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$Title{Rival Leagues}
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Dellinger, Harold}
$Subject{Rival Leagues National American Association Federal League}
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Total Baseball:  Other Leagues


Rival Leagues

Harold Dellinger


The history of Major League baseball is much more than the combined history of
the National League and the American League. That history also includes the
story of the eleven primary attempts, some successful and some not, to form
leagues for whom major league status was claimed or would later be claimed.
The earliest such attempt predates "the major leagues" as understood by the
majority of baseball fans--that is, the 1876 founding of the National
League--while the most recent such attempt triggered the expansion era that
has seen the total of big league clubs expand from 16 to 26.

The National Association (1871-1875)

     The "National Association of Professional Base Ball Players" was
organized in New York City on March 17, 1871, by representatives of the ten
leading professional clubs in the country. Among the business discussed was
the adoption of a constitution similar to that of the National Association of
Base Ball Players, which had ruled both professional and amateur teams and
players in years prior to 1871. This new National Association is properly
considered the first professional league.
     The National Association elected as its first president United States
Marshall James W. Kerns, the representative of the Philadelphia team. Upon
payment of a $10 fee, clubs were admitted from Troy, Boston, New York,
Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, and Washington, plus Rockford, Illinois and
Fort Wayne, Indiana. Several clubs did not join because the $10 fee, which
was to be used to purchase a championship banner, seemed excessive.
     League rules provided that each club was to arrange a series of five
games with each other club. The club winning the most series would be
declared the champion. A "championship committee" was to decide disputes
between clubs. A procedure was established to decide cases involving players
who signed with two or more clubs. Such players were called revolvers.
     The most controversial discussions concerned the admission price. Harry
Wright, the Boston representative, favored a higher rate. He said, "We must
make the games worth witnessing, and there will be no fault found with the
price of admission. A good game is worth 50 cents, a poor one is dear at 25
cents." In the end each club was allowed to set its own admission price, and
the better clubs began demanding guarantees when playing less prosperous
clubs.
     The first National Association game was played at Fort Wayne on May 4,
1871, with the home team beating Cleveland 2-0. Most of the National
Association teams had operated in 1870 and earlier seasons, and had nuclei of
teams signed and ready to play. Most of the veteran players in the country
found spots with National Association teams. Dickey Pearce, for instance, who
was already a thirteen-year professional at age thirty-five, played with New
York. Joe Start, the premier first baseman of the day, joined the same club.
Veterans George Wright and Harry Schafer joined Harry Wright, the architect of
the famous Cincinnati team of 1869-1870, on the Boston team. Chicago veterans
included Mart King, James Wood, and Joe Simmons. Levi Meyerle and Al Reach
played for Philadelphia.
     Among the young players destined to become professional stars were
pitcher Al Spalding and second baseman Roscoe Barnes. Barnes became the most
adept practitioner of the fair-foul hit whereby any batted ball, not just
those beyond first and third bases, that landed fair and then went foul was
considered a fair hit. Adrian Anson, whose playing career would stretch to
1897, played several positions for Rockford in 1871 before moving on to
Philadelphia.
     The 1871 championship season was plagued by a disturbing number of
cancellations, forfeits, and controversy relating to the standings. Boston
had won as many games but fewer series than Philadelphia and Chicago when the
"Championship Committee" decided that the winner of the October 30
Philadelphia-Chicago game would be declared the champion. The Chicago team
had lost all their equipment in the great Chicago fire, which had begun on
October 8, and played the game in partial uniforms and the uniforms of several
other clubs. Several players played with black dress hats instead of baseball
caps. Philadelphia won the game 4-1 and claimed the championship with a 22-7
record. The Philadelphia manager, Hicks Hayhurst, asked Harry Wright if he
could suggest where the championship banner should be placed. The very
controlled response of Wright was that perhaps it should be displayed in the
Philadelphia clubhouse instead of the saloon where it usually resided.
     The Fort Wayne club had disbanded in late August with only six or seven
wins in the four months. A Brooklyn club made a belated entry into the
league, although it was not eligible for the championship. Brooklyn did
little better than Fort Wayne and supposedly the Brooklyn fans that season
began using the famous lament, "Wait until next year."
     Harry Wright's Boston club won the four National Association
championships from 1872 to 1875 and so dominated the league that it became
known as "Harry Wright's League." In 1875 the Boston team overwhelmed the
opposition with a 71-8 record. One of the tailenders, the Brooklyn team,
posted only a 2-42 record. The unequal talents of National Association teams
plagued the league during its entire existence. The irregular schedule also
caused many problems, and even determining how many games were won and lost by
the various teams became, and has remained, almost impossible. Third baseman
Robert Ferguson served as president of the National Association from 1872
through 1875.
     The Boston team, of course, became the best-paid team in the league with
salaries reaching levels not seen again until the mid-eighties. The players
on the Boston team, however, certainly did earn their pay. Pitcher Al
Spalding is credited by modern research with 207 wins in five National
Association seasons, including a 57-5 mark in 1875. Only four other pitchers,
including Bobby Matthews, posted as many as 100 National Association wins.
Ross Barnes of Boston is listed in modern reference works as the National
Association batting champion for the 1873 and 1875 seasons, and his career
National Association batting average is calculated at .379. Other National
Association batting champions were Levi Meyerle in 1871, Davey Force in 1872,
and John McMullen in 1874. Batting averages were actually seldom compiled
during the National Association era, and hitters were ranked by hits per game
(HPG). Barnes' league-leading 1.79 HPG in 1875 has been translated into a
league-leading .372 batting average. Barnes also became the first National
League batting champion in 1876 before the fair-foul hit was abolished.
     Several players, including Barnes, became so deadly with the fair-foul
hit, that an unusual rule change was made before the 1874 season in an attempt
to balance the defense with the offense. Because of the possibility of the
fair-foul hit, the first baseman and the third baseman had to play right on
the foul lines, leaving huge defensive gaps in the rest of the infield. Henry
Chadwick's solution, to which "there is not a reasonable objection that can be
brought against it," was to add a tenth player, called the "right stop," to be
stationed between first and second bases.  However "reasonable" it may have
been, Chadwick's proposal was not adopted by the National Association.
     The Boston and Philadelphia teams made special schedule arrangements in
1874 to allow them to play their required games and still make a midseason
trip to England. They left on the steamship Ohio on July 16 and arrived
eleven days later. Games were played between the two teams in places like
London, Liverpool, Sheffield, and Manchester, with the Boston club winning
eight of the fourteen matches. The hopes of big attendance were not realized
and losses of $3,000 for the trip were reported, but both clubs were
successful enough at home to cover the losses. The Boston and Philadelphia
teams did not return to the United States until September 9.
     In the 1875 National Association season, the first "sale" of baseball
players occurred, involving the two Philadelphia teams in the league that
season. The first Philadelphia team paid the officials of the second
Philadelphia team to release their two best players, Bill Craver and George
Bechtel, so that the first Philadelphia team might sign them and attempt to
challenge Boston for the championship. The second Philadelphia team then
disbanded.
     Some twenty-three clubs played one or more seasons in the National
Association. The Philadelphia, Boston, and New York clubs were charter
members of the National Association and the only three clubs to play all five
seasons. Chicago, a charter member, missed two seasons as a result of the
great fire but played three seasons in the National Association. The other
charter members--Rockford, Washington, Troy, and Cleveland--lasted only one or
two seasons. In addition to the Brooklyn team that finished the 1871 season,
a second Brooklyn team participated in four National Association seasons.
Second and third Philadelphia teams were entered in, respectively, three and
one National Association seasons. A second Washington club played three
National Association seasons. Two separate Baltimore teams played three and
one seasons. Two St. Louis teams, neither very competent, were entered in
1875. A team from Hartford was entered in 1874 and 1875. Teams from
Elizabeth, New Jersey; New Haven, Connecticut; Middletown, Connecticut; and
Keokuk, Iowa, were entered unsuccessfully in one National Association season.
     The National Association was easily supplanted by the newly formed
National League after the 1875 season. The problems associated with
scheduling and the unequal quality of opposition, because of the easy
membership rules, made the stronger clubs seek a better way of doing business.
Periodic problems with gamblers and rowdyism were also factors in the demise
of the National Association. Even Harry Wright of Boston became involved in
the new National League and entered his club.
     The remnants of the National Association met in March 1876 to organize
for another season, but the attempt was unsuccessful. The National
Association quietly passed from the scene.

The International Association and the National Association (1877-1880)

     The International Association and its successor organization, the
National Association, survived four years of existence independent of the
National League. The organization offered independent clubs of the era some
protection against a common enemy--the National League--whose exclusiveness
and aggressiveness offended and endangered the independent club.
     The "International Association of Professional Base Ball Players" was
organized February 20, 1877, in Pittsburgh. The meeting had been called by
L.C. Waite, secretary of the St. Louis Red Stockings team. Waite had
circulated letters urging that the fifty or so professional clubs that were
not members of the National League form an organization to promote and protect
their interests. Waite believed the National League was trying to monopolize
baseball to the detriment of clubs not important enough or located in cities
not big enough to join the National League.
     Delegates from seventeen clubs attended the initial International
Association meeting. A loosely formed body of outside clubs, much resembling
the old National Association, was put together with features such as a $10
membership fee and a 25-cent admission price. There was no limit on the
number of clubs which could enter, nor was there any standard by which the
quality of the team which wished to enter could be judged. William "Candy"
Cummings, a pitcher and the probable inventor of the curveball, was elected
president. James A. Williams of Columbus, Ohio, became secretary-treasurer.
He would hold this position for all four years that the IA/NA existed.
     To compete for the championship of the International Association, teams
were required to pay an extra $15 fee and schedule a set number of games
against clubs similarly enrolled. Teams from London, Ontario; Columbus, Ohio;
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Lynn, Massachusetts; Guelph, Ontario; Manchester,
New Hampshire; and Rochester, New York, paid the extra fee. Some sixteen
other clubs became members of the International Association but did not
compete for the championship.
     Only a portion of the games played each year by International Association
teams would count toward the championship. In practice, each club secretary
would arrange games with each other club secretary to meet that year's
championship requirement. There would also be other games with International
Association teams that would not count toward the championship plus games
versus other independent teams, National League teams, and other exhibition
and "pickup" games. This was a preferred way of doing business for many
professional clubs who felt they were better off playing clubs in their own
vicinity more often and avoiding heavy travel expenses.
     Clearly hoping to subvert a strong organization of outside clubs, the
National League set up its own organization of independent clubs that came to
be called the League Alliance. To member clubs of the League Alliance, the
National League offered the protection of its players, plus certain other
nebulous benefits. About thirty clubs were enrolled as members of the League
Alliance in 1877.
     The London, Ontario, team won the first International Association
championship with a 14-4 record. Fred Goldsmith pitched every championship
game for London and a good many of the nonchampionship games. International
Association president Candy Cummings posted only a 1-7 record for the Lynn
team. The Guelph and Lynn teams failed to finish the season.
     Many other prominent players played in the International Association,
including Mike Kelly, Joe Hornung, Lou Say, Pud Galvin, Ned Williamson, John
M. Ward, and in later years Jack Glasscock, Jake Knowdell, and Davey Force.
Several believed the International Association was better for players than the
National League. Force urged his club not to join the National League because
"there is nothing in it."
     J.W. Whitney of Rochester, New York, was elected president of the
International Association for the 1878 season. Clubs from thirteen cities
enrolled for the championship--Rochester, New York; Utica, New York; London,
Ontario; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Manchester, New Hampshire; Lynn,
Massachusetts; Buffalo, New York; Syracuse, New York; Binghamton, New York;
Hornellsville, New York; New Bedford, Massachusetts; Lowell, Massachusetts;
and Springfield, Massachusetts. New Bedford apparently never played a game
and was replaced by New Haven, Connecticut, about May 8. On May 20 New Haven
transferred to Hartford, Connecticut. On June 4 the Lynn club transferred to
Worcester, Massachusetts. On June 8 the Pittsburgh club disbanded. On June
20 the Hartford club was expelled for not paying the visiting Buffalo club its
share of the receipts. On July 19 the Binghamton club disbanded. On August
21 the Hornellsville and London teams disbanded. One story had the London
team trying to enter the National League, but the disbandment may have been
related to allegations of crooked play by some of the London players. The
Rochester and Worcester teams disbanded in early October. Only six of the
original thirteen International Association clubs finished the season.
     Buffalo was eventually awarded the 1878 International Association
championship, although not without some controversy. By one count, Syracuse
had a 27-10 record and Buffalo a 32-12 record. But, as was usually done,
games played against clubs that didn't finish the season where thrown out.
Thus by another count Buffalo finished with a 27-10 record to 26-10 for
Syracuse.
     The championship Buffalo club was one of the very best minor league clubs
ever put together. Every player on the team had played or would play in the
major leagues, some with distinction such as Jim Galvin and Davey Force.
Counting all its games, the Buffalo team compiled an 81-32 record, including a
10-7 record against National League teams. Galvin pitched 92 complete games
out of 101 games started and totaled approximately 900 innings pitched. The
Buffalo club was admitted into the National League for the 1879 season, where
it conducted itself capably, finishing in third place. The Syracuse team was
also admitted into the National League for the 1879 season.
     The International Association changed its name to the "National Base-Ball
Association" for the season of 1879. The name change was prompted by the fact
that no Canadian clubs signed up for the new season. Nine clubs enrolled for
the championship season representing Utica, New York; Worcester,
Massachusetts; Manchester, New Hampshire; Springfield, Massachusetts; New
Bedford, Massachusetts; Holyoke, Massachusetts; Washington, D.C.; and Albany,
New York. Two clubs represented Albany. L.J. Powers of Springfield served
as president.
     On May 21 one of the Albany clubs transferred to Rochester, New York. The
Manchester club disbanded on July 5. Utica disbanded on July 12, followed
very late in the season by Springfield and Rochester. If games with disbanded
teams had been thrown out, as in the previous year, Holyoke with a 19-10
record would have been tied with Albany with a 19-11 record for the
championship. The number of games won, not the percentage of games won, was
used to determine champions. The games against disbanded teams were not
thrown out, however, and the championship was awarded to Albany with a 27-13
record over Holyoke with a 23-16 record.
     For the 1880 season, the National Association enrolled clubs from only
three cities--Washington, D.C.; Albany, New York; and Baltimore, Maryland.
Some seventeen other independent clubs were affiliated with the National
Association but were not involved in the championship race. H.W. Garfield of
Albany served as the last president of the National Association.
     The Baltimore club played only two or three games before disbanding.
Several of the Baltimore players were shifted to Rochester, which was admitted
to membership. The Albany club disbanded about July 20 and Rochester quit in
early September. The Washington club had a 27-12 record, and since it was the
only team remaining, it must be considered the National Association champion.

The American Association (1882-1891)

     The "American Association of Base-Ball Clubs" was formally organized
November 2, 1881, in meetings at Cincinnati. The National League constitution
was adopted with modifications "affording more liberal conditions to cities
and players." A fixed guarantee was adopted and each club was given the right
to set the admission price. H.D. McKnight of Pittsburgh was elected
president and James Williams of Columbus, Ohio, was elected secretary. The
secretary was to be paid a fixed salary.
     Clubs were admitted to the American Association from Brooklyn,
Philadelphia, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Louisville. Applicants
from Boston and New York were not admitted but were encouraged to apply again
when better arrangements had been made. The Brooklyn franchise withdrew
before the season began, and a team was admitted from Baltimore to fill a
sixth spot. The six teams were placed in cities without major league baseball
and did not challenge existing National League teams.
     The American Association became known as the "Beer and Whiskey League"
because it seemed most of the owners were involved in the production or sale
of beer and other alcohols. Chris Von der Ahe, backer of the St. Louis
franchise, was said to have become interested in baseball because he noticed
that baseball fans drank a lot of beer. Von der Ahe owned a saloon near the
St. Louis ballpark and had operated an independent team run on the
cooperative plan in St. Louis during the 1881 season. The Baltimore team was
backed by Harry Vonderhorst, a brewer. The Louisville backers included the
treasurer of the Kentucky Malting Company. In the spring of 1882, the
American Association abrogated an earlier temporary rule against the sale of
liquor at the ballpark.
     That there was room for a new league was evident to most observers.
Louisville had been without professional baseball since being removed in 1877
because of financial problems. St. Louis had been without a regular-league
team for the same period of time because of disputes over the sale of liquor
at the ballpark. New York and Philadelphia were open because their teams had
been expelled in 1876. The Cincinnati franchise had been "vacated" because of
the continued sale of liquor on the grounds of the ballpark. The presence of
several prime cities without professional baseball plus the greatly expanding
urban population made a new league look like a promising possibility.
     The National League adopted a pose of indifference toward the new league.
Public statements about the American Association by the National League were
not inflammatory or warlike. Teams from the two leagues even played about
twenty exhibition games in the spring of 1882. Unfortunately the National
League chose to be indifferent about contracts signed with American
Association clubs. Sam Wise and John "Dasher" Troy had played for the Detroit
National League club in 1881. Neither had been reserved for 1882. Wise
signed with the Cincinnati American Association club and Troy with the
Philadelphia American Association club. Then Wise and Troy signed
respectively with the Boston and New York clubs of the National League and
played there in 1882. The American Association took the Wise case to court
but failed to achieve the restraining order they sought. In retaliation the
American Association, in May of 1882, decided on a strategy of
"non-intercourse" with the National League. There was to be no relationship
with the National League, and National League reserve lists were to be
ignored.
     Despite the loss of a few players, the American Association managed to
complete its schedule with Cincinnati winning the championship of the first
season. The Cincinnati team attempted to engage in a postseason series with
the National League champion but was stopped by President McKnight's orders
enforcing the policy of "non-intercourse." During the season American
Association representatives managed to sign at least thirteen National League
players to options for their services in the 1883 season. The new tactic
failed when most of the players failed to follow through. Detroit catcher
Charlie Bennett signed such an option with Pittsburgh but signed again with
Detroit for 1883. The American Association lost the case in court because an
option was a preliminary agreement, not a final one.
     The American Association enjoyed success in its first season. All six
teams were believed to have made a profit, with Cincinnati reporting profits
of $15,000. American Association clubs in New York and Columbus, Ohio, were
added for the 1883 season. The National League dropped two of its weaker
clubs, Troy and Worcester, and placed new clubs in Philadelphia and New York.
National League clubs then challenged American Association clubs in those two
important cities.
     On February 17, 1883, a joint conference or "Harmony Conference" was held
in New York City with representatives of the American Association, the
National League, and the new Northwestern League present. The result was a
"National Agreement" or "Tripartite Agreement" between the three leagues. The
Tripartite Agreement provided that the three leagues would honor each other's
reserve, suspension, and expulsion lists. This was the first official
agreement to include provision for the reserve list. Another new feature was
the creation of an arbitration committee to settle disputes between the
leagues. The Northwestern League and National League endorsed the Tripartite
Agreement immediately, and the American Association added its approval about a
month later.
     Philadelphia won the 1883 American Association championship by one game
over St. Louis. The eight-club format proved very successful, and most clubs
reported substantial profits. Both Philadelphia and St. Louis reported
profits of over $50,000. Baltimore and Cincinnati had profits in the range of
$20,000 to $30,000. Two other clubs broke even, and two lost small amounts.
The "official" batting champion was Tom Mansell of the St. Louis Browns, with
a .402 batting average compiled, however, in less than 30 games. Modern
reference books credit Ed Swartwood of the Allegheny Club of Pittsburgh, with
a .356 batting average in some 94 games, as the batting champion.
     In 1884 the American Association was an active participant and loser in
the war with the Union Association. Probably the most ill-advised move of the
year was the expansion of the American Association into an additional four
cities, namely Toledo, Indianapolis, Washington, and Brooklyn. With the
National League operating eight teams and the Union Association with thirteen
teams, there was great demand for players. The Sporting Life of Philadelphia
remarked, "The ballplayer who fails to get employment . . . had better give up
all idea of ever going into the business." Two of the players who finally got
their chance were brothers Moses ("Fleet") and Welday Walker, who played part
of the 1884 season with the Toledo American Association club. They were the
first blacks to play in the major leagues and the last until Jackie Robinson
in 1947.
     Most American Association clubs lost substantial amounts of money. New
York reported losses of $15,000 despite winning the American Association
championship with a 75-32 record. Washington disbanded after the games of
August 2, owing some $1,500 in unpaid player salaries. Richmond withdrew from
the Eastern League and entered the American Association in its place. The
Spalding Guide later assessed the 1884 American Association twelve-club
experiment as follows:

