For years, he was Phil and she was Phillis. Decades later, these former Phillies mascots are still best friends.

Last week, on a cloudy Wednesday afternoon, Nancy D’Egidio and John Sullivan sat across from each other at the Penrose Diner. A few construction workers in Phillies gear conversed at the bar. Two Citizens Bank Park staffers ate lunch in a booth nearby.

Little did they realize that they were adjacent to the first mascots in the ballclub’s history: Philadelphia Phil and Philadelphia Phillis. The colonial-era adolescent twins wore Revolutionary garb — high socks, tricornered hats, wool regimental coats — and debuted in 1971, the Phillies’ first season at Veterans Stadium. The body of their costumes was papier-mâché: a 20-pound structure that slipped over their heads.

From 1973 to ’78, Sullivan played Phil. For parts of 1976, 1977, and 1978, D’Egidio played Phillis.

Sullivan and D’Egidio had worked for the Phillies long before they became pseudo siblings. They were always friends, but their time as Phil and Phillis drew them closer.

The mascots quickly realized they had more in common than they thought. They both loved baseball, of course, but they also loved the same music — The Beach Boys and Frankie Valli. They had the same sense of humor, and both enjoyed traveling, even if it was just a quick trip down the Shore.

After Phil and Phillis were retired in 1979, D’Egidio and Sullivan remained close. They would go on vacations together with their partners. The families embarked on three trips to Disney World and “hundreds” to Cape May, North Wildwood, and other Shore towns.

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Sullivan, 69, is the godfather of D’Egidio’s son, Robb. D’Egidio, 72, is at almost every Sullivan family function: birthday parties, christenings, weddings.

It’s a friendship that blossomed in the unlikeliest of places — beneath cumbersome, papier-mâché costumes — but has lasted more than 50 years.

“He was my closest friend,” D’Egidio said. “I mean, I guess he still is. He’s still my best friend.”

Sullivan came to the Phillies through his father, Frank, who was their director of promotions. From the start, his life was intertwined with the team. Sullivan’s birth, on July 27, 1956, was announced by the public relations department in the game notes (under the heading “Stork Club”).

He grew up in Oreland and spent his childhood at Connie Mack Stadium, where he watched the likes of Dick Allen and Johnny Callison while inhaling an unforgettable scent.

“Cigar smoke, stale beer, popcorn, and fresh-cut grass,” he said.

Sullivan began working for the Phillies at 13, handing out Sunday giveaways, and when the Vet opened, he continued in that role. His cousin, Tom Dickinson, was the inaugural Philadelphia Phil.

In 1973, Dickinson transferred to a college outside the city. He handed the job to the 16-year-old Sullivan. A year later, the Phillies hired D’Egidio, who was born and raised in East Lansdowne, to work in ticket sales by day and on the Hot Pants Patrol by night.

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Initially, Phillis was played by Mary Ellen Driscoll, a journalism student at Temple, but D’Egidio would fill in from time to time. When D’Egidio became pregnant with her first son in 1977, she knew she needed to find a new role.

So, she asked Driscoll if she would consider switching places, opting for a bigger outfit that would accommodate her growing bump. Driscoll said yes, and D’Egidio became Phillis full-time.

It was not the easiest job for a pregnant woman. The costume had no internal cooling mechanism, so D’Egidio made sure to take frequent breaks to avoid overheating.

Sullivan usually helped D’Egidio into the large papier-mâché suit. This became even more necessary as D’Egidio’s stomach grew bigger and bigger during her pregnancy.

“He had to take the costume on and off of me,” D’Egidio said, “because I couldn’t maneuver my way out.”

“After I lifted the costume up on her, I’d have to put mine on a table and balance it while I scooted up inside it,” Sullivan said.

D’Egidio was determined to conceal the fact that she was pregnant while playing the role of Phillis and went to great lengths to do so. In 1977, during a Fourth of July parade, she and Sullivan arrived a few minutes late.

