Altoona Mountain Citys

The Altoona Mountain Citys were a professional baseball franchise that played in Altoona, Pennsylvania in 1884. The Mountain Citys were a charter member of the Union Association, but folded after 25 games with a 6–19 record. They were alternately known as the Ottawas, after the local history of the Ottawa people in the 17th and 18th centuries. At the start of the season, they were also known by the nickname Altoona Pride, and were advertised as the Famous Altoonas. By the season's end, they were known as the Altoona Unfortunates.[1]

Altoona Mountain Citys
Years 1884*

Folded after 25 games with a 6–19 record

Based in Altoona, Pennsylvania
Major league affiliations
Ballpark
Colors

Purple, white
   

Other names
  • Altoona Pride
  • Altoona Ottawas
Owners
  • Arthur Dively & William Ritz
Managers
Major league titles
  • Union Association pennants: 0

History

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 1884 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 season

Season standings
Union Association W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Maroons 9419 0.832 — 49–6 45–13
Cincinnati Outlaw Reds 6936 0.657 21 35–17 34–19
Baltimore Monumentals 5847 0.552 32 29–21 29–26
Boston Reds 5851 0.532 34 34–22 24–29
Milwaukee Brewers 84 0.667 35½ 8–4 0–0
St. Paul Saints 26 0.250 39½ 0–0 2–6
Chicago Browns/Pittsburgh Stogies 4150 0.451 42 21–19 20–31
Altoona Mountain Citys 619 0.240 44 6–12 0–7
Wilmington Quicksteps 216 0.111 44½ 1–6 1–10
Washington Nationals (UA) 4765 0.420 46½ 36–27 11–38
Philadelphia Keystones 2146 0.313 50 14–21 7–25
Kansas City Cowboys 1663 0.203 61 11–23 5–40

Record vs. opponents
1884 Union Association record

Sources:
Team ALT BAL BOS CHI/PIT CIN KC MIL PHI STL STP WSH WIL
Altoona —1–31–10–00–30–00–01–30–80–03–10–0
Baltimore 3–1—10–5–17–54–1010–21–310–21–140–011–51–0
Boston 1–15–10–1—4–8–15–118–42–28–38–80–012–45–0
Chicago/Pittsburgh 0–05–78–4–1—7–812–40–03–52–140–04–8–10–0
Cincinnati 3–010–411–58–7—9–10–09–04–123–010–62–1
Kansas City 0–02–104–84–121–9—0–00–40–11–11–1–14–8–10–0
Milwaukee 0–03–12–20–00–00–0—0–00–00–03–10–0
Philadelphia 3–12–103–85–30–94–00–0—0–80–04–70–0
St. Louis 8–014–18–814–212–411–0–10–08–0—2–113–34–0
St. Paul 0–00–00–00–00–31–1–10–00–01–2—0–00–0
Washington 1–35–114–128–4–16–108–4–11–37–43–130–0—4–1
Wilmington 0–00–10–50–01–20–00–00–00–40–01–4—

Roster
1884 Altoona Mountain City
Roster
Pitchers

Catchers

 Infielders Outfielders Manager

Player stats

Starters by position

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

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR
CJerry Moore208025.3131
1BFrank Harris249525.2630
2BCharlie Dougherty238522.2590
3BHarry Koons217818.2310
SSGermany Smith2510834.3150
OFTaylor Shafer135518.3270
OFJim Brown218822.2501
OFJohn Murphy239414.1490

Other batters

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

Player G AB H Avg. HR
Pat Carroll114913.2650
John Grady93611.3060
Jack Leary8333.0910
Charlie Berry7256.2400
George Noftsker7251.0400
Frank Shaffer6193.1580
Joe Connors3111.0910
Clarence Cross274.5710
Charlie Manlove273.4290
George Daisy140.0000

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
John Murphy14111.2563.8748
Jim Brown1174.0195.3539
Jack Leary324.0035.257
Joe Connors19.0017.000

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
Germany Smith10009.001

References
  1. Richard Worth (2013). Baseball Team Names: A Worldwide Dictionary, 1869-2011. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 20. ISBN 9780786468447. Retrieved 2015-04-11.
  2. "Mountain Citys History". Archived from the original on 2009-10-21.
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