Editing Union Association (section)

==History==
The league was founded in September 1883<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseballlibrary.com/chronology/byyear.php?year=1883&previous=yes|title=The Chronology - 1883 - BaseballLibrary.com<!-- Bot generated title -->|website=baseballlibrary.com|access-date=May 4, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020025125/http://www.baseballlibrary.com/chronology/byyear.php?year=1883&previous=yes|archive-date=October 20, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref> by the young St. Louis millionaire [[Henry Lucas (baseball)|Henry Lucas]], who was eventually named the league's president, with owner [[Tom Pratt (baseball)|Tom Pratt]] of the [[Philadelphia Keystones|Philadelphia franchise]] serving as vice-president and [[Warren White (baseball)|Warren W. White]] of the [[Washington Nationals (UA)|Washington franchise]] as secretary.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Richter|first=Francis C.|title=Two Big Wars Interrupted the Progress of the National Game|journal=Sporting Life|date=March 14, 1908|volume=51|issue=1|pages=6|url=http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1908/VOL_51_NO_01/SL5101006.pdf|access-date=September 21, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110508015538/http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1908/VOL_51_NO_01/SL5101006.pdf|archive-date=May 8, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

After being appointed president, Lucas bought the best available players for his [[St. Louis Maroons|St. Louis franchise]] at the expense of the rest of the league, which represented an obvious conflict-of-interest situation: the Maroons subsequently opened the season with 20 straight wins, and finished with a record of 94–19 (.832 winning percentage), winning the pennant by 21 games after having clinched it with five weeks to play.

The league not only suffered from lopsided talent distribution, but also instability - four franchises folded during the season, forcing the league to scramble to replace them with three teams from lower leagues and one new team, while Chicago moved to Pittsburgh mid-season - and a poorly drafted schedule, which saw the league derisively dubbed "The Onion League" by its detractors in the two established leagues. The list of franchise movements is as follows:

* '''April 17''': Season opens with the following franchises:  [[Altoona Mountain Citys]], [[Baltimore Monumentals]], [[Boston Reds (1884)|Boston Reds]], [[Chicago Browns/Pittsburgh Stogies|Chicago Browns]], [[Cincinnati Outlaw Reds]], [[Philadelphia Keystones]], [[St. Louis Maroons]], and [[Washington Nationals (Union Association)|Washington Nationals]]
* '''May 31''': [[Altoona Mountain Citys]] folded.
* '''June 7''': [[Kansas City Cowboys (Union Association)|Kansas City Cowboys]] were formed to take over Altoona's games starting on this date.
* '''August 7''': [[Philadelphia Keystones]] folded.
* '''August 18''': [[Wilmington Quicksteps]] recruited from [[Eastern League (1884–1887)|Eastern League]] to take over Philadelphia's games, starting on this date.
* '''August 21''': Chicago Browns played their last game before the franchise moved to Pittsburgh.
* '''September 15''': Wilmington Quicksteps fold, having played their final game on September 12: at this point of the season, the St. Louis Maroons have already clinched the pennant, even though there are still five weeks of games left to play.
* '''September 18''': Pittsburgh Stogies (formerly the Chicago Browns) folded.
* '''September 27''': [[St. Paul Saints (Union Association)|St. Paul Saints]] and [[Milwaukee Brewers (1884–1885)|Milwaukee Brewers]] were recruited from the [[Northwestern League]] to finish the Chicago/Pittsburgh and the Philadelphia/Wilmington schedules respectively. 
* '''October 19''': Season concludes.

On January 15, 1885, at a scheduled UA meeting in Milwaukee, only the Milwaukee and Kansas City franchises showed up, and the league was promptly disbanded.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseballlibrary.com/chronology/byyear.php?year=1885|title=The Chronology - 1885 - BaseballLibrary.com<!-- Bot generated title -->|website=baseballlibrary.com|access-date=May 4, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080101103130/http://www.baseballlibrary.com/chronology/byyear.php?year=1885|archive-date=January 1, 2008|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The St. Louis franchise itself was deemed to be strong enough to enter the National League in 1885, but it faced heavy competition within the city, as the [[St. Louis Browns (NL)|St. Louis Browns]] were a power in the [[American Association (19th century)|American Association]]. 

The lone survivor of the Union moved to Indianapolis and became the Hoosiers after 1886, having compiled records of 36–72 and 43–79 in St. Louis, and they played another three seasons before folding, with records of 37–89, 50–85 and 59–75 for a .360 win percentage in the NL, and an all-time franchise winning percentage of .432. These figures, perhaps, reveal the gulf in class between the UA and the established major leagues.

Perhaps the most obvious impact of the short-lived league was on the career of a player who did ''not'' jump to the new league: [[Charles Radbourn]]. With a schedule of a little over 100 games, most teams employed two regular pitchers, and the [[Providence Grays]] in the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] featured Radbourn and [[Charlie Sweeney]]. According to the 1991 book ''Glory Fades Away'' by Jerry Lansche, Sweeney fell out of grace with the Providence team in late July after he refused to be replaced in a game while drunk, and was expelled. Rather than come crawling back, Sweeney signed with Lucas' team, leaving Radbourn by himself. 

Leveraging his situation, Radbourn pledged to stay with the club and be the sole primary pitcher if he would be given a raise and granted free agency at season's end. Radbourn, who already had 24 wins at that point to Sweeney's 17, pitched nearly every game after that, and went on to win an astounding 59 games (a record) during the regular season; he has since been credited with another win for 60 that season. For an encore, he also won all three games of 1884's version of the [[World Series]], pitching every inning of a sweep of the [[New York Metropolitans]] of the [[American Association (19th century)|American Association]]. His performance in 1884, along with a generally strong career and an overall record of 309-194 (.614), assured Radbourn his place in the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]].

===Timeline===
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 bar:WSH      #Washington Nationals (Apr 17–Oct 19)
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#---1884
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