The history of the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball's National League began on November 1, 1882, with the organization of the Philadelphia Ball Club Limited. In 1883, this organization won the franchise rights to Philadelphia when the city was selected to replace the Massachusetts-based Worcesters, who had folded after the 1882 season.

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP) of 1871–1875, the NL is sometimes called the Senior Circuit, in contrast to MLB's other league, the American League, which was founded 25 years later and is called the "Junior Circuit". Both leagues currently have 15 teams.