The 1882 season was the first as a major league club for the Alleghenys, which had previously played as an independent team. They finished at exactly a .500 record, 39 wins and 39 losses, good for fourth place in the new American Association. The team was based in Allegheny City, across the Allegheny River from Pittsburgh. Only later, around 1887, would the team become officially known as the "Pittsburg Alleghenys", but the name was applied retroactively by sports historians.