Phillies to Honor Legendary Trio, Including New Jersey Baseball Star

The Philadelphia Phillies are one of the oldest organizations in Major League Baseball History. Originally named the Philadelphia Quakers, the first year they played professional baseball in Philadelphia was in 1883.

The organization changed its name to "Phillies" in 1886, making them the oldest American Professional Sports organization with a continuous one-name affiliation with one city. The organization had 12 winning seasons in its first 20 years playing Professional baseball.

There were several players who played for the Phillies back in the late 1880s who would go on to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Phillies, as part of their celebration of the 142nd anniversary, will be honoring three of these legends, including one ball player from New Jersey.

These Three Baseball Hall of Famers To Be Honored by the Phillies

According to a press release, this Thursday, May 1st, the Philadelphia Phillies organization will honor the only starting Outfield Trio in MLB History in which all three men had a .400 Batting Average or better in a single season.

In 1894, future Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees Ed Delahanty (.405), Billy Hamilton (.403), and Sam Thompson (.415) led the Phillies to a 71-57-4 record. These three are considered by Baseball Historians to be one of the best Outfield Trios of all-time.

These Baseball Legends played in an era before MLB players wore uniforms with numbers, so each player will have their respective uniform insignias added to the Phillies Wall of Fame in Ashburn Alley at Citizens Bank Ballpark.

New Jersey Man One of the Best Players in Phillies' History

Born February 15th, 1866 in Newark, New Jersey, Billy Hamilton played six seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. His 198 Runs Scored in 1894 is still the all-time single-season record in MLB History, and Hamilton was the first Phillies player to win a Batting Title in Franchise History in 1891 (.340).

Hamilton has the most stolen bases in Phillies History (510) and the third most in MLB History (914). In 1961, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and is one of 39 players who have played for the Phillies who are enshrined at the Cooperstown Museum.

Billy Hamilton is one of the best athletes to come from the state of New Jersey. Here are some of the other great athletes to come out of The Garden State: