The Keystone Association was a five–team

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

level baseball

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

that played in the 1884 and 1885 seasons. The Keystone Association featured franchises based exclusively in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

History

The Keystone Association formed as

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

level minor league in 1884. The Keystone Association was 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 formed a team. The league adopted American Association rules. The league president was Thomas Hargreaves. The 1884 Keystone Association played as a five–team Independent league. The Keystone Association hosted franchises 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 ...

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. ...

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 Keystone Association began play on May 2, 1884. The league then folded for the season on June 10, 1884. The League standings when the league folded were

Lancaster Red Stockings Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

(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 The Chester Blue Stockings were a minor league baseball teams based in Chester, Pennsylvania. Between 1884 and 1912, Chester teams played as members of the Keystone Association (1884–1885), Pennsylvania State League (1901), Pennsylvania League ...

(8–10) and

Littlestown Brown Stockings The Littlestown Brown Stockings were a minor league baseball team based in Littlestown, Pennsylvania. In 1884 and 1885, Littlestown played exclusively as members of the Independent level Keystone Association. History The Keystone Association and ...

(6–8). During the 1884 season, the Chester franchise disbanded on June 2, 1884 and Lancaster disbanded on June 7, 1884. After the Keystone Association folded, York and Lancaster continued play, as the York White Roses and

Lancaster Ironsides The Lancaster Red Roses baseball team, originally known as the Maroons, changed its name at the start of the 1906 season during a bitter match with the York, Pennsylvania-based White Roses. Some sources indicate that the rival teams were named f ...

became members of the Eastern League for the remainder of the 1884 season. York replaced the Harrisburg Olympics after the

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

based team folded. The Eastern League folded after the 1884 season. In their final season of play, the 1885 Keystone Association returned to play and featured the same five returning franchises. Chambersburg, the Chester Blue Stockings, Lancaster Red Stockings, Littlestown Brown Stockings and York White Roses were the 1885 league members. The 1885 Keystone Association final team standings are unknown. The Keystone Association permanently folded after the 1885 season.

Keystone Association teams

League standings

1884 Keystone Association

1885 Keystone Association

The exact 1885 team records and standings are unknown

Notable alumni

Frank Berkelbach Frank Pierce Berkelbach (July 27, 1853 – June 10, 1932) was an American professional baseball player who played outfielder for the 1884 Cincinnati Red Stockings The Cincinnati Red Stockings of were baseball's first all-professional team ...

(1884), Littlestown *

Bart Cantz Bartholomew L. Cantz (January 29, 1860 – February 12, 1943) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball. Early life and career Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Cantz started his professional baseball career in 1884, playing for the ...

(1884), Chambersburg/Littlestown * Fred Carl (1884), York * Dick Conway (1884), York *

John Deasley John Deasley (1864–1910) was a professional baseball player. In 1884, he saw action in 44 games for the Washington Nationals and Kansas City Cowboys of the Union Association. He hit just .207 that season and never played in a real major league ...

(1884), Chester *

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), Chester *

Ed Green Edward Green may refer to: * Sir Edward Green, 1st Baronet (1831–1923), English ironmaster and Conservative MP for Wakefield 1874 and 1885–92 * Edward B. Green (judge), first chief justice of the Oklahoma Territorial Supreme Court (1890-1893) ...

(1884), Chambersburg/York *

Ed Greer Edward Greer (July 29, 1863 – February 14, 1890) was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Athletics, and Brooklyn Grays The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team f ...

(1884), Littlestown * John Hiland (1884), Lancaster *

John Hofford John William Hofford (May 25, 1863 – December 16, 1915) was an American professional baseball player who was a pitcher in the major leagues for the 1885–86 Pittsburgh Alleghenys The following is a history of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major ...

(1884), Littlestown *

Will Holland William Holland (born 18 April 1980) is an English musician, DJ, and record producer. Holland records under various pseudonyms, including Quantic, the Quantic Soul Orchestra, The Limp Twins, Flowering Inferno, and Ondatrópica. His music feat ...

(1884), Lancaster * Bill Jones (1884), Chester *

Bobby Mitchell Robert Cornelius Mitchell (June 6, 1935 – April 5, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a halfback and wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini an ...

(1884), Chambersburg * James Morris (1884), Chambersburg * George Noftsker (1884), Chambersburg * Ed Sales (1884), Chambersburg * Lewis Smith (1884), York *

Mike Tiernan Michael Joseph Tiernan (January 21, 1867November 7, 1918), nicknamed "Silent Mike", was an American professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB), exclusively for the New York Giants, from 1887 to 1899. Early lif ...

(1884), Chambersburg *

Charlie Waitt Charles C. Waitt (October 14, 1853 – October 21, 1912), born in Hallowell, Maine, was a professional baseball player who played a total of four professional baseball season (sports), seasons. Waitt played in an era when baseball had many diffe ...

(1884), Lancaster * George Wetzel (1884), Lancaster * Henry Zeiher (1884), York

References

{{Professional Baseball Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States Baseball leagues in Pennsylvania Defunct professional sports leagues in the United States Sports leagues established in 1884 Sports leagues disestablished in 1885 1885 disestablishments in Pennsylvania