Pennsylvania Sports Betting

Pennsylvania Pro Sports Teams & Betting

Pennsylvania has always had a large and active base of sports betting fans in the two main cities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. They support several professional sports teams in both cities.

NFL – National Football League

Philadelphia Eagles

Along with the Steelers and the disbanded Cincinnati Reds, the Eagles joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1933. They actually started in 1899 as the Frankford Athletic Association Yellow Jackets, but because they went bankrupt and closed down for a season, it’s not considered the same team. The Eagles won three NFL championships pre-1970 and one Super Bowl in 2017.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Being one of the other existing expansion teams to enter the NFL in 1933, the Steelers saw little success until after the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. Coach Chuck Noll had a talent for picking the right draft choices. He brought in Hall of Famers “Mean” Joe Greene in 1969, Terry Bradshaw and Mel Blount in 1970, Jack Ham in 1971, and Franco Harris in 1972. In 1974, he selected four Hall of Famers, Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth, and Mike Webster. No team has ever drafted four future Hall of Famers in one year. The Steelers are tied with the New England Patriots for the most Super Bowl wins at six. 

NBA – National Basketball Association

Philadelphia 76ers

As one of the oldest teams in the NBA, the 76ers were founded in 1946. Their original name was the Syracuse Nationals. Under that name, they won their first NBA Championship in 1955. In 1963, they changed their name and won two more Championships as the 76ers, headed by Wilt Chamberlain.

MLB – Major League Baseball

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies, founded in 1883, are the oldest team in all of American professional sports with the same name and city throughout their franchise. In that time, they have won two World Series Championships – one in 1980 against the Kansas City Royals and their second in 2008 against the Tampa Bay Rays. They started as the Philadelphia Quakers but got the nickname Phillies that same year – and it stuck.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Established in 1882, the Pirates have won five World Series, the first in 1909. They played in the inaugural World Series in 1903, losing to the Boston Americans. They won the 1960 World Series against the New York Yankees on a walk-off home run (a home run that ends the game. It is considered the most famous World Series Ending. It’s the only time that Game 7 of the World Series has ended with a home run.

NHL – National Hockey League

Philadelphia Flyers

Founded in 1967, the Flyers are the first expansion team to win a Stanley Cup, once in the 1973-1974 season and the second during the following season. They were known as the Broad Street Bullies during the seventies because they played an aggressive and high-offense game.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pens also joined the NHL in 1967 and had a difficult time for their first few seasons because the original six teams got the best players. Before the Penguins, the Pittsburgh Pirates were part of the NHL from 1925 to 1930. The Pens have won five Stanley Cup Championships, which is tied with the Edmonton Oilers as the most Stanley Cups of an expansion team.