The Philadelphia Athletics were a professional baseball team, one of six charter members of the American Association, a 19th-century major league, which began play in as a rival to the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

. The other teams were the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

Cincinnati Red Stockings The Cincinnati Red Stockings of were baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) 1867� ...

, Eclipse of Louisville, Pittsburgh Alleghenys, and St. Louis Brown Stockings. The team took its name from a previous team, which played in the National Association from through and in the

in .

Overview

Over the nine years of their existence, the Athletics were a successful club on the field, winning 633 games and losing 564, for a winning percentage of .529. The team won the AA pennant in , finishing one game ahead of the St. Louis team. That same year, however, the National League set up its own team in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Quakers (later Phillies). The Quakers finished last in 1883, but soon improved on the field and at the gate. Their home games were played at Oakdale Park in 1882, and at the

Jefferson Street Grounds Jefferson Street Grounds was a Baseball park, baseball field located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was also known as Jefferson Park and Athletics Park. It was home to three different professional baseball teams, competing in three different sp ...

from 1883 to 1890. In addition, games were also occasionally played at Gloucester Point Grounds. They had eight different managers, with co-owner Bill Sharsig having the longest tenure. Notable players for the Athletics included future

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

member

Wilbert Robinson Wilbert Robinson (June 29, 1864 – August 8, 1934), nicknamed "Uncle Robbie", was an American catcher, coach and manager (baseball), manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Philadelphia Athletics (American Association) ...

and Al Atkinson. Atkinson is one of the few pitchers to throw more than one

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

, and he threw them both for the Athletics, on May 24, 1884 and May 1, 1886. In the first no-hitter Atkinson beaned leadoff hitter Ed Swartwood and then retired 27 batters in a row. In 1888 the Athletics had two no-hitters within a week, with Ed Seward throwing one on July 26 and Gus Weyhing on July 31.

Beginnings

The Athletics were founded by businessman Bill Sharsig in September 1880. In 1881, the team went on a barnstorming tour, and Sharsig took on two partners: player Charlie Mason and manager Horace Phillips.Base ball in Philadelphia: a history of the early game, 1831–1900, John Shiffert, p. 247 (Google Books result)
/ref> After the tour, Phillips jumped ship to the competing Quakers and was replaced on the management team by minstrel show performer Lew Simmons.

Success

The Athletics were successful both on and off the field during the early part of their existence. After winning the AA in 1883, in 1884 it was said that Sharsig, Simmons and Mason had cleared between $200,000 and $300,000 in just three years, then the greatest financial success scored in baseball.

Ownership shuffle

After the 1887 season, Sharsig bought out Mason and Simmons, selling their shares of the club to H. C. Pennypacker and William Whittaker.Shiffert, p. 248

Collapse of 1890

The last straw for the AA Athletics, and several other American Association teams, was the creation of the

Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded American professional baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Pr ...

in 1890. The established leagues lost players to the upstart league, player salaries soared (by the standards of the day), and there simply were not enough fans to support three baseball leagues. The Athletics also had problems with their own payroll, with the salaries of Pennypacker and Whittaker causing additional financial trouble. Though the Players' League folded after a single season, it had taken its toll. In September 1890, the Athletics released or sold their players and finished the season with a pick-up team, losing the final 21 games. The Athletics were expelled by the league at the end of the season and was replaced by a new Philadelphia Athletics team, which previously played in the Players' League as the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

. The new team hired Sharsig as manager.Baseball Chronology: 1890

References

External links

Team index page
1882-90 AA Athletics {{Defunct Philadelphia sports teams American Association (1882–1891) teams Defunct baseball teams in Pennsylvania Sports in Philadelphia Athletics (American Association) Baseball teams established in 1882 Baseball teams disestablished in 1890