ATHLETICS * HISTORY

The Athletics were formed as one of the original 10 WFBL franchises for the 1998 season. Born on the 4th of July that year, the A's played their first season as the Wildwood Waves in the Jersey Shore community of Wildwood.

On opening Liberty Bell Park at Philadelphia's Delaware River waterfront, and the adjacent Penn's Landing Athletics Complex, the club moved formally to Philly for the 1999 season. Wildwood became the site of the team's top AAA farm club.

In addition to AAA Wildwood, the team had their AA farm club as the Myrtle Beach (SC) Pelicans from the 1999 season through 2008. In 2009, that AA club moved to Bucks County, PA and became the Lahaska Peddlers.

For 2016, the WFBL expanded to an 'A' level minor league level. The Athletics switched around their own minors affiliates. Myrtle Beach returned, now as the AAA Pelicans. Wildwood became the AA team, and the new A level club is the Clearwater Phillies.

The Athletics are named after the MLB team currently located in Oakland, California, in memory of that club's origins in Philadelphia during the first half of the 20th century.

The team colors are currently green and gold, but throughout the franchise history the club has also alternately worn red, white & blue (sometimes a 'cream' rather than white) themed uniforms, a few times for full seasons, other times (as current) once or twice a season as a novelty.

In 2022, the team won the Paul Owens East Division Pennant for a record 13th time. The A's also have captured four WFBL Championships in 2002, 2008, 2018, and 2021. The club has appeared in the post-season in a league-record 21 seasons.

Matt Veasey has served as the club GM for it's entire history, and was also the founding and current WFBL Commissioner. 

The A's have had eight managers over the course of the franchise history. Larry Bowa was the skipper for the first season in Wildwood. 

Bowa was always an interim manager as the club waited for the retirement announcement of Paul Molitor as a player. Upon that announcement, Molitor became the manager and served 1999-2002, culminating with the '02 championship. 

Molitor retired following the title and was replaced by organizational man John Marzano, who served for two years in 2003-04, including a Pennant-winning and league-record season of 17-1-4 in '03.

Marzano left for personal reasons, but was back working as a broadcaster for the club when he tragically and suddenly passed away in April of 2008. The team's Hall of Fame is named in his honor.

Buck Showalter succeeded Marzano, led the club to it's second WFBL championship in 2008 and to consecutive Owens/East Pennants from 2005-07. Buck managed into his 10th season before being relieved of his duties following Week #7 of the 2014 season.

Joe Maddon was hired to replace Showalter beginning with Week #8 in the 2014 season and in 2015 become the fourth A's skipper in a row to win an Owens/East Pennant. Maddon was replaced after 15 weeks of a bitterly disappointing 2016 campaign by interim manager Torey Lovullo. 

Following the 2016 season, the A's announced that Buck Showalter was being rehired for a second go-around as skipper. He would guide the team to a WFBL-record ninth Owens/East Pennant in 2017. Showalter retired after leading the A's to the WFBL Championship for a second time in the 2018 season. 

Former Athletics star second baseman Chase Utley took over the reigns for the 2019 season and piloted the club to a pennant in his first year, to the postseason in each of his first three seasons, and then guided the club to its fourth-ever WFBL Championship in 2021.

Beginning during the summer of 2022 and then in earnest during the following off-season, Athletics GM Matt Veasey began a massive rebuilding process. Nearly all of the club's veteran players were dealt away, with the A's receiving young players and prospects as well as numerous high Minors Draft picks for the coming seasons.

Not fully on-board with the rebuilding plan, Utley resigned as manager. After an exhaustive search and interview process, former big-leaguer and MLB Network analyst Mark DeRosa was hired as the new skipper for the 2023 season.

The A's held closing ceremonies for Liberty Bell Park during Week #1 of the 2023 campaign. In Week #4, the club formally opened "Philadelphia Field at the Navy Yard" along with a major sports bar and team shop as part of a new complex along the Delaware River waterfront within the former Naval Shipyard in South Philly.