     The Association tried the experiment of a twelve-league circuit but under
     circumstances that insured failure from the start. . . . The clubs were
     so unevenly matched and so badly managed that the failure of the
     experiment was a certainty.

     For the 1885 season the American Association reduced back to eight clubs
by dropping the franchises in Richmond, Toledo, Columbus, and Indianapolis.
New trouble with the National League developed over the transfer of pitcher
Tim Keefe from the New York American Association club to the New York National
League club. It had been rumored that the New York clubs were both owned by
the same parties.
     On December 8, 1885, the American Association canceled the franchise of
the New York club because of its subservient relationship to the National
League. A new Washington club was admitted in its place. Unknown to the
American Association owners, New York financier Erastus Wiman had just
purchased the New York American Association franchise for a reported $25,000.
Wiman went to court to prevent the expulsion. The New York franchise was
readmitted on December 28, and the new Washington club was dropped.
     The St. Louis team dominated the American Association from 1885 to 1888,
winning four consecutive championships. In each of those years they engaged
in a World Championship Series with the National League winner, winning one
series, tying one series, and losing two.
     The heart of these great St. Louis teams was a cast of steady everyday
players plus talented young pitchers. The regular players included Charles
Comiskey, James "Tip" O'Neill, Curt Welch, Walter Latham, A.J. "Doc"
Bushong, and Thomas McCarthy. O'Neill hit an amazing "official" .492 in 1887,
the only season in which a fourth strike was allowed and base on balls were
counted as hits. Modern reference works list O'Neill with a .435 average,
after apparently factoring out the base on balls.
     The St. Louis pitchers included Robert Caruthers, who won 40, 30, and 29
games before being traded away to Brooklyn prior to the 1888 season. Nat
Hudson won 25 games one season before fading to 3 the next season. David
Foutz won 114 games in four seasons, including 41 in 1886. Charles "Silver"
King won 112 games in three seasons, including 45 in 1888.
     Prior to the 1886 season, the owner of the New York team, Erastus Wiman,
donated to the American Association a trophy to be given to the league
champion each year. The "Wiman Trophy" was twenty inches high, apparently
silver, and featured a ballplayer about to strike. The model for the trophy
was "Chief" Roseman of the New York team. St. Louis got to keep the trophy
after its string of consecutive championships.
     In addition to the talented players of the St. Louis team, many other
stars of the Eighties and early Nineties played all or part of their careers
in the American Association. Pitcher Guy Hecker of Louisville, one of the
early stars of the league and a 52-game winner in 1884, played eight years in
the American Association. Hall of Famer Tim Keefe pitched two seasons with
New York in the American Association, winning 41 and 37 games. Pitcher Will
White of Cincinnati, the first player to wear eyeglasses, twice won more than
40 games in a season. Matt Kilroy of Baltimore struck out 513 batters in 1886
and won 46 games in 1887. Pete Browning averaged better than .340 for a
thirteen-year career that included eight years with Louisville of the American
Association. Herman Long and Billy Hamilton were among those young players
whose careers began in the American Association although reaching full flower
in the National League.
     The American Association experienced successful seasons through the 1888
season, with high attendance and substantial profits. In 1886 every club in
the American Association showed a profit except the New York club. Some of
the clubs reported profits approaching $100,000. Relationships with the
National League were generally peaceful, although a few minor player disputes
occurred. There were only three franchise shifts from 1886 to 1888. After
the 1886 season the Pittsburgh club withdrew and entered the National League,
citing a desire to engage in the better business practices of the National
League. Cleveland was admitted in Pittsburgh's place. After the 1887 season
the New York franchise withdrew and a club was placed in Kansas City. The
Cleveland team dropped out after the 1888 season and a Columbus team was
admitted in its place.
     Brooklyn won the 1889 American Association championship but lost the
World Championship Series to the New York National League team. Louisville
managed to lose 111 games during the season and became the first professional
team to lose over 100 games in a season. Considerable tensions developed
within the American Association, perhaps related to schemes by Von der Ahe and
others to consolidate with the National League into one twelve-club league.
On another level the tensions were related to a series of disputes relating to
the treatment of the members of a "combine" within the league versus the
treatment of non-combine clubs. The "combine" was said to have been composed
of the owners of the St. Louis, Louisville, Columbus, and Philadelphia clubs.
Particularly galling was a series of rulings on forfeits and called games that
went against the non-combine clubs. Henry Chadwick stated that in 1889 the
American Association "saw the culmination of its career and that of its
usefulness . . . the combine in its ranks . . . gave it its death blow."
     When the American Association met in New York on November 13, 1889,
matters had deteriorated greatly. The dispute centered on the election of the
president of the American Association. Zach Phelps of Louisville was the
"combine candidate." L.C. Krauthoff of Kansas City was the candidate of the
other clubs. After two days and over forty ballots, the candidates remained
deadlocked with four votes apiece. In disgust the Brooklyn and Cincinnati
clubs resigned their American Association memberships, followed within days by
the Kansas City and Baltimore clubs. Brooklyn and Cincinnati sought and
secured National League franchises for 1890 while Kansas City returned to the
Western Association and Baltimore to the Eastern League.
     New American Association franchises were placed in Rochester, Syracuse,
and Toledo, and a new club was organized in Brooklyn. The first three teams
brought in their players from the previous season, but the new Brooklyn team
had to start from scratch. In addition, the American Association lost the
players from its 1889 Brooklyn, Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Baltimore teams,
plus several others to the new Players League.
     Some of the American Association players did not take transfer from
league to league without question. One notable case involved infielder John
Pickett of Kansas City. The Kansas City American Association club had
purchased Pickett's contract from St. Paul with his approval in May 1889 for
a reported $3,500. He signed with Kansas City for 1890 but when the club
dropped out of the American Association, Pickett announced that since the club
was now in the minor leagues, he would break the agreement. He did so by
signing with the Players League. Although he was enjoined by the courts from
playing for anybody except Kansas City, he nevertheless played for
Philadelphia of the Players League, where the court had no jurisdiction.
     Louisville was the surprise winner of the 1890 American Association
championship. The tail-end Louisville club of the previous season lost fewer
men to the Players League than the other American Association clubs and, with
the addition of several youngsters, managed to come out on top of the greatly
weakened league. Payrolls were down from about $35,000 per club in 1889 to
$20,000 per club in 1890. Brooklyn was plagued by poor attendance all season,
and beginning with the games of August 27 it was replaced by Baltimore. Every
team in the American Association was thought to have lost money in 1890 except
perhaps Louisville. Brooklyn of the National League engaged the Louisville
team in what proved to be the last of the early World Series matches. Each
team won three games before the match was called because of bad weather and
public indifference. Von der Ahe and others apparently attempted a
consolidation with the Players League, but the effort failed.
     Negotiations throughout the fall of 1890 finally produced a settlement of
the Players League war. The American Association part of the agreement
allowed the dropping of the Toledo, Rochester, and Syracuse franchises,
replacing them with franchises in Boston and Washington. A Chicago franchise
was planned but did not materialize, and a team was located in Cincinnati.
All players were to return to the club that had employed them in 1889. A new
National Agreement between the National League, American Association, and
Western Association was signed, with provision for a National Board to rule on
disputes between leagues and teams.
     The peace did not last long. Louis Bierbauer and Harry Stovey had both
played for Philadelphia of the American Association in 1889. Both were highly
regarded, and Stovey had hit as high as .404 in 1884. Bierbauer and Stovey
had played for the Brooklyn and Boston Players League teams in 1890. Under
terms of the peace agreement, each would have been returned to Philadelphia
for the 1891 season, but that team mistakenly failed to properly reserve them.
Stovey signed with the Boston National League team and Bierbauer with the
Pittsburgh National League team. The latter team became known as the
"Pirates" as a result of the affair. On February 14, 1891, the newly formed
National Board ruled the two players could stay with the National League
clubs.
     On February 17, 1891, the American Association withdrew from the National
Agreement and a new war was on. Within days the National Board released all
American Association players from reservation and the National League began
signing American Association players. Mark Baldwin, a pitcher for Columbus in
1889, signed with Pittsburgh of the National League for 1891. He was accused
by Von der Ahe of inducing St. Louis players to jump and was twice arrested
on conspiracy charges. The Spalding Guide attributed the problems again to
the American Association "combine" and stated, "The revolt . . . was simply a
crime, as it was a blow against the very life of the professional
organizations at large--the protective compact of the National Agreement."
     As a result of the American Association resignation from the National
Agreement, the Western Association and a rejuvenated Eastern Association were
admitted as "major leagues" for the season of 1891. The plans were that these
two leagues would eventually replace the American Association and stand on
almost equal footing with the National League. The National League, though,
would always be superior. "That is to say, that the National League will
stand forth as the leader in the matter of catering exclusively for the better
class of professional club patrons."
     The new Boston team won the 1891 American Association championship by
some 8 games over St. Louis. Several American Association players jumped to
the National League before the season ended, including Charles King, who ended
up with Chicago. Phil Ehret and Harry Raymond of Louisville jumped to Omaha
of the minor league Western Association in late July. In early August Tom
Vickery and Bill Schriver joined Anson's Chicago team. Milwaukee, one of the
Western Association stalwarts, replaced Cincinnati in the American Association
on August 18. The Cincinnati owners, who included Von der Ahe, retained the
franchise, which was only transferred to Milwaukee for the remainder of the
season. The defection of Milwaukee from the Western Association to the
American Association delayed peace negotiations, which had begun in July.
     The American Association met in Chicago on October 22, 1891, and admitted
a new Chicago club into the league. The evidence is that Von der Ahe supplied
most of the money. An attempt was made to replace Louisville with a Kansas
City team, but that was not accomplished.
     On December 15-18, 1891, the National League and the American Association
held a joint meeting in Indianapolis. Details had been worked out earlier,
and after some minor hurdles were removed, an agreement was reached. A single
league, to be officially called the National League and American Association
of Professional Base Ball Clubs, was formed. American Association teams in
Baltimore, St. Louis, Washington, and Louisville were joined with the
existing eight National League clubs to form a single twelve-club league. The
remaining five American Association clubs, including the new Chicago club,
were bought out for a total of approximately $130,000, with the debt assumed
by the new league. A new split-season plan was adopted, beginning with the
1892 season. All player contracts were to be honored in full.
     The Spalding Guide emphasized the importance of the amalgamation of the
leagues as follows:

     "Out of evil cometh good," says Scripture, and the saying is emphasized
     by the eventual outcome of the revolutionary period of 1890 and '91, in
     the form of the establishment of a new government for the fraternity at
     large, in the organization of the new twelve-club League as the successor
     both of the old National League and the late American Association. The
     compensating result . . . has been the adoption of a system of
     professional club business on what may be regarded as true business
     principles, something neither of the old organizations fully enjoyed
     before. From this time forth we say, "Let the dead past bury its dead."
     Give the new era in professional baseball history a chance to show that
     it is an era of coming prosperity for the game at large.

The Union Association (1884)

     The Union Association operated in the season of 1884 and involved itself
in a spirited war with the National League and the American Association over
the basic issues of the reserve rule and territorial rights.
     The "Union Association of Professional Baseball Clubs" was organized in
Pittsburgh on September 12, 1883. Delegates from eight cities were present,
and communications from four more cities were read. H.B. Bennett of
Washington, D.C., was elected president and among the most important business
was the unanimous adoption of the following:

     Resolved, that while we recognize the validity of all contracts made by
     the League and American Association, we cannot recognize any agreement
     whereby any number of ball-players may be reserved for any club for any
     time beyond the terms of their contract with such club.

     The Union Association adopted, with other minor changes, the American
Association constitution and chose the lively Wright and Ditson baseball for
Union Association play.
     "We are certain to succeed," said Union Association Secretary W. W.
White. He added, "Our refusal to be bound by the eleven-man reserve rule
assures us of the good will of every player in the country." Detractors
pointed out that there were already two major leagues in the field and almost
no large city without a major league team.
     The Union Association grew out of the plans of promoter James Jackson to
form a new major league in opposition to the reserve rule. "Projector"
Jackson's new major league was to be called the American League. Jackson had
lost control of his idea by the time of the initial Union Association meeting
but was present, seeking a New York City franchise. He was not successful in
that endeavor and was not further connected with the Union Association.
     Leading directly to the events of 1884 was the prosperity of the baseball
season of 1883. The eleven-man reserve rule and the accompanying lack of
competition for players kept salaries at a tolerable level. The American
Association and National League had enjoyed high attendance and thus profits
were high. The inaugural season of the minor league Northwestern League had
also been successful, and expectations were that the success could be
duplicated in future seasons. The Northwestern League, located in
medium-sized cities of what we now call the Midwest, seemed secure in its role
as the only minor league in a three-way or "Tripartite Agreement" with the two
major leagues. Tripartite Agreement members enjoyed rights of reserve and
protection of their territory. Baseball was suddenly good business in 1883,
and challenges by those who desired a piece of the business were probably
inevitable.
     After consideration of the financial standing of the applicants, the
Union Association placed franchises in Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia,
Boston, Cincinnati, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, and Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Among the substantial backers were A.W. Henderson, who owned parts of both
the Baltimore and Chicago teams. George Wright owned part of the Boston team.
Officials of the Pennsylvania Railroad may have sponsored the Altoona club.
Henry Lucas, a prominent young railroad man, surfaced as the backer of the St.
Louis franchise and, with the Union Association annual meeting of December 18,
1883, became president of the Union Association. So important did Lucas
become to Union Association affairs that he became known as "I am the Union
Association Lucas."
     There was heavy competition for players. Ted Sullivan was one of those
who scoured the country in search of players for the Union Association.
Increased salaries, two- and three-year contracts, and the absence of the
reserve rule made Union Association offers particularly interesting. A.G.
Mills, president of the National League, complained, "The Unions are making
efforts to debauch our players."
     The National League and the American Association responded to the Union
Association's attempted player acquisitions in several ways. Extra teams of
players, called "reserve teams," were signed by several of the existing major
league teams. The "reserve team" players' only obligations were to play a few
exhibition games and be ready should the parent club need them. As a result
the "reserve" players would not be available for a Union Association club.
The Union Associates owners talked of forming "preserve" clubs in retaliation.
     At the National League's annual meeting, held in Washington on November
21, 1883, strict legislation was proposed by John B. Day of New York to stop
players from ignoring the reserve rule. The Day Resolution read:

     Resolved: That no league club shall at any time employ or enter into
     contract with any of its reserved players who shall, while reserved to
     any such club, "play with" any other club.

     Although the Day Resolution would not be formally approved until the
March 12, 1884, National League meeting, its policies were the operational
policies of the National League from that point in time.
     At its annual meeting, held in Cincinnati on December 12, 1883, the
American Association surprisedly voted to expand to twelve clubs by placing
new franchises in Brooklyn, Indianapolis, Toledo, and Washington, D.C. The
expansion was regarded as an attempt to tie up more players and territory.
Now only Altoona of the eight Union Association teams would exist without
opposition from another team.
     The American Association also adopted a modified Day Resolution,
providing that deserters of the American Association reserve could be accepted
back any time prior to the time the player actually participated in a Union
Association game. Once they actually played in a Union Association game, they
would be expelled and not accepted back.
     Hundreds of players received Union Association offers and perhaps thirty
players reserved by major league clubs agreed to Union Association terms.
Many of those eventually jumped back to their original teams. Among the most
celebrated "double jumpers" were star pitchers Larry Corcoran and Tony
Mullane.
     Corcoran had won 34 games for Al Spalding's Chicago National League team
in 1883. He agreed to, but did not sign, a contract with Spalding's club for
1884. He received a better offer from the Chicago Unions and actually signed
a contract. He jumped back to the Chicago National League club with an
increase in pay, after being advised by Spalding that agreeing to the original
contract offer was as good as signing it. It was also said that "Spalding
threatened him with everything but death."
     Even more complicated was the Tony "Count" Mullane case. He had pitched
for St. Louis of the American Association in 1883, winning 35 games. He was
reserved by them for 1884. He was offered a $1,900 salary for 1884 but
refused it. In November 1883 he signed with the St. Louis Unions for $2,500.
Mullane was threatened with expulsion under the terms of the Day Resolution
and later signed another contract with the new Toledo American Association
club, also for $2,500. The St. Louis American Association owner, Chris Von
der Ahe, agreed to the transfer to Toledo in order to keep Mullane away from
the Unions. The Union Association obtained court orders restraining Mullane
from pitching in the city of St. Louis but had no success regaining his
services. Lucas announced that the Unions now would also go into the
"contract-breaking business."
     About twenty players opened the season with Union Association clubs after
leaving behind the reserve of National League or American Association clubs.
David Rowe, who played for Baltimore of the American Association in 1883, was
among those signed by the St. Louis Unions. Hugh "One Arm" Daily had left
behind the Cleveland National League team to pitch for the Chicago Unions.
Fred Dunlap jumped from the same Cleveland team to sign with the St. Louis
Unions. He resisted considerable pressure to return including offers of
increased salary. Approximately fifteen other Union Association players on
opening-day rosters had ignored the reserve or claims of minor league clubs.
     The Union Association opened play April 17, 1884, with games in
Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Cincinnati. The Union Association "Grand
Opening" in St. Louis was delayed by rain until April 20, when St. Louis
beat Chicago 7-2. The league planned a 128-game schedule with play not ending
until mid-October.
     The Chicago, Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia teams opened
the season with mostly experienced, if mostly unknown, players. The
Washington team was composed mostly of local players, including several
youngsters. Altoona opened the season with local players, only a few of whom
had professional experience. Lucas, on the other hand, stocked his St. Louis
team with solid major leaguers, including George "Orator" Shaffer, Lew
Dickerson, and Billy Taylor, plus the previously mentioned Rowe and Dunlap.
     The St. Louis team was easily the best in the Union Association. The
team won its first 20 or 21 games and did not lose a game until May 24.
Baltimore and Boston were the best of the other clubs in the early portion of
the season.
     Altoona dropped out of the Union Association after the games of May 31.
Poor attendance was cited as the reason. This very unremarkable major league
club won only 4 games in its six weeks of existence.
     Kansas City was admitted as the replacement for Altoona. Kansas City had
been one of the original Union Association applicants but was not chosen
because of its "far western" location. The team began play June 7 with a
collection of castoffs and reserve-team players, and fared rather poorly until
strengthened by the signing of several Northwestern League players. The
Kansas City franchise proved one of the leagues most successful at the box
office if not on the field.
     In early July, Billy Taylor of the St. Louis Unions, the leading pitcher
in the Union Association with a 25-4 record, was induced to jump back to the
American Association. Lucas was angered, of course, and said, "Everything is
fair in baseball as in war, and I want my share of the fun while it is going
on." To replace Taylor, Lucas signed suspended Providence National League
pitcher Charlie Sweeney.
     The Unions planned more retaliation. In August they induced star pitcher
Jim McCormick, star infielder Jack Glasscock, and journeyman catcher Charlie
"Fatty" Briody to jump their Cleveland National League team to join the
Cincinnati Unions. They were paid a $1,000 bonus to jump and received
contracts for the rest of the season and for 1885 as well. Briody spoke for
the Cleveland jumpers when he said, "It is a matter of dollars and cents."
The president of the Cincinnati Unions promised that from now on, the Unions
would take any player they could get. With the new players the Cincinnati
Unions became one of the better teams in the league and actually played at a
level almost equal to St. Louis for the remainder of the season.
     The Cleveland team was badly damaged by the defections and, with its
faltering attendance, required National League subsidy to finish the season.
The Cleveland team nickname became "the Remnants."
     After the games of August 7, the Philadelphia Union club folded. Lucas
was able to convince the owners of the Wilmington Eastern League club to enter
the Union Association as a replacement for the Philadelphia team. Wilmington
was leading the Eastern League at the time but had lost money.
     There were other towns still seeking a major league franchise. Quincy,
Illinois, had one of the better teams in the Northwestern League despite
losing several players to the Union Association. The Quincy ownership applied
for a franchise at or about the time the Philadelphia team folded. Receiving
no immediate reply to their application, they then challenged Lucas's St.
Louis Unions to a game to show their quality of play was equal to that of the
Unions. The game, played on August 14, resulted in a 5-1 win for St. Louis.
The fielding of the Quincy players was much admired, but the team was not
admitted.
     The Chicago Unions were transferred to Pittsburgh beginning with the
games of August 25. Attendance had dropped dramatically in Chicago, and
competing with Al Spalding's Chicago National League team had become
impossible.
     It was also in August that first reports were heard that Henry Lucas
might be interested in a National League franchise for St. Louis. Justus
Thorner, owner of the Cincinnati Unions, was also said to be pursuing a
National League franchise.
     The Northwestern League ceased operations on September 7, with only four
clubs still in at the end. The Northwestern League provided more players to
the Union Association than any other, and the Northwestern League suffered
more than any other in the baseball war of 1884.
     After the games of September 12, the Wilmington team folded. The
Wilmington owners complained that they had lost almost as much money in the
Union Association as in the Eastern League. Milwaukee, a remnant of the
Northwestern League, was admitted in Wilmington's place. On September 18 the
Pittsburgh club folded. Omaha, Nebraska, was to replace the Pittsburgh club
but then declined. St. Paul was finally admitted in its stead.
     In all, thirteen cities were represented in the Union Association. Only
five of the original eight teams played the entire season.
     The St. Louis Unions won the Union Association championship rather
easily with what is now calculated as a 94-19 record. Some 21 games back were
the Cincinnati Unions with a 69-36 record. Baltimore, Boston, and
short-termer Milwaukee also finished with winning records. Everybody else was
a loser.
     Fred Dunlap of St. Louis won the Union Association batting championship
with a .412 batting average. He also led in home runs with 13. Billy Sweeney
of Baltimore won 40 of the 62 games he pitched, with over 370 strikeouts.
"One Arm" Daily struck out over 480 batters, including nineteen in one game
against Boston on July 7. Over 260 players appeared in one or more Union
Association games.
     Only Kansas City and Washington of the long-term Union Association clubs
claimed to have made a profit during the season. Kansas City claimed profits
of $6,000 and very much looked forward to another Union Association season.
Washington claimed to have cleared $7,000. Everybody else in the Union
Association lost money. Although actually breaking even with his own St.
Louis team, Lucas claimed losses of $17,000 overall when funds used to keep
the league going were accounted for. Boston lost $5,000. Cincinnati and
Chicago were thought to have lost about $15,000 apiece.
     Financial losses were also the rule in the National League and the
American Association. Several National League franchises had to be subsidized
by the league, including Providence and Cleveland. The American Association,
greatly overexpanded at twelve teams, also had its troubles and even had to
shift its Washington franchise to Richmond late in the season.
     Only four Union Association teams--Milwaukee, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and
Kansas City--sent delegates to the Union Association annual meeting on
December 18 in St. Louis. Nevertheless plans were made for the continued
operation of the Union Association in 1885. The league in 1885 was to be
comprised of St. Louis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Columbus,
Indianapolis, and possibly Detroit and Cleveland. Union Association teams
commenced signing players, and Kansas City and Milwaukee soon had full teams
signed. Henry Lucas was re-elected president.
     Later in December there were "startling rumors" that Lucas was, in fact,
negotiating for a National League team. Cincinnati and Washington were said
to be interested in American Association franchises.
     The Union Association met once more, on January 15, in Milwaukee. Lucas
was not present. Only the Kansas City and Milwaukee delegates attended, and
the only action taken was a vote to disband.
     On April 18, 1885, the Lucas club was finally admitted into the National
League. The terms of the agreement were that Lucas had to publicly admit that
the reserve clause was necessary and that Lucas had to pay $6,000 in order to
retain the several players he had secured from National League teams. Lucas
insisted that blacklisted players be reinstated, and that was done, although
several were fined up to $1,000. In addition, pitcher Tony Mullane was
suspended for the entire 1885 season, even though he had been allowed to play
in 1884.

