Altoona Mountain Citys | ||
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Years 1884* Folded after 25 games with a 6–19 record | ||
Based in Altoona, Pennsylvania | ||
Major league affiliations | ||
Ballpark | ||
Colors | ||
Purple, white | ||
Other names | ||
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Owners | ||
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Managers | ||
Major league titles | ||
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For its roughly six weeks of play, the Altoona Mountain Citys were managed by Ed Curtis and played in Altoona's Columbia Park. Among its roster, catcher Jerrie Moore and shortstop Germany Smith were two of its best players. John Murphy and Jim Brown were the team's ace pitchers.
When Henry Lucas, president of the newest major league, the Union Association, could only find seven teams for his league, he convinced the team, then part of the Inter-State Association, to join the league, with the promise that the Pennsylvania Railroad would provide some backing.[2]
The Mountain Citys began the season by playing the top teams in the league, the St. Louis Maroons and the Cincinnati Outlaw Reds, and losing 11 straight. The Altoona team's performance against the Maroons was especially hideous; they gave up 92 runs and made 53 errors. After finally winning their first game on May 10, the Mountain Citys went 5–8 the rest of the way before folding. The team's final game was on May 31, 1884. The team was a disaster - attendance was as low as 200 on some games, and averaged slightly more than 1,000 per home game, low figures even for those times.
The Altoona Curve, Double-A Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, saluted the Mountain Citys by changing their names to "The Altoona Mountain City" for every Thursday game.
1884 Altoona Mountain City | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
PitchersCatchers | Infielders | Outfielders | Manager |
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | |
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C | 20 | 80 | 25 | .313 | 1 | ||
1B | 24 | 95 | 25 | .263 | 0 | ||
2B | 23 | 85 | 22 | .259 | 0 | ||
3B | 21 | 78 | 18 | .231 | 0 | ||
SS | 25 | 108 | 34 | .315 | 0 | ||
OF | 13 | 55 | 18 | .327 | 0 | ||
OF | 21 | 88 | 22 | .250 | 1 | ||
OF | 23 | 94 | 14 | .149 | 0 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | |
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11 | 49 | 13 | .265 | 0 | ||
9 | 36 | 11 | .306 | 0 | ||
8 | 33 | 3 | .091 | 0 | ||
7 | 25 | 6 | .240 | 0 | ||
7 | 25 | 1 | .040 | 0 | ||
6 | 19 | 3 | .158 | 0 | ||
3 | 11 | 1 | .091 | 0 | ||
2 | 7 | 4 | .571 | 0 | ||
2 | 7 | 3 | .429 | 0 | ||
1 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | |
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14 | 111.2 | 5 | 6 | 3.87 | 48 | ||
11 | 74.0 | 1 | 9 | 5.35 | 39 | ||
3 | 24.0 | 0 | 3 | 5.25 | 7 | ||
1 | 9.0 | 0 | 1 | 7.00 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts