The Philadelphia Phillies have been around for quite a long time. In that time, however, despite numerous pennants, they only have 2 World Series titles to their name. And despite how old they are, it wasn't until 1980 that they finally got it done for the first time. The fact is, the Phillies were generally never very good. When the A's called Philly home, they brought some titles home, but once they left for Kansas City, the Phillies couldn't pick up the slack.. That being said, the Phillies had their fair share of forever players in the Phillie-red uniform.
#1 - Richie Ashburn
A 4 time all star, Richie Ashburn had the unenviable task of competing in the National League in the same position as Willie Mays and Duke Snider. Despite the challenge, Richie found a way to lead the league in hitting in '55 and '58 and still make a bit of a name for himself. In an era where the Dodgers and Giants were constantly trading the pennant between each other, Ashburn managed to rally the Whiz Kids in 1950 to make it to the World Series. It took the Hall of Fame Veterans Committee until 1995 to realize Ashburn's worth, but the Phillies only needed until 1979 to honor their star.
#14 - Jim Bunning
Pitcher and future United States Senator, Jim Bunning didn't spend a whole lot of time in Philly, but he still tallied up a few of his best seasons. Hands down the highlight of his career was the
perfect game he tossed in 1964. Add in a couple all star selections. At the time of his retirement, he was 2nd all time in strikeouts.
#15 - Dick Allen
Dick Allen didn't wait long to make an impact for the Phillies, winning Rookie of the Year in 1964. He contributed to numerous pennant drives, getting MVP votes in most of those years. Controversy (and a certain bat incident) plagued his first sting in Phily until 1969, where he would find success in the American League (and finally getting himself an MVP award). In 1975 he was traded back to the Phillies, and in '76 he assisted in the East division title, finally getting Allen into the postseason. Allen's HoF consideration never got much traction with the BBWAA but he's had a couple of near misses with the Golden Era/Days Committee. It seems it's only a matter of time for Dick Allen.
#20 - Mike Schmidt
No debate for the greatest 3rd Baseman in history is complete without bringing up Mike Schmidt. 12 all stars, 10 Gold Gloves, 6 Silver Sluggers, and the 1980, '81 and '86 MVP awards in a Hall of Fame career that was entirely with the Phillies. But the most important accomplishment of all was Schmidt led to way to finally put the Phillies in the promised land: winning the 1980 World Series and taking home Series MVP honors. His 515 home runs by a 3rd Baseman are the most ever for the position, and he is the only infielder in history to hit over 500 homers and win at least 10 Gold Gloves.
#32 - Steve Carlton
A 15 year Phillie that included 7 of his 10 all star games, Carlton was a 4 time Cy Young winner (1972, '77, '70, '82) and was the ace of the pitching staff that won the 1980 World Series, beating the Royals for 2 games including the Game 6 clincher. His 4,136 strikeouts were briefly the most all time before Nolan Ryan happened, Steve is currently 4th all time. Right after his retirement, the Phillies knew Steve's number was a no brainer to immortalize, and on his first HoF ballot, the BBWAA felt the same way.
#34 - Roy Halladay
The Phillies were coming off of back-to-back pennants and one title when they decided in 2010 to bolster their rotation with Halladay. Already an accomplished pitcher with the Blue Jays, Roy responded by having a Cy Young winning season that included a perfect game in the regular season, and a no-hitter against the Reds in the NLDS (the 2nd ever postseason no-hitter). He followed it up with a 2nd straight all star season in 2011 where he came in 2nd for the Cy Young. A few years after his tragic airplane death, the Phillies decided to honor Halladay's effort in the short time that he pitched for them.
#36 - Robin Roberts
Robin Roberts pitched for the Phillies from 1948-1961, where he made 7 all star games and won 20 or more games 6 straight times. He pitched for the 1950 NL champion Whiz Kids and his best season was 1952 where he went 28-7 and finished 2nd in MVP voting. He left the team after 1961, but even though he was still active in baseball, the Phillies still decided to retire his number, the first in franchise history.
Grover Cleveland Alexander
Before numbers were a thing, Pete Alexander was terrorizing hitters on the mound. The first elite pitcher for Philadelphia, Alexander would win over 20 games in 6 of the 7 seasons he pitched for them (let's not talk about 1930) including winning 30 or more in 1915, '16 and '17. He regularly pitched over 300 innings each year and was a common sight at the top of the leaderboard in Strikeouts. Without a number, the Phillies had nothing to retire in his honor, but in 2001 they put his name with the other greats in team history with that eras Phillies "P" logo in lieu of a number.
Chuck Klein
Player numbers were just becoming a thing when Klein was playing. As such, in his two different stints with the Phillies, he was known to wear several different numbers on his back. In 1932, he was the first Phillie to win the MVP award. He also took part in the first two all star games. In 1933 he won the triple crown as he led the league in Batting, Home Runs and RBI. In 2001, the Phillies honored his contributions to team history by putting his name along with the retired numbers under his eras "P" logo.
...It was much easier than cramming 1-3-8-26-29-32-36 onto a plaque.
