Philadelphia has a long history of
professional sports teams. Philadelphia is one of
six cities that has won at least one championship in the NHL, NFL, MLB, and NBA. Philadelphia's combined total of 19 championships in these leagues ranks
seventh among North American cities in total championships. The Eagles, Flyers, Phillies, and 76ers all play their home games in the
South Philadelphia Sports Complex within the city. The Eagles currently play at
Lincoln Financial Field, commonly referred to as "The Linc", built in 2003. The Phillies play at
Citizens Bank Park, which opened in 2004. The Flyers and 76ers share the
Xfinity Mobile Arena, which opened in 1996. All three venues are within walking distance of
NRG Station on SEPTA's
Broad Street Line in
South Philadelphia. The
Philadelphia Union of
Major League Soccer play their home games at
Subaru Park in
Chester, a Philadelphia suburb roughly southwest of the city. Philadelphia also has historically been home to
relocated and
defunct franchises. The
Philadelphia Athletics, now the
Athletics, of the
MLB, the Philadelphia Warriors, now the
Golden State Warriors of the
NBA, and the
Frankford Yellow Jackets of the
NFL each played in Philadelphia for over a decade. Other former Philadelphia teams, including the
Philadelphia Quakers of the
NHL, have been more short-lived. The Warriors currently play in the
San Francisco Bay Area while the Athletics are currently playing in
Sacramento until they move to
Las Vegas. In
1980, Philadelphia became the only North American city in which all four major sports teams played for their respective championships in one year, although the
Phillies were the only team to win the championship. The Flyers' run to the
2010 Stanley Cup Finals made Philadelphia the first North American city to have all four of its major professional sports league teams play in the league championship finals at least once since 2000, although the Phillies and the Eagles are the only teams to have won a championship in the 21st century. Philadelphia had an odd trend of losing championship games during presidential inauguration years until recently; the Sixers, Eagles, Phillies, and Flyers collectively had an 0–8 record in such games from 1977 until 2021. On February 9, 2025, however, the Eagles broke the so-called Curse of the Inauguration, defeating the
Kansas City Chiefs in
Super Bowl LIX to win their second
Super Bowl. In 2011, the Phillies became the first team in the city's major professional sports history to finish the regular season in first place in five consecutive seasons. Two other teams finished first during four consecutive seasons: the 1973–77 Flyers and the 2001–04 Eagles. The Phillies compete in the
National League East and have won the
World Series twice, in and . The Phillies have won eight
National League pennants and eleven
NL East division titles. In 2007, the Phillies lost a game for the 10,000th time in franchise history; according to the
Elias Sports Bureau, no professional sports franchise in any sport has lost more games. For its first 30 years, the franchise often finished in the middle of the National League. Led by pitcher
Grover Cleveland Alexander, the franchise appeared in the
1915 World Series and made strong finishes in 1916 and 1917. After trading Alexander in 1917, the franchise had one of the worst stretches in professional sports history, as it managed just one winning season between 1918 and 1948. The
"Whiz Kid" Phillies, led by pitcher
Robin Roberts, reached the
1950 World Series, but the team was swept by the
New York Yankees. The team finished towards the middle of the pack for much of the 1950s and 1960s. After a down period in the early 1970s, third baseman
Mike Schmidt and pitcher
Steve Carlton led the Phillies to six playoff appearances in eight years. The Phillies won their first World Series in
1980, defeating the
Kansas City Royals in six games. The Phillies also appeared in the
1983 World Series, but lost to the
Baltimore Orioles. The franchise had just one winning season between 1987 and 2000, although the 1993 Phillies appeared in the
1993 World Series, losing to the
Toronto Blue Jays. The franchise experienced a resurgence starting in 2001, though it did not make the playoffs until 2007. From 2007 to 2011, the Phillies made the playoffs for five straight seasons, winning the
2008 World Series over the
Tampa Bay Rays and also appearing in the
2009 World Series. After an 11-year playoff drought, the Phillies reached the
2022 World Series, losing to the
Houston Astros in six games. The
Philadelphia Athletics were founded in 1901 as one of the eight
charter franchises of the
American League. Like several other MLB teams, the Athletics
relocated in the 1950s, moving to
Kansas City after the 1954 season. The Philadelphia Athletics won the
World Series in , , , , and . The team won the
American League pennant nine times while in Philadelphia, including a
1902 pennant victory that occurred before the start of the modern
World Series. The Athletics declined after their victory in the 1930 World Series, and usually finished below .500 in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Having played 53 seasons in Philadelphia, the Athletics are the sixth-longest tenured team in major North American professional sports to relocate, behind four other baseball teams (the
Braves,
Giants,
Dodgers, and
Senators) and one football team (the
Chargers). The Athletics would later relocate to
Oakland after the 1967 season, becoming the
Oakland Athletics, and plans are now in place for the Athletics to relocate to
Las Vegas in 2028. Philadelphia Athletics players such as
Lefty Grove,
Jimmie Foxx, and
Al Simmons have been inducted into the
Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, as has long-time manager and owner
Connie Mack, who holds the
record for most games managed, won, and lost. While the Athletics played in Philadelphia, they frequently played the Phillies in exhibition games known as the
City Series. However, the teams never met in the World Series, and did not play each other in the regular season until 2003 (after the introduction of
interleague play). Before the
integration of
Major League Baseball following World War II, Philadelphia was the home of numerous
Negro league teams playing in various leagues. The
Philadelphia Pythians played from 1867 to 1887, and were one of the top early black baseball clubs. Shortly after the end of the
Civil War, the Pythians tried to join the
National League but were denied membership. The
Philadelphia Giants were a
Negro league team that played from 1902 to 1911. The
Hilldale Club played as an independent and in several leagues from 1910 to 1932. The
Philadelphia Tigers played in the
Eastern Colored League in 1928. Two franchises played in the second incarnation of the
Negro National League: the
Philadelphia Stars played from 1934 to 1948, while the
Bacharach Giants played in the league in 1934. In 2020, Major League Baseball retroactively extended major league recognition to seven negro leagues, making the Giants, the Tigers, the Hilldale Club, the Bacharach Giants, and the Stars major league franchises for part or all of their existences. The Hilldale Club and the Stars, two of the longest lasting Negro League franchises, were both led by local postal official
Ed Bolden. Hilldale was defeated in the inaugural
Negro World Series of
1924 but won the following year in
1925, while the Stars won the
Negro National League championship in 1934. The first game in the history of Major League Baseball was played in Philadelphia, on Saturday, April 22, 1876, at the
Jefferson Street Grounds. The
Boston Red Caps defeated the
Philadelphia Athletics, 6–5, in the inaugural game of the
National League. These Athletics (officially known as the Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia) were formed in 1860, and played in the
National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), then the
National Association (NA), and finally the
National League (NL; for only one year). The Athletics won the inaugural
National Association title, making the franchise the winner of arguably the first title in major league history. After the end of the 1876 season, the franchise folded, having been expelled from the National League for refusing to make a late-season road trip. Three other franchises would later use the name "Athletics", including the now–Oakland Athletics. Though the 1860–76 Athletics were the first prominent Philadelphia baseball club, the history of baseball in Philadelphia extends to even before the Athletics, as Philadelphians were playing
town ball by the 1820s.
Basketball Wilt Chamberlain (right) of the
Philadelphia 76ers and former
Golden State Warriors teammate
Nate Thurmond The
Philadelphia 76ers (commonly referred to as the Sixers) represent Philadelphia in the
NBA. The franchise, which plays in the
Atlantic Division, has won three NBA championships, nine conference titles, and five division titles. As of 2014, the Sixers have the third most wins in NBA history. The franchise began in 1946, as the
Syracuse Nationals in the
National Basketball League (NBL). In 1949, the Nationals were one of seven NBL teams that merged with the
BAA to form the NBA. The franchise won its first championship in
1955, as the Nationals. After moving to Philadelphia in 1963 and being renamed the 76ers, the franchise acquired
Wilt Chamberlain and experienced a great period of success. The team won a then-
record 68 games and the
championship in the 1966–1967 season, making it the only team
besides the
Boston Celtics to win an NBA championship in the 1960s. The franchise missed the playoffs for four consecutive seasons in the early 1970s, and the
1972–1973 Sixers hold the
NBA record for most losses in one season, with 73. However, the team quickly bounced back after it acquired
Julius Erving, and Erving and
Moses Malone led the Sixers to a championship in
1983. The franchise continued to experience success until the early 1990s, when it traded
Charles Barkley. The Sixers missed the playoffs for seven straight seasons until the emergence of
