The
Keystone Association and the member teams were formed at a March 3, 1884 meeting in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania,
Carlisle, Pennsylvania and
West Chester, Pennsylvania were franchises admitted to the league but never played. The Chester Blue Stockings began play in 1884, as the Keystone Association played as a five–team Independent league. The other Keystone Association franchises were based in
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania,
Lancaster, Pennsylvania,
Littlestown, Pennsylvania and
York, Pennsylvania. The Chester Blue Stockings began Keystone Association play on May 2, 1884. During the 1884 season, the Chester franchise disbanded on June 2, 1884. On June 10, 1884, the league folded for the season with the Blue Stockings in fourth place, 6.5 games behind first place Lancaster, playing under manager Thomas Hargraves. The League standings when the league folded were
Lancaster Red Stockings (15–4),
York White Roses (10–10), Chambersburg (8–10), Chester Blue Stockings (8–10) and
Littlestown Brown Stockings (6–8). Lancaster disbanded on June 7, 1884, causing the rest of the league to fold. The 1885 Chester Blue Stockings returned to Keystone Association play, as the league featured the same five returning franchises. Chambersburg, the Chester Blue Stockings, Lancaster Red Stockings, Littlestown Brown Stockings and York White Roses all returned as 1885 league members. The 1885 league records and standings are unknown. The 1885 Keystone Association final team standings are unknown. In 1904, the Chester team played as members of the Independent level
Pennsylvania League. League standings for the six–team league are unknown. The Chester team played in the 1907 Independent level Atlantic League. The
Tamaqua, Pennsylvania franchise combined with Chester. Joseph Senior, John Castle, Jack Quinn and James McGeehan were the managers. League standings and records for the six–team league are unknown. The 1908 Chester team became members of the Independent level
Pennsylvania-New Jersey League. Chester had an 8–3 record to finish in second place under manager
Steve Yerkes. Trenton finished first in the six–team league, percentage points ahead of Chester. In 1912, Chester played briefly as members of the
Class D level
Tri-State League after joining the league during the season. The
Johnstown Johnnies moved to Chester on August 2, 1912, with a record of 25–60. The Johnstown/Chester team ended the 1912 season with a record of 31–81, placing eighth in the standings.
Bert Conn and Curt Wiegand served as managers. ==The ballpark==