- This article is about the 1882-1890 Philadelphia Athletics baseball team. See Philadelphia Athletics (1860-1876) for the first so-called "Philadelphia Athletics" team, see Philadelphia Quakers/Athletics (PL/AA) for the second, and see Oakland Athletics for the 1901-1954 Philadelphia Athletics (AL).
The
Philadelphia Athletics were a professional baseball team, one of six charter members of the
American Association, a 19th-century
major league, which began play in
1882 as a rival to the
National League. The other teams were the
Baltimore Orioles,
Cincinnati Red Stockings,
Eclipse of Louisville,
Pittsburgh Alleghenys, and
St. Louis Brown Stockings. The team took its name from a previous team, which played in the
National Association from
1871 through
1875 and in the
National League in
1876.