The Players League (1890)

     The "Players National League" was formed at meetings in New York City on
November 4-7, 1889. The force behind the new league was the union
representing most of the players in the National League. The union was called
the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players.
     On the first day of the meeting, the Brotherhood issued its statement of
why the players had found it necessary to seek the organization of a new
league in opposition to the National League. The "Brotherhood Manifesto,"
addressed "To the Public," included the following:

     Players have been bought, sold, and exchanged as though they were sheep
     instead of American citizens. "Reservation" became for them another name
     for property right in the player. By a combination among themselves,
     stronger than the strongest trust, they were able to enforce the most
     arbitrary measures, and the player had either to submit or get out of the
     profession in which he had spent years in attaining a proficiency.

     The Players League was conceived on an unusual theoretical basis. The
plan was never for labor to completely manage its own affairs and reap all the
benefits thereof. Instead the plan was to withhold labor from the capitalists
of the National League but join labor with the capital of other capitalists
for the greater benefit of labor. The Brotherhood proposed "to manage their
managers instead of permitting their managers to manage them."
     During the summer of 1889, Pittsburgh outfielder Ned Hanlon had convinced
Al Johnson, a wealthy Cleveland street-car entrepreneur, of the soundness of
the plan. Johnson was extremely effective in locating additional backers for
the Players League. The other backers included Colonel Edwin A. McAlpin, a
New York real estate speculator, and the wealthy Wagner brothers, who were
Philadelphia butchers. John Addison was a Chicago contractor. John
Montgomery Ward, president of the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball
Players, was one of several players who were minority investors.
     The organizers of the Players League proposed several reforms. The hated
reserve clause was abolished. Two- and three-year contracts were to be offered
to many players. No player would be released until the end of the season and
then only by a vote of the club board of directors, which would include
players. All players would receive monies at least equal to their 1889
salaries. Receipts were to be used, first, to pay club expenses. Next to be
paid would be player salaries for which a guarantee fund was established.
Backers would receive the next $10,000. Additional profits would be shared by
players and backers on a league-wide shared basis. The arbitrary "blacklist"
was not to be tolerated. Penalties, not involving blacklisting, were
established for drunkenness and other offenses.
     In December 1889 Edwin McAlpin was elected president of the new league.
Addison was elected vice president. Frank Brunnell, a former sportswriter,
served as secretary-treasurer and publicist for the Players League. Clubs
were placed in Cleveland, New York, Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia,
Boston, Chicago, and Buffalo.
     The Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players had been organized in
1885 with primarily fraternal and charitable objectives. John Montgomery Ward
of the New York club was chosen president and remained so through the entire
history of the "Brotherhood." By 1887, ninety National League players were
members and each league city had a chapter.
     The Brotherhood became involved in several issues in the late Eighties,
including opposition to the buying and selling of players and blacklisting of
players who refused to accept club salary offers. The articulate Ward offered
many of the more penetrating analyses on the reserve rule. For instance, in
1887 he wrote about the hated rule, "It inaugurated a species of serfdom which
gave one set of men a life-estate in the labor of another, and withheld from
the latter any corresponding claim." Ward illustrated his opposition to the
reserve rule with the story of what happened to outfielder Charlie Foley.
When ill during the 1883 season, Foley was laid off without pay but was
reserved by the Buffalo National League club that fall. He was still unable
to play in the spring of 1884, but the Buffalo club again refused to pay him
or release him. Later in the 1884 season Foley had recovered enough to play
and, in fact, received several minor league offers. Buffalo would not release
him and would not pay him or reinstate him. That fall Buffalo reserved Foley
again.
     The Brotherhood long opposed the practice of any player being reserved at
any salary less than that received the previous season. In conferences with
the National League in 1888 the Brotherhood proposed that the practice be
abolished. The National League postponed action on the request until most
players had signed their 1889 contracts and then refused to abolish the
practice. The National League also attempted to institute the Brush
classification plan, named after John T. Brush. It provided for grouping of
players by skill levels and a prescribed payment for each level. The threat
of the classification plan was considered most obnoxious by most National
League players and led most directly to the formation of the Players League in
the fall of 1889. Tim Keefe, New York pitcher and secretary of the
Brotherhood, remarked at the time, "The League will not classify as many as
they think."
     The cause of Brotherhood members Jack Rowe and Jim "Deacon" White also
caused much sympathy among National League players, and there was immediate
strike talk. Rowe and White had both played for the Detroit National League
team in 1888. Each was sold to Pittsburgh prior to the 1889 season. In the
meantime they had purchased part of the Buffalo minor league team, planning to
play there in 1889. White became president of the Buffalo club. Frederick
Stearns, president of the Pittsburgh club, said, "White may have been elected
president of the Buffalo club . . . but that won't allow him to play ball in
Buffalo. He'll play in Pittsburgh or he'll get off the earth." Upon advice
of John Ward, White and Rowe did eventually play for Pittsburgh in 1889, after
becoming aware of the plans for 1890. White and Rowe became among the major
backers of the Buffalo Players League club.
     The players were enthusiastic about the prospect of the new league. Mike
Kelly, when speaking of his former owners, three in number, of the Boston
National League team, exuberantly proclaimed:

     I'm one of the bosses now, and the triumvirate--well, to be frank, they
     are my understudies. The whirling of time brings ballplayers to their
     level. Next year they will be in command and the former presidents will
     have to drive horse cars for a living and borrow rain checks to see a
     game.

     The baseball establishment never understood, or at least pretended never
to understand, the Brotherhood members' desire for more control over their
lives and careers. The Spalding Guide reported that the trouble arose "from
the selfish greed of a small minority of the overpaid "star" players of the
National League of 1889, who thought they saw an opening for their becoming
wealthy club magnates in the place of being fancy salaried players."
     Brotherhood members were advised not to sign contracts with the National
League for the 1890 season. Even after the formation of the Players League,
attorneys assured National League owners that the reserve clause in the
contract would be enough to hold the players. Ward was personally notified
that he was reserved for 1890 and would be taken to court if necessary. In
January 1890 the New York National League club was denied an injunction
against Ward because the reserve clause in his contract lacked fairness and
mutuality. Injunctions were also sought against "Buck" Ewing of the New York
club and George Hallman of the Philadelphia club. The National League lost
those cases also. Outfielder "Orator" O'Rourke of New York, himself a lawyer,
was ecstatic: "He that hath committed inequity shall not have equity."
     An almost total defection of the star players from the National League
followed. By March 1890 over one hundred players had signed Players League
contracts. Virtually every star player of the National League joined the
Players League. Another twenty or so players deserted the American
Association, including Pete Browning of Louisville and Charles King of St.
Louis. Less than forty of the 1889 National League players remained loyal to
the league. Al Spalding's National League team retained only first baseman/
manager Adrian Anson, who was a stockholder, plus pitcher Bill Hutchison and
third baseman Tom Burns. The rest of the Chicago team was eventually filled
out with young players, called the "cubs" by the sportswriters. Chicago
managed to finish in second place in the greatly weakened National League.
     The National League attempted to get several of the players to return
with offers including huge salary increases, bribes, and two- and three-year
contracts. The most interesting attempt involved Mike "King" Kelly, who was
offered a $10,000 bonus and a contract to be filled in with his own figures.
Kelly declined, saying, "I can't go back on the boys." Players League
secretary Brunnell pointed out the hypocrisy of the National League methods:
"They would blacklist a man who broke a contract with them on the ground that
he was unworthy of confidence, yet they brazenly offer fabulous bribes to
induce our men to desert us."
     Some twelve players did jump Players League contracts to return to the
National League, but several of those, including Jake Beckley, eventually
returned to the Players League. Perhaps they remembered the favorite Players
League Bible quote from 1 Peter--chapter 2, verse 17--which advised, "Honor
all men. Love the Brotherhood."
     Players League managers included Brotherhood members and star players
Mike Kelly at Boston, John Ward at Brooklyn, Buck Ewing at New York, Charles
Comiskey at Chicago, Jack Rowe at Buffalo, and Ned Hanlon at Pittsburgh.
     The Players League opened on April 19, 1890. Games were deliberately
scheduled to conflict with National League games. The Players League opener
in New York had an attendance of 12,000 despite chilly weather. The New York
Players League team had a most familiar look for the New York fans as the
entire opening-day lineup had played for the New York National League club in
1889. The Boston and Pittsburgh Players League teams drew over 10,000 apiece
for their openers.
     By June the Players League and in fact all of baseball was suffering poor
attendance. In July each Players League club was assessed an extra $2,500 to
keep the league afloat. There was, throughout the season, widespread
falsification of attendance totals by both the Players League and the National
League. The best guess is that the Players League outdrew the National League
by about 200,000. It appears certain that the Players League and the National
League totals together were less than that of the National League in the
previous season. Years later Al Spalding of the Chicago National League team
said in his autobiography:

     If either party of this controversy ever furnished to the press one
     solitary truthful statement as to the progress of the war from his
     standpoint; if anyone at any time during the contest made true
     representation of conditions in his own ranks, a monument should be
     erected to his memory. I have no candidates to recommend for the
     distinction.

