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| 1884 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American Association (AA) National League (NL) Union Association (UA) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Number of games | 110 (AA) 112 (NL, UA) |
| Number of teams | 33 (12 active in AA, 8 active in NL, UA) |
| Pennant winner | |
| AA champions | New York Metropolitans |
| AA runners-up | Columbus Buckeyes |
| NL champions | Providence Grays |
| NL runners-up | Boston Beaneaters |
| UA champions | St. Louis Maroons |
| UA runners-up | Cincinnati Outlaw Reds |
| World's Championship Series | |
| Champions | Providence Grays |
| Runners-up | New York Metropolitans |
Union Association*Chicago Browns moved to Pittsburgh mid-way through the season as the Pittsburgh Stogies.
The 1884 Major League baseball season began on April 17, 1884. The National League and American Association's regular seasons ended on October 15, with the Providence Grays and New York Metropolitans as the NL and AA pennant winners, respectively. The newly founded Union Association regular season ended on October 19, with the St. Louis Maroons as the UA pennant winner. The postseason between the AA and NL began with Game 1 of the first World's Championship Series (the first inter-league championship game of its kind in the Major Leagues) on October 23 and ended with Game 3 on October 25, in what was a best-of-five-playoff. The Grays swept the Metropolitans in three games, capturing their first World's Championship Series.
Prior to the 1884 season, in September 1883, the Union Association was formed, in direct contravention to the reserve rule (that a ballplayer could be reserved by a team) of the 1883 National Agreement (a.k.a. Tripartite Agreement) signed between the National League, American Association, and minor league Northwestern League.[1] In response to formation of the UA, the AA expanded their league from an eight teams to twelve teams to undermine the week footing the UA had, as UA teams were mostly in cities that already had established AA and NL teams.[2]
The American Association expansion saw the minor league Brooklyn Grays of the Inter-State Association of Professional Baseball Clubs join as the Brooklyn Atlantics (today's Los Angeles Dodgers) and the Toledo Blue Stockings join from the minor league Northwestern League, as well as the establishment of the Indianapolis Hoosiers and Washington Nationals. The latter played their last game on August 2, and were replaced by the minor league Eastern League's Richmond Virginians to finish Washington's schedule.
The Union Association was largely unstable throughout its only year in existence (though confidence in the league remained high), as three of its founding teams would not make it to the end of the season.[2] The Altoona Mountain Citys folded on May 31, and were replaced by the Kansas City Cowboys on June 7. The Philadelphia Keystones folded on August 7, and were replaced by the Eastern League's Wilmington Quicksteps. The Chicago Browns relocated to Pittsburgh as the Pittsburgh Stogies following their August 21 game. The Quicksteps would fold on September 15, while the Stogies would fold just three days later. On September 27, the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Paul Apostles (now renamed the St. Paul Saints) were recruited from the Northwestern League to finish the Philadelphia / Wilmington and Chicago/Pittsburgh schedules, respectively.
- ^ Terrell, Barney. "1883-84 Winter Meetings: The Union Association – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved February 10, 2025.
- ^ a b Andrews, Davy. "The Union Association War of 1884 – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved February 10, 2025.