Allen Iverson, who led the team to the
2001 Finals. The team hovered around .500 for most of the 2000s decade, and missed the playoffs from 2013 to 2017. However, the team has since made six consecutive playoff appearances with star center
Joel Embiid. In 1996, the NBA named the
1967 and
1983 championship-winning teams two of the ten
greatest teams in NBA history. The
Philadelphia Warriors played in Philadelphia from 1946 to 1962 before moving to
San Francisco and becoming the
Golden State Warriors. The Philadelphia Warriors won two championships and three conference titles during that time. The team won its first championship in
1946–47, the inaugural season of the
Basketball Association of America (BAA). Following the merger between the BAA and the
National Basketball League that formed the
NBA, the Philadelphia Warriors won their second title in
1956. While a member of the Philadelphia Warriors,
Wilt Chamberlain set several
NBA records;
scoring 100 points in a game against the
New York Knicks is perhaps his most well-known achievement. The
Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame has inducted
Paul Arizin,
Neil Johnston,
Joe Fulks, and other people associated with the Philadelphia Warriors. The Warriors franchise moved to San Francisco in 1962 and became the
Golden State Warriors. The Warriors and Sixers/Nationals have met in the playoffs
ten times, most recently in the
1967 NBA Finals. Philadelphia went
one season without an NBA franchise before the
Syracuse Nationals moved to Philadelphia and became the
Philadelphia 76ers. In the lone season that Philadelphia lacked an NBA franchise, the
American Basketball League, which had been started in 1961 by
Abe Saperstein as an attempt to compete with the NBA, moved a franchise to region. Both the team (the
Philadelphia Tapers) and the league folded in December 1962. On June 30, 2025, the
Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) announced that Philadelphia will become home to a
team in time for the 2030 season. The team, which has not yet been named, will be based in South Philadelphia and will be owned and operated by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE).
Football are presented with the
Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning
Super Bowl LII, February 4, 2018 team photo in 1926. Launched in 1899, the Yellow Jackets were Philadelphia's first professional football team and won the
1926 NFL season with a season record of 14–1–2. The
Philadelphia Eagles, founded in 1933, are members of the
East Division of the
National Football Conference (NFC) in the
National Football League (NFL). They have operated continuously since then, with the partial exception of the
1943 season, when the Eagles temporarily merged with the
Pittsburgh Steelers to become the
Steagles. The Eagles won three
pre-Super Bowl era NFL championships:
1948,
1949,
1960, six conference championships, and 16 division championships. They have made five
Super Bowl appearances, losing in
Super Bowl XV (
1980),
Super Bowl XXXIX (
2004) and
Super Bowl LVII (
2022), and winning
Super Bowl LII (
2017) and
Super Bowl LIX (
2024). In its early history, in the 1930s, the franchise frequently finished at the bottom of the standings. But it improved in the 1940s, becoming the only NFL team to win back to back championships in 1948 and 1949 by shutout. Though the franchise was average for much of the 1950s, the 1960 championship-winning Eagles were the only team to defeat the
Vince Lombardi-coached
Packers in a playoff game. The Eagles did not experience much success in the 1960s and early 1970s, but the franchise made four straight playoff appearances starting in 1978, including a Super Bowl appearance in 1980. After another down period, the franchise made the playoffs in six of nine seasons between 1988 and 1996.
Andy Reid was hired as head coach in 1999, and across 14 seasons he led the franchise to nine playoff appearances and a run to
Super Bowl XXXIX. After
Chip Kelly's three-year tenure as head coach, the Eagles hired
Doug Pederson, a former offensive coordinator under Reid. The Eagles defeated the
New England Patriots in
Super Bowl LII.
Nick Sirianni was named head coach in 2021 and lead the Eagles to a berth in
Super Bowl LVII and a win in
Super Bowl LIX two years later. In 1994, defensive end
Reggie White, running back
Steve Van Buren, and two-way players
Chuck Bednarik and
Pete Pihos were named to the
National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. The city's first professional football team was the
Frankford Yellow Jackets. Originally a community athletic-association team in the
Frankford neighborhood of
Northeast Philadelphia dating back to 1899, the club became one of the early NFL clubs in 1924. The Yellow Jackets won the
NFL championship in 1926. Its home field was
Frankford Stadium (also called Yellow Jacket Field). Financial troubles brought on by the
Great Depression and a fire at
Frankford Stadium led to the club disbanding after the 1931 season.
Pro Football Hall of Famers
Guy Chamberlin and
William R. Lyman both played for the Yellow Jackets. Metropolitan Philadelphia area has had four other football teams that played in the NFL or in leagues that attempted to compete with the NFL. The
Pottsville Maroons, a member of the
National Football League, played in nearby
Pottsville during the 1920s. In 1925, the Maroons were
briefly suspended from the NFL for playing an unauthorized exhibition game at Philadelphia's
Shibe Park. The team moved to Boston in 1929, but folded at the end of the season. The
Philadelphia Quakers played one season in Philadelphia as part of the
American Football League, a fledgling league intent on challenging the NFL as the premier football league in the country. The team took its name from the
Union Quakers of Philadelphia, a local club which had been denied entry into the American Professional Football Association (as the NFL was known before 1922). The AFL Quakers won the league championship in 1926, giving Philadelphia two football championships in one year, as the Frankford Yellow Jackets won the 1926 NFL title. However, both the AFL and the Quakers folded after just one season of existence. The
Philadelphia Bell was a franchise of the
World Football League, which operated from 1974 to 1975 and attempted to challenge the NFL's dominance. The league was founded by
Gary Davidson, who had also led the founding of World Hockey Association and the American Basketball Association, but the WFL folded after only two years and no teams were absorbed into the NFL. The Bell played its home games in
JFK Stadium, and they employed the first African-American head coach in modern professional football history (retired Hall of Fame safety
Willie Wood). The
Philadelphia Stars were a football team in the
USFL, a league that attempted to compete with the NFL for three seasons in the 1980s. The Stars, playing at Veterans Stadium, won the league championship in their second season in Philadelphia in 1983−84, but the franchise moved to
Baltimore for the league's final season. The team was coached by
Jim Mora, who went on to a successful coaching career in the NFL, and among its players were future NFL Pro Bowlers
Sam Mills and
Sean Landeta (who later played for the Philadelphia Eagles). Unlike the NFL, the league played in the spring and summer, but it folded after a failed
antitrust lawsuit and an aborted attempt to directly compete with the NFL in the fall. In 2022, the
Philadelphia Stars name and iconography were resurrected with a team in the new
USFL (although all games were played in
Birmingham, Alabama). In 2023, that league merged with the
XFL to form the
United Football League, which announced that the Stars franchise would not be folded into the new league.
Ice hockey , who played for the
Philadelphia Flyers from 1971 to 1976, helped lead the Flyers to two
Stanley Cup victories while also helping establish their reputation as the Broad Street Bullies, setting the all-time
NHL record for most
penalty minutes in a season (472 in 1973–74). The
Philadelphia Flyers were one of six teams that the
National Hockey League (NHL)
added as part of the
1967 NHL expansion, which ended the
Original Six era. The Flyers play in the
Metropolitan Division and have won two championships: the
1974 and
1975 Stanley Cups. The Flyers were the first non-
Original Six team to win the
Stanley Cup since the
Montreal Maroons won the cup in 1935. The Flyers have won eight conference championships and 16 division championships. The Flyers were particularly successful in the 1970s: the team won back-to-back Stanley Cups, appeared in a third consecutive Stanley Cup Finals in
1976, defeated
HC CSKA Moscow (the
Soviet "
Red Army team") in a
famous exhibition game, and, in the
1979–80 season, set the record for the
longest unbeaten streak in NHL history. The franchise experienced success even after the retirement of Hall of Famer
Bobby Clarke, making Stanley Cup appearances in
1985 and
1987. After a down period in the early 1990s,
Hart Trophy-winner
Eric Lindros helped lead the team to the
1997 Stanley Cup Finals and a string of playoff appearances. The team made another Finals appearance in
2010, but lost in six games to the
Chicago Blackhawks. As of 2016, the Flyers have accrued the second-highest
points percentage of all NHL franchises, behind only the
Montreal Canadiens. The
1970s Flyers earned the nickname "Broad Street Bullies" for their aggressive style of play, and the nickname is still applied to the franchise. Flyers
enforcer Dave Schultz holds the
record for most penalty minutes in a season, with 472. Philadelphia has had only brief experiences with top-level hockey aside from the Flyers. The
Philadelphia Quakers were a
National Hockey League team that played only one full season, 1930–31, at the
Philadelphia Arena. The franchise, which had moved from Pittsburgh, folded after its only season in Philadelphia, during which the club set a record for the lowest winning percentage and the longest losing streak in league history—records that stood for over forty years. The Quakers were one of several NHL teams that
folded in the 1930s, leaving the NHL with just six teams between 1942 and the 1967 expansion that brought the NHL to Philadelphia and five other American cities.
