The Chester Blue Stockings were a

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

teams based in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...

. Between 1884 and 1912, Chester teams played as members of the Keystone Association (1884–1885),

Pennsylvania State League The Pennsylvania State League was an American minor league baseball sports league that operated from 1892 to 1895, then became the first Atlantic League (1896–1900), Atlantic League. The league member teams were exclusively based in Pennsylvania ...

(1901), Pennsylvania League (1904), Atlantic League (1907), Pennsylvania-New Jersey League (1908) and

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second league ...

(1912). Chester teams hosted minor league home games at Union Park.

History

The Keystone Association and the member teams were formed at a March 3, 1884 meeting in

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census ...

and

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,671 at the 2020 census. West ...

were franchises admitted to the league but never played. The Chester Blue Stockings began play in 1884, as the Keystone Association played as a five–team Independent league. The other Keystone Association franchises were based in

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, Pennsylvania, Franklin County, in the South Central Pennsylvania, South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Gre ...

Littlestown, Pennsylvania Littlestown is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,782 at the 2020 census. Originally laid out by Peter Klein in 1760, the town was first named Petersburg. German settlers in the area came to call the t ...

and

York, Pennsylvania York is a city in York County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located in South Central Pennsylvania, the city's population was 44,800 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in ...

. The Chester Blue Stockings began Keystone Association play on May 2, 1884. During the 1884 season, the Chester franchise disbanded on June 2, 1884. On June 10, 1884, the league folded for the season with the Blue Stockings in fourth place, 6.5 games behind first place Lancaster, playing under manager Thomas Hargraves. The League standings when the league folded were Lancaster Red Stockings (15–4),

York White Roses The York White Roses was the name of a minor league baseball team based in the city of York, Pennsylvania, US, that existed between 1894 and 1969. History Early years The York White Roses began as members of the short-lived Keystone Associati ...

(10–10), Chambersburg (8–10), Chester Blue Stockings (8–10) and Littlestown Brown Stockings (6–8). Lancaster disbanded on June 7, 1884, causing the rest of the league to fold. The 1885 Chester Blue Stockings returned to Keystone Association play, as the league featured the same five returning franchises. Chambersburg, the Chester Blue Stockings, Lancaster Red Stockings, Littlestown Brown Stockings and York White Roses all returned as 1885 league members. The 1885 league records and standings are unknown. The 1885 Keystone Association final team standings are unknown. Chester returned to play as members of the 1901 Class D level

. 1901 league records and standings are unknown. Jesse Frysinger managed the Chester team. In 1904, the Chester team played as members of the Independent level Pennsylvania League. League standings for the six–team league are unknown. The Chester team played in the 1907 Independent level Atlantic League. The

Tamaqua, Pennsylvania Tamaqua (, ) is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in eastern Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Schuylkill County in the Coal Region of Pennsylvania, United States. It had a population of 6,934 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. cens ...

franchise combined with Chester. Joseph Senior, John Castle, Jack Quinn and James McGeehan were the managers. League standings and records for the six–team league are unknown. The 1908 Chester team became members of the Independent level Pennsylvania-New Jersey League. Chester had an 8–3 record to finish in second place under manager

Steve Yerkes Stephen Douglas Yerkes (May 15, 1888 – January 31, 1971) was a professional baseball player. Formative years and baseball career Yerkes was born in Hatboro, Pennsylvania on May 15, 1888. During his early twenties, he played all or part of se ...

. Trenton finished first in the six–team league, percentage points ahead of Chester. In 1912, Chester played briefly as members of the Class D level

after joining the league during the season. The

Johnstown Johnnies Johnstown may refer to: Places Australia * Johnstown, Queensland, a locality split between the Southern Burnett Region and the Gympie Region, Queensland Canada * Johnstown, Nova Scotia * Johnstown, Ontario, United Counties of Leeds and Grenvil ...

moved to Chester on August 2, 1912, with a record of 25–60. The Johnstown/Chester team ended the 1912 season with a record of 31–81, placing eighth in the standings. Bert Conn and Curt Wiegand served as managers. The Chester franchise folded following the 1912 season. Chester, Pennsylvania has not hosted another minor league team.

The ballpark

The Chester minor league teams were noted to have played home games at Union Park. Still in use as a public park, the park is now named Veterans Memorial Park, Chester, Pennsylvania.

Timeline

Year-by-year records

Notable alumni

* Frank Berkelbach (1884) * Bert Conn (1912, MGR) * Snake Deal (1901) * John Deasley (1884) *

Bill Farmer Bill Farmer (born November 14, 1952) is an American voice actor. He has performed the voice of the Disney character Goofy since 1987, and has also been the voice of Pluto and Horace Horsecollar since 1990. Early life Farmer was born on Novembe ...

(1884) * Harry Felix (1901) * Paddy Greene (1901) * Bill Jones (1884) * Charlie Jordan (1901) * Phil Ketter (1912) * Joe Knotts (1904) *

Mike Mowrey Harry Harlan Mowrey (March 24, 1884 – March 20, 1947) was an American professional baseball third baseman who played in the Major Leagues from 1905 to 1917. He also later played for the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Robins, an ...

(1904) * Fred Odwell (1901) * Cub Stricker (1901) * Jesse Whiting (1901) * Chester (minor league baseball) players * Chester Blue Stockings players * Chester Johnnies players

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Chester - Baseball Reference
Defunct baseball teams in Pennsylvania Baseball teams established in 1884 Baseball teams disestablished in 1885 Keystone Association teams 1885 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Sports in Chester, Pennsylvania 1884 establishments in Pennsylvania