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About
In 1884, professional baseball was still in its infancy. The National League was less than a decade old, the National Association (which had been around since 1871) was now defunct, the American Association (which began two years earlier) were nipping at the NL's heels, and a new league-the Union Association-was in its first year. With all that going on, a hard-playing, hard-drinking club out of tiny Wilmington, Delaware-the Quicksteps-were so dominating their minor-league opponents that they would receive the opportunity of a lifetime. At 51–12, the Quicksteps were easily handling the struggling Eastern League, which was still in its inaugural season. Led by archetypal stars Tommy "Oyster" Burns and Edward "The Only" Nolan, the Quicksteps attacked opponents with a spike-sharpened, rough-and-tumble approach to the game that was only then coming into style, including Nolan's revolutionary delivery: the curve ball. They clinched the league title with six weeks left in the season, and then did something no other team had ever done before. The UA's inaugural season wasn't going as well as they had hoped. Four teams folded before the season's conclusion, and the red-hot Quicksteps were slated to be promoted to the professional league-something which, then and now, is unheard of-replacing the defunct Philadelphia Keystones. Unfortunately, things did not go as well for Wilmington in the UA as it did in the Eastern League. As the first shots are fired in a near century-long battle for player rights, mass defections, and a comedy of on-field error and misfortune resigned the Quicksteps to a virtually unassailable record for baseball futility. In 18 games, the Quicksteps went 2–16, giving them a .111 winning percentage (compared to their .810 winning percentage in the Eastern League). The UA would fold at seasons' end-as would the Quicksteps. Loaded with colorful characters, highlight plays, and behind-the-scenes drama, Jon Springer (Mets by the Numbers) tells the forgotten true story of a tumultuous and remarkable summer; a team driven and summarily destroyed by its own dream of success.
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Reviews
"Once Upon a Team is a marvelous book by Jon Springer that explores the primordial ooze from which our current game of baseball emerged. What really came through in this book though were the personalities and antics of the players. The behind-the-scenes events that would shape the season and provide great context to the primordial ooze from which our current game emerged."
Jon Shepherd, Camden Depot
"So little is known about nineteenth century baseball that virtually all sources say the true history of the game began in 1901, with the advent of the American League. But say it ain't so, Joe: this well-researched history reveals that teams and leagues fought for fans, recognition, and revenue in a rough-and-tumble era of rowdy players and changing rules. Beyond their quixotic name, the Wilmingt
Dan Schlossberg, author of The New Baseball Bible
"[A] fascinating glimpse of a little-known part of baseball history. . . . Once Upon a Team paints a vivid picture of baseball in America a century before free agency, giant ballparks, first-class hotels and travel, giant salaries, and guaranteed contracts."
Douglas B. Lyons, author of New York Yankees Home Run Almanac