Len Peto attempted to bring the
Montreal Maroons to Philadelphia in the 1940s, but the lack of both league support and a suitable arena prevented the Maroons from playing in Philadelphia. The
Philadelphia Blazers played for one season in the
World Hockey Association, a league that attempted to challenge the NHL's supremacy, using a rink constructed in Convention Hall at the
Civic Center (later used by the
Philadelphia Firebirds of the North American Hockey League and the American Hockey League). After the 1972–73 season, the Blazers moved to
Vancouver and then
Calgary, but the franchise folded in 1977. Another
World Hockey Association franchise, the
Jersey Knights, moved in November 1973 to the Cherry Hill Arena in
Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and then relocated to San Diego before the start of the 1974–75 season.
Soccer , home of the
Philadelphia Union of
Major League Soccer (MLS) , club photo in 2017 The
Philadelphia Union is a
Major League Soccer (MLS) team that plays in the
Eastern Conference. The franchise began play in 2010. The Union play at
Subaru Park, a
soccer-specific stadium located in
Chester, Pennsylvania. The
Sons of Ben is an independent
supporters group that helped bring the Union to the Philadelphia area and continues to support the Union. The Union's top affiliate is
Philadelphia Union II. Originally known as Bethlehem Steel FC as a tribute to the early 20th century soccer powerhouse, the team began play in 2015 in the second-level United Soccer League, now known as the
USL Championship. Steel FC played its first four seasons at
Goodman Stadium in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, but moved to Subaru Park for at least the 2019 season because Goodman Stadium no longer meets league stadium requirements. Steel FC was renamed Union II in advance of the 2020 season, and went on hiatus for the 2021 season. Union II returned the next year as one of the inaugural teams of
MLS Next Pro, an MLS-operated third-level league made up mainly of MLS reserve sides. The Union have also reached the
U.S. Open Cup final three times, in
2014,
2015 and
2018, losing two games at home (in extra time in 2014 to
Seattle Sounders FC and after penalties in 2015 to
Sporting Kansas City) and once on the road (in 2018 away to the
Houston Dynamo). In
2020, the Union won the
Supporters' Shield, given to the team in MLS with the best regular season record, the first major trophy in the team's history. In
2022, the Union reached their first
MLS Cup, however they were defeated by
Los Angeles FC 3–0 on penalties after tying 3–3. The original
Bethlehem Steel F.C. was one of the most successful early American soccer clubs; the club was sponsored by the
Bethlehem Steel and played from 1907 to 1930. The club won league championships in two semi-professional leagues, the AAFBA and the
NAFBL. For the inaugural 1921–1922 season of the professional
American Soccer League, Bethlehem Steel F.C. moved to Philadelphia and competed as the
Philadelphia Field Club. The team won the first American Soccer League championship, but moved back to Bethlehem and reverted to its original name. Three other franchises also competed as the Philadelphia Field Club, giving Philadelphia continuous representation in the ASL between 1921 and 1929 (although the second incarnation of Philadelphia Field Club changed its name to the Philadelphia Celtic for one season). During the 1924–1925 season,
Fleisher Yarn joined the ASL, giving Philadelphia two teams. Excluding the first incarnation of the Philadelphia Field Club, the Philadelphia ASL teams experienced little success. The ASL was one of the most popular sports leagues in the country before it dissolved due to the onset of the
Great Depression and disagreements with the
United States Football Association and
FIFA. After returning to Bethlehem, Bethlehem Steel F.C. won a second ASL championship in 1927, and then played in the
Eastern Professional Soccer League from 1928 to 1929, winning the league championship in both seasons. The EPSL and ASL merged after the 1929 season, but Bethlehem Steel FC folded in 1930 and the ASL collapsed in 1933. Bethlehem Steel F.C. won the
US Open Cup five times, which remains a
record (shared with
Maccabi Los Angeles). The club also won the
American Cup six times.
