1884 Kansas City Unions baseball club

The team’s record was 16 wins, 63 losses. Playing home games at Athletic Park, the Unions drew 53,000 fans. Most unusual for a team of that period, the Unions had 17 outfielders, 23 infielders, four catchers and seven pitchers.

Players who were in the most games at each position were: 

Catcher Kid Baldwin, 44

1B, Jerry Sweeney, 31

2B, Charlie Berry, 22

3B, Pat Sullivan,21

SS, Calvin Cross, 24

LF, Frank Wyman, 13

CF, Jim Cudworth, 12

RF, Barney McLaughlin, 17.

Starting pitcher for the Unions was Bob Black.

The team is known as Cowboys by many historians, but as Unions by local press. Part of the Union Association, the Unions/Cowboys team was Kansas City’s first major league team. The league had 12 teams and was in business one year.

Players included pitcher Jersey Bakely, infielder Jumbo Davis, outfielder Peek-A-Boo Veach and Unknown Willis.

Alex Voss was the tallest Unions, at 6 feet 1 inch. Shortest player was Kin Alexander, 5 feet 1½ inches and 145 pounds.

The oldest player was infielder Charles Fisher, 32 when the season started. Youngest was infielder Jim Donnelly, 17.

Other teams in the Union Association were the St. Louis Maroons, Cincinnati Outlaw Reds, Baltimore Monumentals, Boston Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Paul Saints, Chicago Browns/Pittsburgh Stogies, Altoona Mountain Citys, Wilmington Quicksteps, Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Keystones and our Kansas City Unions/Cowboys.

Unions infielder Charles Fisher is the only major league ball player to die in Alaska, in 1917 at age 64 years and 11 months.