The team was first formed in 1887 as a member of the Ohio State League, before disbanding on June 29 of that year.
The third incarnation of the Stubs began in 1905 as the city fielded a team for the Ohio–Pennsylvania League, named the Steubenville Factory Men.
A year later the club moved to the Pennsylvania–Ohio–Maryland League and took up the Stubs moniker.
The club went 14–15 to fourth of four teams in a tight race in the second half, before the league folded on August 6, 1912.
The Fairmont Fairies were declared the league champion when the Stubs were unable to field a team for the playoffs.