The Wilmington Quicksteps (also known as the Quickstep Club of Wilmington) were an

1884 Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's '' Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price at ...

late-season replacement baseball team in the Union Association. They finished with a 2-16 record and were managed by Joe Simmons. The team played their home games in Union Street Park in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

. The ballpark was located on the southwest corner of Union Street and Front Street (now Lancaster Avenue), which at the time was just outside the city limits. 'Ballparks of North America'', Michael Benson, McFarland Publishing, 1989, p.413The ballpark's life extended well beyond 1884, hosting minor league games until the 1910s. In

1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Ja ...

, the Inter-State Association of Professional Baseball Clubs was founded, and local capital was invested for a franchise in Wilmington. In 1884, The Interstate Association re-organized under the name "Eastern League" (not to be confused with the double A Eastern League of today); this was one of the first "minor leagues" and is considered a forerunner of today's AAA International League.The Wilmington Quicksteps quickly began to dominate the league, and so highly regarded was the club that major league clubs began to show up to play exhibition games; they defeated both the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

and the Baltimore Monumentals during the season. By August, the Quicksteps had already sewn up the league championship with a 50-12 record; unfortunately, their dominance nearly destroyed fan interest in the Eastern League, and even in Wilmington, attendance averaged only 400 per game. Late into the season, Henry Lucas, the Union Association founder and owner of the St. Louis Maroons, convinced Simmons and the Quicksteps to cross over into his league after the

Philadelphia Keystones The Philadelphia Keystones (also known as the Keystone Club of Philadelphia) were a professional baseball franchise. In 1884, they were a member of the short-lived Union Association. The team was owned by former player Tom Pratt. The Keystones w ...

folded. After winning their first game 4-3 over Washington on August 18, it was all downhill for the Quicksteps. Many Wilmington players no longer felt bound by their contracts and signed for more money with other teams in their new league.

Shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

and team captain

Oyster Burns Thomas P. "Oyster" Burns (September 6, 1864November 11, 1928) was an American professional baseball player whose career spanned 15 seasons, 11 of which were spent with the Major League Baseball (MLB) Wilmington Quicksteps (1884), Baltimore Oriol ...

jumped to the Baltimore Monumentals for $900 a month, followed by

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Dennis Casey for $700 a month, while

Catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

Andy Cusick jumped to the Philadelphia Phillies for $375 a month; each had been making about $150 a month in Wilmington. The only star player to remain in Wilmington was pitcher Ed "The Only" Nolan, who went on to beat Washington for Wilmington's second and last victory. But the Quicksteps could not survive the loss of Burns, Casey and Cusick, and the team finished with a meagre batting average of .175 in the Union Association. By this time, however, St. Louis had already won the pennant, so Wilmington's only perceivable purpose being to fill in the last month of the season. Simmons pulled his team from the field during warm-ups prior to a game against the Kansas City Cowboys on September 21, 1884, having discovered that he would be unable to pay the $60 gate fee to the visiting Cowboys as the attendance was zero. Wilmington subsequently dropped out of the Association and folded, being replaced in the Union Association by the Milwaukee Brewers.

1884 season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

External links

Wilmington Quicksteps Team Page at Baseball ReferenceSanborn map showing a portion of the ballpark, as of 1901

Notes

:1. Park coordinates are approximately 39.746769, -75.574665