of the top 100 best minor league baseball teams of the century. Their list includes 69 distinct franchises from across the United States and in Canada and Mexico. There are representatives from every decade of
420-562: The '41 season, and Reading was without a team for 10 years. In 1952, the Wilkes-Barre Indians , an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians relocated to Reading to become the Reading Indians . The Reading Indians played at Municipal Memorial Stadium for the next decade, capturing the league title in 1957. Several Indians went on to successful major-league careers, including Rocky Colavito and Roger Maris . The Reading Indians franchise relocated to Charleston, West Virginia in 1961 to become
450-739: The 1902 season in the Pennsylvania State League , as Wilkes-Barre/Mount Carmel . Their next incarnation came about in 1905, when they began playing in the New York State League , as the Wilkes-Barre Barons. They played in that league until 1917. From 1923 to 1937, they played in the New York–Pennsylvania League and from 1938 to 1948 they played in the Eastern League . Until 1939, they did not have any affiliations, however from 1939 to 1951 they were affiliated with
480-484: The 1920s, the most of any decade, followed by the 1940s (16); 1930s (13); 1900s and 1950s (10); 1910s and 1980s (6); 1970s (5); 1990s (4); and 1960s (3). Wilkes-Barre Indians The Wilkes-Barre Barons were a minor league baseball team that existed off-and-on from 1886 to 1955. They began as an unnamed team in the Pennsylvania State Association in 1886. The following season the team was known as
510-699: The Pretzels were resurrected when the Albany Senators of the New York State League relocated to Reading in August 1916. That league folded at the end of 1917 due to the first World War. Beginning in 1919, Reading played in the Class-AAA International League with the Reading Coal Barons . Several future major leaguers played for the Reading team, owned by the Chicago Cubs from May 1927 until
540-556: The century. Weiss and Wright developed a statistical formula to evaluate teams. First, a rating was given to each league. They assigned 100 points for Triple-A leagues down to 20 points for Class D leagues. The equivalent classifications of each league were used to adjust for changes in the minor league structure since 1900. Next, individual teams were graded based on winning percentage and total wins in order to assess each team's strength against its league and its season-long performance. The combination of these three metrics resulted in
570-485: The chest and sleeves with a mustard script "Baseballtown" wordmark outlined in sky blue and black, with the player's number in sky blue right below it. On the left sleeve is the aforementioned Bunbino primary logo, with the Phillies' "P" on the right sleeve again. The Fightin Phils have two alternate uniforms, one home and one away. The home alternate cap is navy blue with a white feathered "F" with an ostrich fist serving as
600-584: The end of 1930, including shortstop Bill Jurges and pitcher Lon Warneke . In August 1929, George Quellich set a professional baseball record that still stands today by collecting 15 hits in 15 consecutive at-bats. Reading became home to the Class-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox in the New York–Penn League (now the Eastern League ) in 1933. The Reading Red Sox had a successful two-year run before
630-867: The left sleeve, and the Phillies "P" on the right. When this jersey is worn on the road, the Fightin Phils will wear a black cap with Bunbino; when at home they will wear a sky blue cap with the mustard "B". Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches [REDACTED] 7-day injured list * On Philadelphia Phillies 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated November 19, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB • Eastern League → Philadelphia Phillies minor league players The National Baseball Association%27s top 100 minor league teams In 2001, during
SECTION 20
#1732876476503660-727: The list. The league with the most entrants is the International League with 17. The other top leagues are the American Association (13); Pacific Coast League (10); Eastern League and Texas League (8); California League , Western Association , and Western League (4). Thirty-one teams competed at the Double-A classification level, the most of any class, followed by Class A (24); Class C (12); Class B (11); Triple-A (10); Class D (7); Class A1 and independent (2); and Class A-Advanced (1). Twenty-seven teams competed in
690-403: The middle stem. The home alternate jersey is navy blue with white undersleeves, carrying the white "Fightins" feathered script and the player's number in white below it; the ostrich is on the left sleeve and the Phillies "P" on the right. The alternate jersey for road and select home games is black with sky blue undersleeves, with the aforementioned "Baseballtown" wordmark on the chest, Bunbino on
720-417: The right sleeve. The Fightin Phils' road uniforms, on the other hand, carry an almost completely different visual identity. That identity's primary logo (officially an alternate for the team) consists of a hot dog named "Bunbino" inside a bun with muscular arms and wearing a blue baseball cap, a white jersey with pinstripes, yellow wristbands, and a mustard "B" on the chest. In his right arm, Bunbino squeezes
750-682: The team announced that its new name would be the Reading Fightin Phils. In conjunction with Major League Baseball 's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the team was organized into the Double-A Northeast . In 2022, the Double-A Northeast became known as the Eastern League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization. The team colors of the Reading Fightin Phils are Phillies red, nighttime navy, cream, and white. Their logo consists of
780-796: The team moved to Allentown (this franchise is now defunct). Five years later, Reading got another baseball franchise—this time, an unaffiliated team in the Class-B Interstate League called the Reading Chicks , which lost the league title series to the Lancaster Red Roses . In 1941, the Chicks affiliated with the Brooklyn Dodgers as the Reading Brooks , featuring future Dodger outfielder Carl Furillo . The franchise folded after
810-799: The then "Reading Phillies" in 2008. With the end of the 53-year relationship between the Baltimore Orioles and their rookie-league team in Bluefield, West Virginia , after the 2010 season, the Reading/Philadelphia partnership became the longest current affiliation in Minor League Baseball (tied with the Lakeland /Detroit affiliation). On November 4, 2012, news broke that the Reading Phillies would be changing their name. On November 17, 2012,
840-522: Was established in Reading in 1967 which became known as the Reading Phillies. The Reading Phillies debuted at Municipal Stadium on April 22, 1967, against the York White Roses . The Fightin Phils' affiliation with the Big Phils has lasted unbroken since 1967. The Reading Fightin Phils' relationship with the Philadelphia Phillies was solidified even further when the Philadelphia Phillies purchased
870-703: Was later the New Britain Rock Cats and is now the Hartford Yard Goats ). The Cleveland Indians relocated the Charleston Indians back to Reading after the Reading Red Sox relocated to Pittsfield, the Charleston Indians was once again known as the Reading Indians for one more year before relocating again. Reading was without a baseball team in 1966 before a new Eastern League expansion franchise
900-410: Was previously known as Reading Municipal Memorial Stadium, has been home to the Reading Fightin Phils since their establishment in 1967. The stadium seats 10,000 fans, and on July 3, 2007, the stadium celebrated their ten-millionth fan to attend a game. The Fightin Phils won the Eastern League championship in 1968, 1973, and 1995, and were co-champions in 2001. The 1983 Phillies were recognized as one of
#502497