Philadelphia Athletics (American Association)

This article is about the 1882-1890 Philadelphia Athletics baseball team. See Philadelphia Athletics for the first so-called "Philadelphia Athletics" team, see Philadelphia Quakers/Athletics for the second, and see Oakland Athletics for the 1901-1954 Philadelphia Athletics (AL).

The Philadelphia Athletics were a professional baseball team, one of six charter members of the American Association, a 19th-century major league, which began play in 1882 as a rival to the National League. The other teams were the Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Red Stockings, Eclipse of Louisville, Pittsburgh Alleghenys, and St. Louis Brown Stockings. The team took its name from a previous team, which played in the National Association from 1871 through 1875 and in the National League in 1876.

Overview

Over the ten years of their existence, the Athletics were a successful club on the field, winning 633 games and losing 564, for a winning percentage of .529. The team won the AA pennant in 1883, finishing one game ahead of the St. Louis team. That same year, however, the National League set up its own team in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Quakers (later Phillies). The Quakers finished last in 1883, but soon improved on the field and at the gate.

Their home games were played at Oakdale Park in 1882, and at the Jefferson Street Grounds from 1883 to 1890. In addition, games were also occasionally played at Gloucester Point Grounds. They had eight different managers, with co-owner Bill......
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