Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article/May 2007

The 1884 Philadelphian cricket team as depicted in the Illustrated London News.

The Philadelphian cricket team was a team that represented Philadelphia in first-class cricket between 1878 and 1913. Even with the United States having played the first ever international cricket match against Canada in 1844, the sport began a slow decline in the country. This decline was furthered by the rise in popularity of baseball. In Philadelphia, however, the sport remained very popular and from the end of the 19th century until the outbreak of World War I, the city produced a first-class team that rivaled many others in the world. The team comprised players from the four chief cricket clubs in Philadelphia – Germantown, Merion, Belmont, and Philadelphia. Players from smaller clubs, such as Tioga and Moorestown, and local colleges, such as Haverford and Penn, also played for the Philadelphians. Over its 35 years, the team played in 88 first-class cricket matches. Of those, 29 were won, 45 were lost, 13 were drawn and one game was abandoned before completion.