A look back at some of the best Phillies player fan clubs, from Sal’s Pals to the Padilla Flotilla

The Inquirer took a deep dive into the Wolf Pack, Randy Wolf’s special fan club. But he’s hardly the only Phillies player to get his own personal fan club over the years. The walls and railings at Veterans Stadium used to be covered in specialty player banners, each inspired by their name. That tradition has continued at Citizens Bank Park as well.

Let’s take a look back ...

Not quite a traditional fan club, but the Schill-o-meter was one of the first iteration of the player fan group at the Vet. Fans tracked Curt Schilling’s journey to 300 strikeouts during his 319-strikeout season in 1997, putting up each K along the stadium walls.

When Brandon Duckworth took the mound with the Phillies, the starting pitcher was greeted by a fan club of his own: the Duck Pond. They wore duck noses, quacked, and flapped their “wings” for strikeouts.

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Robert Person’s fan club didn’t have specialty costumes, as you’d expect for a group dressed as people. But the pitcher, who played for the Phillies from 1999-2002, had a number of signs up in the rafters at the Vet. Duckworth and Person were just a few of the players from the Vet era to get fan clubs. Others included Burrell’s Girls (for Pat Burrell), Thome’s Homies (for Jim Thome), and The Bird Cage (for Paul Byrd).

Sal Fasano played just one season for the Phillies, in 2006, and he didn’t even make it through the full year. But the backup catcher and his glorious Fu Manchu mustache instantly became a fan favorite, giving rise to Sal’s Pals.

“It pumped me up,” Fasano said ahead of a series against the Braves in 2006. “I was in awe of the whole thing because I thought only superstars have stuff like this.”

Fasano once bought the group 20 pizzas to thank them for their support. But the fan club was short lived, as Fasano was designated for assignment and then traded to the Yankees on July 26, 2006 — where he was forced to shave his mustache.

Vicente Padilla spent six seasons as a pitcher for the Phillies, and quickly earned a cult following. A group near the top of the outfield called the Padilla Flotilla wore outfits honoring Padilla’s native Nicaragua, and also brought oars to wave around and pretend to paddle during his starts. The group even had a choreographed routine for every Padilla strikeout.

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Of course, Chase Utley had to have his own fan club. In this version, a group of girls wore yellow visors and fluffy arm bands to dress up as chicks. While the fan groups never caught on at Citizens Bank Park quite the way they did at the Vet, a number of players from the World Series team ended up with their own fan clubs. Kyle Kendrick had the Kendrick’s Hendrix, Jayson Werth had Werth’s Smurfs, and Ryan Howard had Howard’s Homers.

When Roy “Doc” Halladay arrived in Philadelphia in 2010, he soon got a vintage starting pitcher fan club of his own. His fans wore hospital gowns over their jerseys, and took a tally of Halladay’s strikeouts alongside the massive “Doc’s Patients” sign. Fellow starter Cliff Lee had the Cliff Hangers.

The Phandemic Krew isn’t a traditional player fan club, but they’re definitely worth a mention. They came into being in 2020, during the bubble season, to cheer outside the stadium and provide their support for the Phillies, even when fans couldn’t be inside the stadium. The Phandemic Krew brought air horns and cowbells to make sure the team could hear them — even if they couldn’t see them. They were once so loud they caused Yankees manager Aaron Boone to complain to the umpires. The Krew is still active and attends games, but inside the stadium this time.

After a few postseason trips, Phillies fans are once again starting up player specific fan groups. There’s been several variations on Brandon Marsh’s name, Jean’s Jeans (for Jean Segura), and a couple tries at Bryce Harper. One of the latest is for Ranger Súarez, and includes a spoof on the Power Rangers.

The most recent entry into the Phillies fan group canon is Nola’s Gondolas, a group that dressed up in Venetian-style gondolier outfits for Aaron Nola — on the road! The passion of Phillies fans can’t be contained just to Citizens Bank Park.

For the full history of Phillies fan groups, check out this thorough compilation.