May 1, 1884 marks opening day for baseball in the City of Brotherly love.  The home town side hopes to improve on their less than impressive debut season of 1883, when only 17 of 98 games were victories.  Poor hurling and lack of timely hitting hampered the freshman season for the club after replacing the Worcester nine last year.  Hope springs eternal, especially in the form of young Mr. Charles Ferguson, a 21 year old pitching sensation out of Charlottesville, VA.  Mr. Ferguson recently took the mound for the University of Virginia and was signed to work for the Quakers after a season in Richmond.  Some say they saw him do work for the local college nine at the University of Pennsylvania.  Mr. Ferguson proved up to the task in his debut.  He was able to retire six Detrioters on strikes, made a two base hit upon his first bat, and ran the bases with notable speed.  His appearance generated much excitement among the crowd under bright blue skies.  Perhaps bright skies are ahead for the Quaker nine.

BOXSCORE: 1884 Detroit Wolverines At 1884 Philadelphia Quakers       5/1/1884
 
  Wolverines         AB  R  H RBI AVG     Quakers            AB  R  H RBI AVG
  G.Wood LF           4  0  0  0 .000     B.McClellan SS      3  2  1  2 .333  
  J.Farrell 3B        5  1  2  0 .400     J.Coleman LF        4  0  1  2 .250  
  N.Hanlon CF         5  0  1  2 .200     J.Mulvey 3B         4  0  2  0 .500  
  C.Bennett C         5  1  1  0 .200     C.Ferguson P        3  1  1  0 .333  
  M.Scott 1B          5  0  1  2 .200     J.Crowley C         4  1  1  1 .250  
  S.Wiedman P         4  1  0  0 .000     S.Farrar 1B         3  1  0  1 .000  
  F.Meinke SS         4  1  2  0 .500     J.Fogarty RF        4  1  1  0 .250  
  B.Geiss 2B          4  0  0  0 .000     J.Remsen CF         2  1  0  0 .000  
  W.Prince RF         4  2  2  2 .500     E.Andrews 2B        3  0  0  0 .000  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      40  6  9  6                 Totals      30  7  7  6
 
 
Wolverines...... 0 0 3  0 0 0  1 2 0  -  6  9  1
Quakers......... 0 2 0  0 4 0  1 0    -  7  7  6
 
Wolverines (0-1)         IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
S.Wiedman LOSS(0-1)       8       7   7   6   4   5   0   6.75  A1
Totals                    8       7   7   6   4   5   0
 
Quakers (1-0)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
C.Ferguson WIN(1-0)       9       9   6   3   1   6   0   3.00  A1
Totals                    9       9   6   3   1   6   0
 
ATTENDANCE- 32,947 DATE- Thursday, May 1st 1884 TIME- Day WEATHER- Good
UMPIRES- Eugene Van Court, , , 
T- 2:15
LEFT ON BASE- Wolverines: 8  Quakers: 3
DOUBLE PLAYS- Wolverines: 1  Quakers: 0
ERRORS- F.Meinke, B.McClellan-2, J.Mulvey-2, E.Andrews, C.Ferguson
DOUBLES- J.Farrell(1st), F.Meinke(1st), W.Prince(1st), B.McClellan(1st),
         C.Ferguson(1st), J.Fogarty(1st)
TRIPLES- M.Scott(1st), J.Crowley(1st)
RBIs- N.Hanlon-2(2nd), M.Scott-2(2nd), W.Prince-2(2nd), B.McClellan-2(2nd),
      J.Coleman-2(2nd), J.Crowley(1st), S.Farrar(1st)
STOLEN BASES- N.Hanlon(1st), B.McClellan(1st)
WALKS- G.Wood, B.McClellan, C.Ferguson, S.Farrar, J.Remsen
STRIKE OUTS- G.Wood, N.Hanlon, C.Bennett, M.Scott, S.Wiedman, W.Prince,
             C.Ferguson-2, J.Fogarty, J.Remsen-2
GIDP- J.Crowley
2-out RBI- M.Scott-2, W.Prince-2
RLISP 2-out- B.Geiss-2, S.Wiedman, C.Bennett-2, J.Crowley, C.Ferguson,
             J.Farrell-2
 
Charlie Ferguson had a complete game at Recreation Park as the Philadelphia
Quakers beat the Detroit Wolverines 7 to 6.
 
Philadelphia came up with 4 runs in the bottom of the 5th inning with the help
of 3 hits.  The critical plate appearance was by Bill McClellan who made the
home-town crowd a happy bunch when he doubled plating two runs.  Philadelphia
had 7 hits for the afternoon.  
 
Ferguson(1-0) finished the game allowing 6 runs in the victory. Stump
Wiedman(0-1) was given the loss.  He gave up 7 hits and 4 walks in 8 inning