     The National League was considerably weakened by the war with the Players
League. Both the New York and Pittsburgh clubs experienced major financial
problems. The New York club had to be subsidized to the extent of
$80,000 and Pittsburgh required close to the same amount. Total National
League losses for the 1890 season were estimated at almost $500,000.
     The Players League remained reasonably solvent until bad weather in
September hampered attendance and dulled a close pennant race. After the
season Players League secretary Brunnell reported losses of some $125,000.
Boston won the Players League championship with a 81-48 record but was refused
its offer to play in a three-way World Series with the National League and
American Association winners. Chicago, Brooklyn, New York, and Philadelphia
also posted winning records in the Players League. Buffalo finished last with
a 36-96 record. Pete Browning of Cleveland won the batting championship with
a .391 batting average. Two Chicago pitchers, Charles King and Mark Baldwin,
won 32 games apiece to lead the pitchers.
     By the end of the 1890 season there was a general inclination by the
owners of National League franchises and backers of Players League clubs to
seek a peace. The National League was perhaps frightened into the spirit of
compromise when the owner of the Cincinnati National League club, Aaron Stern,
sold his team to a group of Players League backers headed by Al Johnson. The
National League declared the Cincinnati franchise forfeited and eventually
awarded it to John T. Brush of Brush Classification Plan fame.
     The first peace negotiations were held in early October of 1890. Al
Spalding, chairman of the National League War Committee, said, "We had been
playing two games all through--baseball and bluff. At this stage I put up the
strongest play at the latter game I had ever presented." The Players League
backers "greedily accepted" the terms of surrender.
     Later more formal negotiations, from which the players were excluded,
produced the dismantling of the Players League. In November the New York
Players League backers announced that their club would be absorbed by the New
York National League club. Within days, the Pittsburgh Players League club
was merged with the Pittsburgh National League club. In December the Chicago
Players League team was sold to Al Spalding for $18,000, despite the attempt
of the Chicago players to hold up the sale.
     Further negotiations provided for the merging of the opposing Brooklyn
National League and Players League teams and the entry of the Boston Players
League team into the American Association. The backers of the Philadelphia
Players League team became the owners of the Philadelphia American Association
franchise. The Buffalo and Cleveland Players League teams simply disappeared.
     Johnson and Brunnell had been left out of the mergers. As a result they
attempted to reorganize the remnants of the Players League into an independent
eight-or ten-club league. The league would also include cities without major
league baseball, such as Syracuse and Toledo, both of which had been dropped
by the American Association. "Wrecker" Johnson counted heavily on Brotherhood
support, even though reduced salaries would be necessary. The new league was
never launched, however, because the Brotherhood members had seen enough. A
popular baseball poem of 1890 had a kernel of truth in it:

      Backward, turn backward, O Time, in thy rush,
      Make me a slave again, well dressed and flush,
      Bondage, come back from the shoeless shore,
      And bring me the shackles I formerly wore.

     John Ward attributed the defeat of the Players League to "stupidity,
avarice, and treachery," and it was all of that. Al Spalding speculated that
the defeat of the players "settled forever the theory that professional
ballplayers can at the same time direct both the business and playing ends of
the game."

The Second American Association (1894)

     In the fall of 1894 a new "American Association of Baseball Clubs" was
proposed. At an organizational meeting in Philadelphia on October 18, 1894,
franchises were granted to interests in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Milwaukee, New
York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Washington. Applications were also reported
pending from other large cities for the proposed eight-club league. Several
prominent baseball men were involved, including F.C. Richter, the influential
editor of The Sporting Life of Philadelphia, who was elected president of the
new league.
     Identified as prime movers behind the new league were three men who had
been active in the National League during the 1894 season: A.C.
Buckenberger, who had managed the Pittsburgh team, was affiliated with the new
Pittsburgh club. William Barnie, who had managed the Louisville team, was an
investor in the new Brooklyn team. Fred Pfeffer, the star second baseman of
the Louisville team, planned to operate the new Chicago team.
     Although invading several National League cities, the organizers of the
new American Association publicly stated they planned no fight with the
National League if it could be avoided. They planned to adopt a schedule that
did not conflict with that of the National League and vowed to honor all valid
contracts of players with National League clubs.
     The proposed American Association reforms included allowing play on
Sunday, setting the admission price at 25 cents, and prohibiting the buying
and selling of player releases. The "double umpire" or two-umpire system was
to be instituted. Most importantly, the oppressive reserve clause of National
League contracts was to be ignored.
     The American Association organizers were convinced there was ample room
for two big leagues. A.W. Becannon, the backer of the New York franchise,
was quoted as saying, "We only want our share of the patronage and we think we
can get it." Several prominent players whose National League contracts had
run out were reported considering signing with the new league.
     The National League, as well as the Eastern and Western Leagues,
particularly feared competition for their players and their territory. They
reacted very harshly to the threat. At the National League annual meeting on
November 16, 1894, a "Manifesto" was adopted which read in part:

     The obligations of contracts, the rights of reserve and the territorial
     rights of clubs, associations, and leagues must be upheld, and shall be,
     at any cost.

     They also announced that the penalty for "treachery to national agreement
interests" would be "ineligibility and suspension for life."
     Buckenberger, Barnie, and Pfeffer were suspended and given until December
31 to prove their innocence or the suspensions would be made permanent.
     American Association president Richter called the threats a "tremendous
bluff." Nevertheless the "bluff" worked, and little more was heard of the new
organization. The new American Association died without ever adopting a
schedule or signing a player.
     Buckenberger was the first to ask for forgiveness. He signed an
affidavit denying he had been involved in the interest of the American
Association while employed by a league club. He was reinstated and later
signed to manage the St. Louis team.
     Barnie and Pfeffer were more of a problem. At a hearing on December 20,
1894, Barnie denied affiliating with the American Association until after his
National League contract with Louisville had expired. Barnie also refused,
after much "wild talk and gesticulation," to sign a letter swearing allegiance
to the National Agreement. He was nevertheless reinstated because of a lack
of "positive evidence" of his treachery. Barnie soon signed to manage
Scranton of the Eastern League. Pfeffer forwarded his written arguments to
the hearing but failed to appear personally and was blacklisted.
     Pfeffer soon signed to coach the Princeton University baseball team but
indicated he still desired to play. Louisville fans instituted a petition
drive which collected the signatures of 10,000 persons who promised to boycott
Louisville games if Pfeffer were not reinstated. Because of that pressure and
the threat of a lawsuit, Pfeffer was reinstated on February 25, 1895, on the
condition that he play only for Louisville, that he agree to loyalty to the
National Agreement, and that he pay a fine of $500. Friends paid the fine,
and Pfeffer was reinstated and went on to play parts of three more seasons in
the National League.

The New American Association (1900)

     The "American Association of Baseball Clubs," later to be called the "New
American Association," began organization at meetings in Chicago on September
17-18, 1899. The main force behind the league seems to have been George
Schaefer, a St. Louis city alderman. Several prominent baseball figures were
also involved, including Adrian Anson, Chris Von der Ahe, H.D. Quinn, and Al
Spinks, who claimed credit for the idea for the new league. Also involved,
although not initially named, were Francis Richter of The Sporting Life, John
McGraw, and Wilbert Robinson of the Baltimore National League team. H.D.
Quinn was elected temporary president of the new league.
     Franchises were proposed for St. Louis, Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago,
Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. Detroit and Milwaukee had
existing Western League franchises, and the remainder of the cities had
National League franchises in 1899. The intentions of the new league were
announced as follows: "Honest competition, no syndicate baseball, no reserve
rule, to respect all contracts and popular prices."
     The American Association organizers felt that by not recognizing the
reserve rule they could compete for the best of the baseball talent. They
also believed that by charging only 25 cents admission price, instead of 50
cents as charged by the National League, they could capture their share of the
baseball patronage. The American Association organizers "disclaimed any
intention of going to war with the minor leagues, but they strongly intimated
that it was war to the finish with the National organization."
     The formation of the new league followed closely a confusing series of
events during the summer of 1899. In June the National League had announced
it would consider dropping four of its unprofitable clubs in order to increase
the profits of the other eight. The Washington, Louisville, Baltimore, and
Cleveland clubs were those so threatened. When rumors of the new league were
first heard, Ban Johnson, president of the Western League, was identified by
some as the backer of the new league. Later, when Johnson was invited to join
his league with the new league, he declined, as did other Western League
figures such as Charles Comiskey.
     The National League had reigned as the only major league since 1892, but
the twelve-club format had proved unpopular with fans, and attendance dropped
steadily through the nineties. The existence of only one major league limited
the number of cities who could offer major league baseball, and it also
limited the number of would-be magnates.
     The motivations of the organizers of the new league were varied. McGraw
and Robinson hoped to be able to remain in Baltimore, where they were
extremely popular, if the National League ousted that city. Quinn had been
unable to acquire a major league franchise for Milwaukee since his club had
been dropped following the amalgamation of the National League and the old
American Association. Von der Ahe had been manipulated out of his National
League franchise in St. Louis after the 1898 season and sought a return to
his former prominence in baseball affairs. Von der Ahe even went so far as to
give to the new American Association, for award to the championship team, the
famous Wiman Trophy captured by his famous St. Louis Browns team for winning
AA championships in 1886, 1887, and 1888.
     The National League took several actions to fight the new league because
"by coming into our territory the new association invites war." National
League owners believed they could forbid the use of the name of the American
Association because when they had absorbed the old American Association they
had acquired use of the name and were legally known as the National League and
American Association of Baseball Clubs.
     Secondly the National League announced plans for their own American
Association. This league, which became known as American Association II,
would be organized as a minor league, would charge only 25 cents admission,
and would play in National League parks when the major league teams were on
the road. Thirdly, Ban Johnson's Western League, by then with a name change
to the American League, would be allowed or encouraged to move into Chicago
and Cleveland.
     Formal organization of the new American Association occurred in Chicago
on February 13, 1900. Arrangements for the New York and Washington clubs had
fallen through. Boston and Louisville clubs were admitted to join Baltimore,
Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, and St. Louis clubs in signing the required
agreements and posting a $1,200 bond. Philadelphia was still desired for the
eighth club. In fact, Philadelphia was considered essential to the success of
the new league. Anson was elected president of the new league and announced
the new league would open play on April 16, 1900. Among other business, the
name of the new league was changed to the New American Association.
     McGraw traveled to Philadelphia after the Chicago meeting to finalize
arrangements in that city. McGraw's conferences with W.J. Gilmore,
reportedly the major backer, were unsatisfactory. Gilmore informed him he had
experienced difficulty locating a place to play and would need three more
weeks before he would decide if he would enter a team.
     On February 16, 1900, President Anson announced the New American
Association had collapsed and would not operate in 1900. Some of the backers
attempted to reorganize for the 1901 season but were unsuccessful.