The parade was moving already, so Sullivan took off running in his costume. The pregnant D’Egidio followed a few paces behind.

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He hopped onto the float, and lifted D’Egidio’s suit, midair, so she could climb aboard, and squeeze herself into the costume, without anyone seeing her face (or bump).

Their jobs weren’t normally this chaotic. On a typical day, Phil and Phillis would walk around the outside of Veterans Stadium three times before a game. After that, they would stand behind home plate while the national anthem played.

Once the anthem was over, their work was done. If fans wanted to catch another glimpse of Phil and Phillis, they’d have to turn to the animatronic statues of the mascots in center field, which went into action after a Phillies player hit a home run.

“Bill Giles’ home run spectacular,” Sullivan said, referring to the longtime Phillies executive.

“It was nothing like [closer Jhoan] Duran’s [celebration],” D’Egidio added.

After games, D’Egidio, Sullivan, and their friends from the Vet would go to local bars. When the Phillies were out of town, they would all head down the Shore. They went to concerts together at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City and the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, and checked out local amusement parks, too.

D’Egidio said her favorite memory was that day on the parade float. But Sullivan couldn’t pick just one.

“I have a lifelong friend for 50 years,” he said.

In 1978, the Phillies introduced a new mascot — the Phanatic — and soon retired Phil and Phillis. Sullivan donned the Phanatic’s furry green costume during a Thanksgiving Day parade in 1978, and then again in 1979, for an appearance at a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus (during which he rode an elephant).

“It was awesome, except that you straddle their neck, and the Phanatic’s pants are satin,” Sullivan said, “so you slid off the entire time. I was scared to death.”

In 1980, Sullivan transitioned to a new profession, landing a job as a police dispatcher in Springfield Township. Shortly after, he was hired as a sworn police officer in Upper Dublin Township. Sullivan would spend 35 years in the township, working primarily as a communications officer in charge, overseeing information systems, and automating data sharing between law enforcement agencies.

But his policing career didn’t entirely end his mascot work. He picked up a few more shifts in the offseason of 1993, when Dave Raymond — the original Phanatic — and his backups were unavailable.

D’Egidio stayed with Phillies after Sullivan left. She spent a few years working in the suite level, and then got a job managing the staff store, selling leftover giveaways to ballpark employees.

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The former Philadelphia Phillis recently celebrated her 50th anniversary with the team. D’Egidio invited her two sons, her two daughters, her husband, Bob, and, of course, her best friend, to the ceremony.

“They’re our family,” she said of Sullivan and his wife, Becky. “You know what I mean? When we do something, they’re part of it.”

D’Egidio gave birth to her first son, Robb, on Oct. 3, 1977, a day after the last game of the regular season (a game that she miraculously worked in her Phillis costume).

It did not take long for her to decide who the boy’s godfather would be. And Sullivan embraced the role, wholeheartedly.

“John used to come to my house, and he would take him to the toy store, Kiddie City,” D’Egidio said. “And he would come out with the most outrageous thing. One time he came home with one of those bouncy horses. He loved it.”

She paused, and added: “But he didn’t take him to church at all.”

“Well, I was there for the christening,” Sullivan replied. “I was there for the First Communion. I was there for the confirmation.”

The former mascots watch Eagles games together. They go on vacation together. Sullivan’s daughter, Caitlin, is best friends with D’Egidio’s daughter, Sam. They were bridesmaids in each other’s weddings.

Sullivan’s wife, Becky, is a hospice nurse at Penn Medicine, and helped D’Egidio and her husband work through the deaths of their parents.

Their lives have changed a lot since they first stood side by side in colonial garb, but they’ve helped each other navigate it all. And they’ll continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

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“We just have so much in common,” Sullivan said. “I don’t have a lot of friends left that share that same knowledge as Nancy. It’s very comfortable and easy to talk to her.

“I don’t have to explain myself. I can make a reference to just about anything, and Nancy will pick up in a heartbeat.”