The Chester Blue Stockings were a minor league baseball teams based in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

. Between 1884 and 1912, Chester teams played as members of the

Keystone Association The Keystone Association was a five–team Independent baseball league, independent level baseball Minor league baseball, minor league that played in the 1884 and 1885 seasons. The Keystone Association featured franchises based exclusively in Pen ...

(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 leagu ...

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

History

The

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

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

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 and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neighb ...

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, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the Mas ...

Littlestown, Pennsylvania Littlestown is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,434 at the 2010 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 ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populati ...

. 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 in the city of York, Pennsylvania, US, that existed from 1894–1969. History Early years The York White Roses began as members of the short-lived Keystone Association in 1884. ...

(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 (pronounced tuh-MAH-qwah, del, tëmakwe) is a borough in eastern Schuylkill County in the Coal Region of Pennsylvania, United States. It had a population of 6,934 as of the 2020 U.S. census. Tamaqua was established from territory from ...

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. History Yerkes played all or part of seven seasons in Major League Baseball between 1909 and 1916, primarily as a second baseman. He played for the ...

. 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 Grenvi ...

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 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) *

Bill Farmer Bill Farmer (born November 14, 1952) is an American voice actor, comedian and impressionist. 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 li ...

(1884) *

Harry Felix Harry Felix (1875–1961) was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball during the and seasons. Felix made his debut for the New York Giants on October 5, 1901, pitching two innings at the end of a game against the Brooklyn Superbas. ...

(1901) *

Paddy Greene Patrick Joseph Greene (March 20, 1875 – October 20, 1934) was a professional baseball player. He played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Highlanders and Detroit Tigers in 1902 and 1903. ...

(1901) * Bill Jones (1884) * Charlie Jordan (1901) *

Phil Ketter Philip Ketter (born Philip Ketterer; April 13, 1884 – April 9, 1965) was an American Major League Baseball catcher who played for the St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wiscon ...

(1912) *

Joe Knotts Joseph Steven Knotts (March 3, 1884 – September 15, 1950) was a Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the Boston Doves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This art ...

(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 would play for the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Robins, and Pit ...

(1904) *

Fred Odwell Frederick William Odwell (September 25, 1872 – August 19, 1948) was a professional baseball player. He was an outfielder over parts of four seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. In 1905, he led the National League in home runs. He was born in and la ...

(1901) *

Cub Stricker John A. "Cub" Stricker, born John A. Streaker (June 8, 1859 – November 19, 1937) was an American professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven different teams during his 11-season career, mostly with t ...

(1901) *

Jesse Whiting Jesse Way Whiting (May 30, 1879 – October 28, 1937) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of ...

(1901)

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

History

The ballpark

Timeline

Year-by-year records

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links