View source for Wilmington Quicksteps

{{Short description|Defunct American baseball team}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
The '''Wilmington Quicksteps''' (also known as the '''Quickstep Club of Wilmington''') were an [[1884 in baseball|1884]] late-season replacement baseball team in the [[Union Association]]. They finished with a 2–16 record and were managed by [[Joe Simmons (baseball)|Joe Simmons]]. The team played their home games in Union Street Park in [[Wilmington, Delaware]].

The ballpark was located on the southwest corner of Union Street and Front Street (now Lancaster Avenue){{ref|coord}}, which at the time was just outside the city limits.<ref>''Ballparks of North America'', Michael Benson, McFarland Publishing, 1989, p.413</ref> The ballpark's life extended well beyond 1884, hosting minor league games until the 1910s.

In [[1883 in baseball|1883]], 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 (1938–2020)|Eastern League]] of today); this was one of the first "minor leagues" and is considered a forerunner of today's AAA [[International League]].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 (UA)|Washington Nationals]] 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 (baseball)|Henry Lucas]], the [[Union Association]] founder and owner of the [[St. Louis Maroons]], convinced Simmons and the Quicksteps to cross over into his league after the [[Philadelphia 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]] and team captain [[Oyster Burns]] jumped to the Baltimore Monumentals for $900 a month, followed by [[outfielder]] [[Dennis Casey (baseball)|Dennis Casey]] for $700 a month, while [[Catcher]] [[Andy Cusick]] jumped to the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] for $375 a month; each had been making about $150 a month in Wilmington.

The only star player to remain in Wilmington was pitcher [[The Only Nolan|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 (UA)|Milwaukee Brewers]].

==1884 season ==

=== Season standings ===
{{1884 Union Association standings|highlight=Wilmington Quicksteps}}

=== Record vs. opponents ===
{{1884 Union Association Record vs. opponents|team=WIL}}

=== Roster ===
{| class="toccolours" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! colspan="10" style="background-color: blue; color: white; text-align: center;" | 1884 Wilmington Quicksteps
|-
| colspan="10" style="background-color: white; color: blue; text-align: center;" | '''Roster'''
|-
| valign="top" | '''Pitchers'''
{{MLBplayer||[[Jersey Bakely]]}}
{{MLBplayer||[[Dan Casey (baseball)|Dan Casey]]}}
{{MLBplayer||[[Jim McElroy (baseball)|Jim McElroy]]}}
{{MLBplayer||[[John Murphy (pitcher)|John Murphy]]}}
{{MLBplayer||[[The Only Nolan]]}}
{{MLBplayer||[[Fred Tenney (outfielder)|Fred Tenney]]}}
| width="25px" | 
| valign="top" | '''Catchers'''
{{MLBplayer||[[Andy Cusick]]}}
{{MLBplayer||[[Tom Lynch (baseball)|Tom Lynch]]}}
'''Infielders'''
{{MLBplayer||[[Charlie Bastian]]}}
{{MLBplayer||[[Oyster Burns]]}}
{{MLBplayer||[[Henry Myers (shortstop)|Henry Myers]]}}
{{MLBplayer||[[Jimmy Say]]}}
{{MLBplayer||[[Redleg Snyder]]}}
| width="25px" | 
| valign="top" | '''Outfielders'''
{{MLBplayer||[[Ike Benners]]}}
{{MLBplayer||[[Dennis Casey (baseball)|Dennis Casey]]}}
{{MLBplayer||[[John Cullen (baseball)|John Cullen]]}}
{{MLBplayer||[[George Fisher (baseball)|George Fisher]]}}
{{MLBplayer||[[Bill McCloskey]]}}
{{MLBplayer||[[John Munce]]}}
{{MLBplayer||[[Dan Sheahan]]}}
| width="25px" | 
| valign="top" | '''Manager'''
{{MLBplayer||[[Joe Simmons (baseball)|Joe Simmons]]}}
|}

== Player stats ==
=== Batting ===
==== Starters by position ====
''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%" | Pos
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="16%" | Player
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | G
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | AB
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | H
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | Avg.
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | HR
|- align="center"
| C || {{sortname|Tom|Lynch|Tom Lynch (baseball)}} || 16 || 58 || 16 || .276 || 0
|- align="center"
| 1B || [[Redleg Snyder]] || 17 || 52 || 10 || .192 || 0
|- align=center
| 2B || {{sortname|Charlie|Bastian}} || 17 || 60 || 12 || .200 || 2
|- align="center"
| SS || {{sortname|Henry|Myers|Henry Myers (shortstop)}} || 6 || 24 || 3 || .125 || 0
|- align="center"
| 3B || [[Jimmy Say]] || 16 || 59 || 13 || .220 || 0
|- align=center
| OF || [[Ike Benners]] || 6 || 22 || 1 || .045 || 0
|- align=center
| OF || [[Bill McCloskey]] || 9 || 30 || 3 || .100 || 0
|- align=center
| OF || {{sortname|John|Cullen|John Cullen (baseball)}} || 9 || 31 || 6 || .194 || 0
|- align="center"
|}

==== Other batters ====
''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="16%" | Player
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | G
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | AB
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | H
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | Avg.
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | HR
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Andy|Cusick}} || 11 || 34 || 5 || .147 || 0
|- align="center"
| [[John Murphy (pitcher)|John Murphy]] || 10 || 31 || 2 || .065 || 0
|- align=center
| [[George Fisher (baseball)|George Fisher]] || 8 || 29 || 2 || .069 || 0
|- align=center
| [[John Munce]] || 7 || 21 || 4 || .190 || 0
|- align=center
| {{sortname|Dennis|Casey|Dennis Casey (baseball)}} || 2 || 8 || 2 || .250 || 0
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Oyster|Burns}} || 2 || 7 || 1 || .143 || 0
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Dan|Sheahan}} || 2 || 6 || 1 || .167 || 0
|- align="center"
| [[Jim McElroy]] || 1 || 2 || 0 || .000 || 0
|}

=== Pitching ===
==== Starting pitchers ====
''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="16%" | Player
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | G
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | IP
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | W
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | L
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | ERA
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | SO
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|John|Murphy|John Murphy (pitcher)}} || 7 || 48.0 || 0 || 6 || 3.27 || 27
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|The Only|Nolan}} || 5 || 40.0 || 1 || 4 || 2.93 || 52
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Dan|Casey|dab=baseball}} || 2 || 18.0 || 1 || 1 || 1.00 || 10
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Jersey|Bakely}} || 2 || 17.0 || 0 || 2 || 4.24 || 9
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Fred|Tenney|Fred Tenney (outfielder)}} || 1 || 8.0 || 0 || 1 || 1.13 || 10
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Jim|McElroy|Jim McElroy (baseball)}} || 1 || 5.0 || 0 || 1 || 10.80 || 3
|}

==== Relief pitchers ====
''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="16%" | Player
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | G
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | W
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | L
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | SV
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | ERA
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | SO
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Charlie|Bastian}} || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 3.00 || 2
|}

==Notes==
:{{note|coord}} Park coordinates are approximately 39.746769, -75.574665
{{coord|39.746769|-75.574665|type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-DE|display=title}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/WIL/1884.shtml Wilmington Quicksteps Team Page at Baseball Reference]
*[https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1884/VWIL01884.htm Wilmington UA game log]
*[http://www.russpickett.com/history/baseball.htm Delaware Baseball History]
*[https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3834wm.g012261901/?sp=61 Sanborn map showing a portion of the ballpark, as of 1901]

==See also==
*[[Wilmington Blue Rocks]]
*[[List of professional sports teams in Delaware]]

{{Union Association}}

[[Category:Union Association teams]]
[[Category:Defunct baseball teams in Delaware]]
[[Category:Sports in Wilmington, Delaware]]
[[Category:Baseball teams established in 1884]]
[[Category:1884 establishments in Delaware]]
[[Category:Baseball teams disestablished in 1884]]
[[Category:1884 disestablishments in the United States]]