The 25 Most Philly Athletes of All Time

On May 20, 1871, the Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia took to the field in front of 2,500 fans for the very first professional sports game ever played in Philadelphia. They lost 1–0; it’s unknown how many fans called WIP after the game to complain.

Ever since that first game, this city has had a love affair with the pitchers, running backs, middleweights, goalies, point guards, and thoroughbreds who have called Philadelphia their home. We have a parasocial relationship with our athletes, one born of years — decades — of frustration that occasionally combusts into parades down Broad Street.

But what does it mean to be not just a Philadelphia athlete, but a Philly athlete? There’s no single definition. There’s an underdog aspect to it for sure. Blue-collar. Gritty — the adjective, not the orange blob (though we love them, too). Most Philly athletes aren’t from here but manage to feel of here, pulled to this city as if by fate. They’re not always the biggest names or the brightest stars — though many are — but they’re the names that first come to mind when you think about all those attributes.

In fact, if you think about it, some of the biggest names in Philly sports history don’t really check those boxes, do they? In the end, we had to settle for the fact that, sometimes, you just get a feeling about someone.

So here it is: The 25 Most Philly Athletes of All Time. We’re revealing five picks a day, starting at #25 and working our way to the top spot — so settle in and return each day as the countdown builds.

And stay tuned next week for a few other tidbits honoring the world of sports: the Philly-est moments in history, the off-the-field personalities who have helped fuel our fandom, and the list of the players we fought (and fought and fought) over who didn’t quite make the cut.

Photograph via Getty Images

Vince Papale

Football

Let’s ignore the pabulum that was Invincible and just focus on the subject. On Vince. Is there anywhere other than Philly in the ‘70s where a teacher with no college football experience could wind up not only playing for the Eagles, but playing 41 games? Where a former high school pole vaulter can step into the league at 30 goddamned years of age and become a captain? The answer, of course, is no. Papale is a cipher through which we can view the whole city. If you understand him, and why he’s so special, you immediately get Philly. If not? Maybe just head back up 95 to New York. — Bradford Pearson

Photograph via Getty Images

Tyrese Maxey

Basketball

Is it premature to slot Maxey here? Maybe. But here’s what we know six years into his career: Maxey’s the truth. He’s exactly what Philly yearns for in a franchise player. Overlooked. (He slipped to 21st in the NBA Draft.) A grinder. (How many players can you think of who have gotten better every season they’ve been a pro?) Tough. (As of press time he was averaging a combined 2.9 steals and blocks per game, and could become the first point guard since Gary Payton in 1996–97 to average more than three. Oh and he’s dropping 30 points a game.) Beloved. (Just look at that smile.) Yeah, he’s still pretty young, and yeah, this could all still go sideways. But we bet that when you reread this in 20 years you’ll wonder why he was so low on the list. — B.P.

Photograph via Getty Images

Richie Ashburn

Baseball

On July 30, 1995, Ashburn stood at a lectern in Cooperstown, New York, and stared out at the crowd — tens of thousands of people clad in Phillies red, the largest crowd ever to attend a National Baseball Hall of Fame induction. The lightning-fast center fielder and longtime announcer, who’d waited 28 long years for the honor (fans had taken to plastering “Richie Ashburn: Why the hall not?” bumper stickers on their cars), addressed the throng with the self-effacing wit that had endeared him to Philadelphians for nearly five decades: “Well, they didn’t exactly carry me in here in a sedan chair with blazing and blaring trumpets.” Two years later, when Ashburn unexpectedly died of a heart attack, thousands of fans waited hours in the September mugginess to touch his cherry casket and pay their respects; his body lay in state in Fairmount Park’s Memorial Hall, a tribute typically reserved for presidents and senators, but this time paid to the closest version Philly had to that — Richie Ashburn. — B.P.

Photograph via Getty Images

Carli Lloyd

Soccer

“I operated like an emotionless machine,” Lloyd said on May 3, 2025, in a speech during her induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. “I was intense, and I truly believed that the only way for me to survive in such a cutthroat environment was to be that way.” And this was during an apology, to her teammates, coaches, and all of us, really, for her attitude during her 17-year soccer career. It’s true, the Delran native was all of those things. She also demanded excellence from herself — after every Women’s National Team game, Lloyd would return to the pitch for sprints and push-ups. And when she blasted a hat trick in just 16 minutes during the 2015 World Cup final? When she hoisted that trophy not once but twice? When she scored the gold medal– winning goals in two (two!) Olympics? We all saw the reward. — B.P.

Photograph via Getty Images

Randall “Tex” Cobb

Boxing

Whether you knew him as the bouncer at Doc Watson’s Pub, the “Warthog From Hell” in Raising Arizona, or the heavyweight contender with the granite chin, Cobb was a Philly legend. A native Texan, Cobb moved here in 1975 after hearing he could get paid for getting hit in the face. Soon he was the only white boy taking daily punishment at Joe Frazier’s North Philly gym.

That was Cobb’s great talent: taking a punch. He’d lead with that scarred mug of his until opponents grew tired of hitting it. Though he beat heavyweights like Earnie Shavers and Leon Spinks, he is best remembered for losing 15 of 15 rounds in a 1981 title loss to Larry Holmes. The beating was so brutal it drove Howard Cosell to quit announcing the sport. “Unless I cure cancer,” Cobb quipped, “retiring Howard will be my gift to mankind.”

His toughness extended beyond the ring to Philly’s most infamous street brawl. In Grays Ferry, Cobb — a karate black belt — defended Daily News columnist Pete Dexter against a mob of some 30 men armed with bats and tire irons. Later, when friends funded his religious studies at Temple University, the fighter and sometime movie actor remained unsentimental and witty: “Listen, sunshine, you’d be looking for God too if you’d spent 50 years getting hit in the mouth.” — Larry Platt

The list only gets tougher from here — so check back tomorrow for the next five.

Published as “The 25 Most Philly Athletes of All Time” in the March 2026 issue of Philadelphia magazine.