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 the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

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 Nor ...

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

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

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 the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

level minor league in 1884. The Keystone Association was 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 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,

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 ...

, Littlestown, Pennsylvania 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 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 (15–4), York White Roses (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 (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 fo ...

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 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

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 (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 (1884), Chester *

Ed Green Edward Green is a fictional character on the NBC crime drama '' Law & Order'', portrayed by Jesse L. Martin. He appeared in 202 episodes (198 episodes of ''Law & Order'', two episodes of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', one episode of ' ...

(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 The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles co ...

(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. He played minor league baseball until 1896. External links

...

(1884), Littlestown *

Will Holland William Holland (born 1980) is an English musician, DJ and record producer. He is based in New York City, after spending seven years in Colombia. Holland records under various pseudonyms, including Quantic, the Quantic Soul Orchestra, The Li ...

(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 flanker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns and the Washington Redskins. Mitchell becam ...

(1884), Chambersburg * James Morris (1884), Chambersburg * George Noftsker (1884), Chambersburg *

Ed Sales Edward A. Sales (1861–1912) was a Major League Baseball shortstop. He played for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys of the National League during the 1890 season. Sales began his professional career with Chambersburg Chambersburg is a borough in a ...

(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 life ...

(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 seasons. Waitt played in an era when baseball had many differences from modern ...

(1884), Lancaster * George Wetzel (1884), Lancaster *

Henry Zeiher Henry Zeiher (August 11, 1862 – October 14, 1951) was a professional baseball player who played catcher in the Major Leagues for the 1886 Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Was ...

(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