Philadelphia Keystones

File:840430-bostonunions-poster.jpg

Poster promoting an April 1884 match between the Keystones and the Boston Unions.

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 were managed by catcher Fergy Malone and finished in eighth place in the 12-team league with a 21–46 record. Their top-hitting regular was left fielder / infielder Buster Hoover, who batted .364 with a slugging percentage of .495. Their best pitcher was Jersey Bakley, who was 14–25 with an earned run average of 4.47. Their home games were played at Keystone Park. Jack Clements, who played for 17 seasons and was the last (and virtually the only) left-handed catcher in major league history, made his big-league debut with the Keystones.

Like several other teams in the Union Association, the Keystones did not make it through the entire season, folding after the game of August 7. The entire league ceased operations after 1884, its first and only season.

1860s

There was an amateur or semi-pro Keystone club in Philadelphia during the 1860s. They generally played their games at the same ballpark as the better-known Athletic ball club. The 1884 team revived the old club name, and both names reference Pennsylvania, "The Keystone State".

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR
C		29	116	18	.155	0
1B		53	210	52	.236	0
2B	Elias Peak	54	215	42	.195	0
3B		67	295	84	.285	0
SS		28	115	28	.243	0
OF		63	275	100	.364	0
OF		52	209	52	.249	4
OF	Bill Kienzle	67	299	76	.254	0

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR
Jack Clements	41	177	50	.282	3
	26	111	30	.270	0
Billy Geer	9	36	9	.250	0
Fred Siegel	8	31	7	.226	0
Chris Rickley	6	25	5	.200	0
	5	19	3	.158	0
	4	14	2	.143	0
	3	11	1	.091	0
Clarence Cross	2	9	2	.222	0
	2	9	4	.444	0
Tom Daly	2	8	0	.000	0
George Patterson	2	7	1	.143	0
	1	4	1	.250	0
John O'Donnell	1	4	1	.250	0
Lefty Johnson	1	4	0	.000	0
	1	3	1	.333	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
	39	344.2	14	25	4.47	204
	17	136.0	5	10	5.76	40
	8	70.2	1	7	3.57	42
	3	25.0	1	2	3.24	12
	1	8.0	0	1	4.50	7

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
	1	0	1	0	3.86	2
	1	0	0	0	9.00	3

External links

• 1884 Philadelphia Keystones at Baseball Reference