Sport: Scratching a 98-Year Itch

History strikes out as the Phillies finally win a Series

"On the whole," W.C. Fields asserted as his epitaph, "I'd rather be in Philadelphia." That was easy for Fields to say; he was not a baseball fan. No team in the majors has had as long or luckless a history as the Philadelphia Phillies. In 98 years, the Quaker City also-rans contrived to reach the World Series just three times. In 1915 the Phillies were whipped by the Boston Red Sox, four games to one. The last Philadelphia entry, the 1950 Whiz Kids, fizzled in four...

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