From the Archives: Phillies Drop Both in 1896 Doubleheader Disaster

In honor of the Phillies getting another doubleheader this season, we’re going to revisit a doubleheader from August 17, 1896 that was so awful, the Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger deemed them “Calamity No. 1” and “Calamity No. 2.” The journalist was so disgusted with the Phillies’ performance that he left one of the most scathing reviews of the team’s play that I’ve found in researching them.

Thanks to the rain, the Phillies had four doubleheaders in August of 1896, which seems excessive, but it’s baseball: each team now has 162 games within a six month period and that’s a wildly tight schedule. All together in 1896, the Phillies had seven doubleheaders, which if you consider how the…