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Some of the younger fans may find these facts to be of interest. When the AL was organized in 1901 the NL was already 25 years old. For more than 50 years the 16 clubs were located in only 10 cities with St. Louis being the westernmost. Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and St. Louis had 2 teams and greater New York had 3. In 1914 and '15 a third league, the Federal League operated in Indianapolis, Chicago, Baltimore, Buffalo, Brooklyn, Kansas City, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. In '15 the Indianapolis franchise relocated to Newark. In 1953 the Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee. In '54 the Browns left St. Louis and became the Orioles. In '55 the A's moved from Philadelphia to Kansas City. In '58 the Dodgers and Giants moved from New York to California. In '61 the AL expanded by adding the Los Angeles Angels (who would be renamed the California Angels in '65, the Anaheim Anglels in '97 and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2005) and new Washington Senators. The old Senators relocated to Minnesota and became the Twins. In '62 the NL expanded by adding the New York Mets and Houston Colt 45s who became the Astros in '65. In '66 the Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta. In '68 the A's moved from Kansas City to Oakland. In '69 both leagues expanded and split into two 6-team divisions. The AL added the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots who would become the Milwaukee Brewers in '70. The NL added the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres. In '72 the Senators moved from Washington to Texas and became the Rangers. In '77 the AL added the Blue Jays and Mariners. In '93 the NL added the Rockies and Marlins. In '94 both leagues reorganized into 3 divisions. In '98 the Diamondbacks and Devil Rays were added and the Brewers moved to the NL. In '05 the Expos became the Washington Nationals. Confused? Me too.
As regards the 1962 expansion that resulted in the Mets and Colt 45s...that only happened because of a wonderfully clever scam hatched by Branch Rickey, involving the proposed Continental League. MLB was half-frightened to death that Rickey was actually going to put together a competitive organization, and they bought him off--or so they thought--by agreeing to the additions of teams in New York and Houston. In fact, Rickey did not have sufficient backing, and the whole plan would have crumbled if his bluff had been called. But he knew his customers, and the original goal, which was to return National League baseball to New York, was accomplished.
He was also fairly prescient; the proposed cities in the Continental League wound up with Major League franchises in either the NL or AL as a result of later expansions.
Not sure about this one, but wasn't the Houston club originally the Colts, then the Colt .45's, then the Astros?
Does anyone know the history of the move by the original Senators to the Twin Cities? I've long wondered why they would move if they were doing a good business in D.C., and if they were not selling well in Washington why MLB would have added a new club right away in a city where the longtime club had not drawn well. I've never known much about why the original Senators moved, so I'm really fuzzy on how and why this double move around Washington ever happened.
Speaking of the Senators, I've also wondered at times whether there may have been a long period when Washington's and Baltimore's teams had fans in both cities, without enough population between them to support two teams in one sport. It's worth noting that the expansion Senators left Washington at a time when the Orioles were really good, just as the Baltimore Colts moved to Indy in the '80's, a decade when the Redskins won a couple of championships. I wonder whether it's only been fairly recently that the population of the D.C. and Baltimore areas combined reached a point where they could support two teams. If the combined population was too small for this in the past, maybe the following for either team in sports with two teams was barely enough to keep a team going. Then when one team started winning big, the other team lost some of its already thin support and had to move to greener pastures. Just something I've wondered about, especially since there's that question of why MLB added the expansion Senators to Washington the same year another club that had presumably been doing badly in Washington finally skipped town.
Not sure about this one, but wasn't the Houston club originally the Colts, then the Colt .45's, then the Astros?
Does anyone know the history of the move by the original Senators to the Twin Cities? I've long wondered why they would move if they were doing a good business in D.C., and if they were not selling well in Washington why MLB would have added a new club right away in a city where the longtime club had not drawn well. I've never known much about why the original Senators moved, so I'm really fuzzy on how and why this double move around Washington ever happened.
Speaking of the Senators, I've also wondered at times whether there may have been a long period when Washington's and Baltimore's teams had fans in both cities, without enough population between them to support two teams in one sport. It's worth noting that the expansion Senators left Washington at a time when the Orioles were really good, just as the Baltimore Colts moved to Indy in the '80's, a decade when the Redskins won a couple of championships. I wonder whether it's only been fairly recently that the population of the D.C. and Baltimore areas combined reached a point where they could support two teams. If the combined population was too small for this in the past, maybe the following for either team in sports with two teams was barely enough to keep a team going. Then when one team started winning big, the other team lost some of its already thin support and had to move to greener pastures. Just something I've wondered about, especially since there's that question of why MLB added the expansion Senators to Washington the same year another club that had presumably been doing badly in Washington finally skipped town.
In those days the owners' trump card, the reserve clause, was still in place. They feared that Congress would take it away if Washington were left without a team. A legitimate fear because legislators repeatedly made that threat.
Not sure about this one, but wasn't the Houston club originally the Colts, then the Colt .45's, then the Astros?
Does anyone know the history of the move by the original Senators to the Twin Cities? I've long wondered why they would move if they were doing a good business in D.C., and if they were not selling well in Washington why MLB would have added a new club right away in a city where the longtime club had not drawn well. I've never known much about why the original Senators moved, so I'm really fuzzy on how and why this double move around Washington ever happened.
Speaking of the Senators, I've also wondered at times whether there may have been a long period when Washington's and Baltimore's teams had fans in both cities, without enough population between them to support two teams in one sport. It's worth noting that the expansion Senators left Washington at a time when the Orioles were really good, just as the Baltimore Colts moved to Indy in the '80's, a decade when the Redskins won a couple of championships. I wonder whether it's only been fairly recently that the population of the D.C. and Baltimore areas combined reached a point where they could support two teams. If the combined population was too small for this in the past, maybe the following for either team in sports with two teams was barely enough to keep a team going. Then when one team started winning big, the other team lost some of its already thin support and had to move to greener pastures. Just something I've wondered about, especially since there's that question of why MLB added the expansion Senators to Washington the same year another club that had presumably been doing badly in Washington finally skipped town.
The Houston team was commonly called the Colts by many people who did not like the official "Colt 45" title.
Here's a little ancient baseball history, and astonishing trivia, all rolled up in one...
The first organized professional league was the NAPBBP (National Association of Professional Base Ball Players), whose inaugural season took place in 1871. There were supposed to be ten teams, but only nine took the field--the ownership of the Brooklyn Eckfords wasn't sure about the league's viability, and hesitated to fork over $10 in league dues.
Midway through that season, the Fort Wayne (Indiana) Kekiongas folded. The Eckfords were called upon to fill their place in the league. But at the end of the season, it turned out that the league had not forgotten that dues snub. All games played by the Brooklyn Eckfords were stricken for the records, and even today, if you research the NAPBBP, you won't find that team listed for the 1871 season.
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