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

1884 Events January * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London to promote gradualist social progress. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera '' Princess Ida'', a satire on feminism, premières at the Savoy The ...

late-season replacement baseball team in the

Union Association The Union Association was an American professional baseball league which competed with Major League Baseball, lasting for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Seven of the twelv ...

. 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 is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. 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.413 The ballpark's life extended well beyond 1884, hosting minor league games until the 1910s. In

1883 Events January * 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. * January 16 – ...

, 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 International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

.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. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

and the Baltimore Monumentals during the season. By August, the Quicksteps had already sewn up the league championship with a 50–12 record; 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

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 ...

folded. After winning their first game 4–3 over Washington on August 18, it was all downhill for the Quicksteps, as many 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 positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

and team captain Oyster Burns 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 catch ...

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 catc ...

Andy Cusick jumped to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

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 was 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, after he discovered that he would be unable to pay the $60 gate fee to the visiting Cowboys - the attendance at the game was zero. Wilmington subsequently dropped out of the Union Association and folded, being replaced by the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

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''

Notes

: Park coordinates are approximately 39.746769, -75.574665

External links

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