Hall of Fame Bethlehem Steel players include
Jock Ferguson,
Robert Millar,
Harry Ratican,
Tommy Fleming, and
Archie Stark, whose international record of 70 goals in one season stood for 87 years before it was broken by
Lionel Messi in 2012. In 2013, the Philadelphia Union unveiled a third uniform that pays homage to Bethlehem Steel F.C. Following the collapse of the ASL, soccer in the United States
declined in popularity and the country lacked a major professional soccer league. In 1967, two major soccer leagues, the
National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the
United Soccer Association (USA), both began play. The
Philadelphia Spartans, owned by
Pittsburgh Steelers owner
Art Rooney, played at
Temple Stadium for the NPSL's lone season. After one season, both leagues merged to form the
FIFA-backed, major professional
North American Soccer League (NASL). The Spartans did not make the jump to the NASL, but two different franchises later represented Philadelphia. The
Philadelphia Atoms played from 1973 to 1976, winning the
Soccer Bowl in their
inaugural 1973 season. Philadelphia goalkeeper and Pennsylvania native
Bob Rigby became the first soccer player to be featured on the cover of
Sports Illustrated following the club's championship. The Atoms folded after the 1976 season, having been bought by Mexican owners whose plans to move the team to
San Antonio were not approved by the league. The
Philadelphia Fury played from 1978 to 1980, but were bought by
Molson Brewery and moved to
Montreal to become the
Manic. The Atoms and the Fury both played at Veterans Stadium, though the Atoms played their final season in Philadelphia at Franklin Field. The NASL folded in 1984, leaving the United States without a top-level soccer league until Major League Soccer (MLS) began play in 1996. Philadelphia is one of eleven U.S. cities which will host matches during the
2026 FIFA World Cup.
Tennis Two teams named the Philadelphia Freedoms played in
World TeamTennis, the original
Philadelphia Freedoms, for which the
Elton John song was written, and a second
Philadelphia Freedoms team from 2001 until the league folded in 2021.
Elton John and Freedoms star
Billie Jean King were good friends, and John and his songwriting partner,
Bernie Taupin, wrote the song for the team to be used as a team anthem at home matches in the
Spectrum. John was such a big fan of the Freedoms that he attended home matches wearing the team's uniform and sat on the bench with the players. He recorded the song in the summer of 1974, and it was released on February 24, 1975. WTT's inaugural season was 1974, and the Freedoms were one of the charter franchises. Teams had the opportunity to sign players to contracts prior to the draft held by the new 16-team league, and King signed with the Freedoms. She served as the team's player-coach, making her the first female head coach of a professional sports team that included male players, since WTT was a co-ed league. The Freedoms finished with WTT's best regular-season record at 39–5 in the league's inaugural season. King was the league's MVP. The Freedoms defeated the
Cleveland Nets in the Eastern Division semifinals and the
Pittsburgh Triangles in the Eastern Division championship series. Although King performed well in the WTT Finals, WTT Playoffs MVP
Andrew Pattison was dominant for the
Denver Racquets, and that proved too much to overcome, as the Freedoms were swept in two straight matches. Following the 1974 season, WTT owners concluded it would be in all their interests to have a successful franchise in New York City, and they pressured Freedoms co-owner, Dick Butera, to trade King to the
New York Sets, who were 15–29 in 1974, in a complicated deal on February 5, 1975. Upon announcing the trade, Butera said, "It's not an easy thing to let Billie Jean go. I feel like
King Faisal giving away his oil wells." After King was traded, a group of investors that included Bob Mades, Paul Slater, Herbert S. Hoffman,
Robert K. Kraft and Harold Bayne expressed interest in buying the
original Boston Lobsters. However, the Lobsters franchise had already been contracted by WTT. With Freedoms owners Dick and Ken Butera far less enthusiastic about their team after trading King, the two sides struck a deal, and the Freedoms were sold on March 27, 1975, and moved to
Boston. In order to claim the name and intellectual property of the original Lobsters, the new ownership group was required to settle some of the debts of the former team. Once they accomplished this, the Freedoms were renamed as the
Boston Lobsters. As a consequence, "Philadelphia Freedom" was never paid at a home match of the original Philadelphia Freedoms. King went on the win two WTT championships in New York in 1976 and 1977. The team changed its name to
New York Apples after the 1976 season. Billie Jean King and the Freedoms returned in 2001, when they became a WTT expansion franchise with King as their owner. The team first played its home matches at
Cabrini College in
Radnor Township, Pennsylvania and won WTT championships in 2001 (as an expansion team) and 2006. For the 2008 and 2009 seasons, home matches were played at a temporary stadium erected in the parking lot of the
King of Prussia mall. From 2010 to 2016, the Freedoms played their home matches at
The Pavilion on the campus of
Villanova University. In 2017, the Freedoms home court moved to
Hagan Arena on the campus of
Saint Joseph's University, returning to play within the City of Philadelphia for the first time since 1974.
Timeline of franchises The timeline includes Philadelphia franchises that played in major professional sports leagues after 1900. DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1900 till:2018 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 • > to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20" ==Major professional championships, awards, and events==