Philadelphia, the “City of Brotherly Love,” was the birthplace of the Kilroy Brother’s Baseball Team.

The Kilroy brothers were the sons of Irish immigrant and coal wheeler, Patrick Kilroy, who came to Philadelphia from Ireland in 1850 at the age of 19. Patrick Kilroy and his wife, Mary Ann McGurk’s sons John, Peter, Francis, Matthew, William, Michael and Charles created an indoor baseball team in 1889, as noted in the Philadelphia Inquirer of Saturday, January 12, 1889. These brothers labored in glass factories but went on to embrace the national sport, baseball.

Two of the brothers played professionally, Matt “Matches” Kilroy of the Baltimore Orioles, who struck out 513 batters in the single season of 1886 and Mike Kilroy, a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1891.