The Columbian Baseball League (1912)

     The "Columbian Baseball League" was first proposed at a meeting in
Chicago on January 13, 1912. The meeting was called by John T. Powers, an
ex-president of the Wisconsin-Illinois League, and was attended by
representatives of interests in cities of the Midwest.
     At a meeting in St. Louis on February 12, 1912, the Columbian League was
formally organized, with franchises awarded to Chicago, Kansas City, St.
Louis, Louisville, Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, and Milwaukee. All these
cities had existing teams in either the American League, National League, or
the minor league American Association. Powers was elected president the new
league.
     The baseball public was assured that good playing grounds had been
located in most of these cities and that sufficient financial resources
existed to operate the new league. Powers indicated the quality of play would
equal that of the high minor leagues in the first season and rival that of the
major leagues in following seasons.
     The Columbian League did not plan to encourage contract jumping but did
announce that it would ignore the reserve clause. By late February Powers was
able to display letters from sixty-three players interested in playing in the
new league. About forty of these had been reserved by teams within organized
baseball. Several ex-big leaguers were announced as probable managers of
Columbian League teams, including Danny Shay at Kansas City and Ed McKean at
Cleveland.
     Powers obviously anticipated strong opposition to the new league. He
indicated that organized baseball would be fought under the Sherman Antitrust
law if it attacked the new league. Powers added that:

     We are not fighting capital with capital, and do not seek a fight with
     any person or combination. But we have the right to exist and compete
     with the "baseball trust."

     Organized baseball interfered very little with the new league other than
labeling it an "outlaw league" and implying that it took more than just talk
to operate a successful league. That opinion proved correct. When financial
backing proved insufficient, the Columbian League folded before ever playing
its first game. Some of the Columbian League backers then became involved in
yet another independent league, the United States League.

The United States League (1912-1913)

     The "United States League of Professional Baseball Clubs" operated
briefly in both the 1912 and 1913 seasons. The United States League posed
itself as the "third major league" and attempted to exist peacefully and
profitably, yet separately, from organized baseball.
     The United States League was formally organized in New York City on
January 20, 1912. Its chief organizer, William A. Witman of Reading,
Pennsylvania, was elected president of the new league. Applications for
franchises were reported from twelve or thirteen cities for what was projected
as an eight-club league.
     The United States League innovations included the absence of a reserve
clause in their player contracts. However, organized baseball's own reserve
clause was to be respected, as were existing contracts. United States League
contracts with players were to be made for one to three years at the option of
the player. At the expiration of the contract, the player was to be a free
agent. The only real conflict with organized baseball was over "territorial
rights."
     A second attempt in 1912 to form an independent league, the Columbian
League, proved unsuccessful, and in March several backers of that league
switched allegiance and money to the United States League. Most prominent and
wealthy of the new backers as William Nieson of Chicago.
     Good and solid financing for the United States League was promised, and
franchises for 1912 were ultimately located in New York; Brooklyn; Cleveland;
Chicago; Washington; Cincinnati; Richmond, Virginia; and Reading,
Pennsylvania. United States League cities all had existing major league
franchises except Richmond and Reading. President Witman was to operate the
Reading franchise. Hall of Famer "Pop" Anson attempted to buy into both the
New York and Washington franchises and tried to buy the Reading franchise and
move it to Buffalo. He was rebuffed in all instances, but his interest, and
the overtures of other parties, indicates a belief in the viability of the new
league.
     The United States League planned a 126-game schedule with play to begin
on May 1. Attendance was 2,000 that day in New York, but soon it dropped to
an average of 300 to 400 for most United States League games. Unfortunately,
much bad weather dropped attendance even further.
     Several ex-major leaguers played on or managed United States League
teams, including Deacon Phillippe, Bert Blue, Joe Wall, and Bugs Raymond.
Most of the players, however, were unremarkable minor leaguers and
semiprofessionals, plus a significant number of promising youngsters. Among
the latter was nineteen-year-old pitcher Al Schacht, who compiled a 5-0
record with the Cleveland team according to his autobiography.
     That the United States League lasted into late May amazed many. One
rumor had it that the newly formed Professional Baseball Players Fraternity
was secretly supporting the United States League. When the Detroit Tigers of
the American League staged a brief strike in support of the suspended Ty Cobb,
they were reported to be jumping to the United States League. At least five
of the Tigers, including Cobb, did receive offers from the United States
League, but the strike was settled and the Tigers remained in place.
     On May 20 the Cincinnati franchise owners announced that they would
transfer games to an as yet undetermined site. On May 21 the Washington
players quit because salaries had not been paid. The New York franchise was
forfeited on May 28. Then in rapid succession the Richmond and Cincinnati
franchises folded, and Witman filed for personal bankruptcy with his debts
including $970 owed to Reading players. Witman stated his undoing was "the
combination of organized baseball and political forces that had been formed to
trim me."
     Despite Witman's accusations there is little evidence of interference
with the United States League by organized baseball. The Cincinnati Reds
president August Herrmann admitted, "We have no right to object to them, no
right to annoy them." Most of baseball simply ignored the United States
League.
     The last regularly scheduled United States League games were played on
June 1, although some games were played as late as June 8. Pittsburgh, with
an unofficial 23-8 record, compiled easily the best record, with Richmond in
second place. On June 23 Marshall Henderson of Pittsburgh succeeded Witman as
the United States League president. He attempted to reorganize the United
States League into a six-club league to finish the season but was
unsuccessful. All United States League teams reported heavy financial losses,
with the exception of the Pittsburgh club, which showed a modest profit. The
Reach Guide summarized the 1912 United States League experience as follows:

     This organization was started, but it went the way of all "houses builded
     on sand," after just one month of wretched existence. The organization
     had neither officials, circuit, or magnates to commend themselves to the
     public; or players to attract or hold patronage. Furthermore, there was
     no baseball brain to plan and direct, no courage to combat and circumvent
     adverse conditions, and no capital to help the organization over the
     inevitable losing initial season.

     The United States League surfaced again on January 5, 1913, with plans
for a new eight-club league based in cities in and near the East Coast. It
was hoped that reduced travel costs would make the venture more profitable.
William A. Witman, his financial affairs straightened out, was again the chief
organizer and was again elected president of the United States League.
     For 1913 United States League franchises were awarded to Baltimore,
Brooklyn, Reading, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, Washington, and Lynchburg,
Virginia. Plans were also announced to eventually expand into, or at least
play in, foreign countries. The players were again mostly has-beens, career
minor leaguers, semiprofessionals, and promising youngsters.
     The 1913 United States League season opened May 10 with four games. The
next day New York refused to play, having not received the guarantee from the
previous day. On May 12 Brooklyn refused to play Washington for the same
reason. Washington and New York were dropped from the league, but
reorganization failed, and the last United States League game was played on
May 13. Baltimore won both of its games and could be considered the
unofficial league champion.

The Federal League (1913-15)

     The Federal League operated in the 1913, 1914, and 1915 seasons. During
the latter two seasons, the Federal League posed as severe a threat to the
status quo as any league in the history of baseball.
     The "Federal League of Baseball Clubs" was organized on March 8, 1913, in
Indianapolis. John Powers, who in 1912 had tried to launch a Midwest-based
Columbian League, was the chief organizer and was elected president of the new
league. The new league was to be an independent league and not under the
control of the National Commission. The Federal League did not, however, plan
to tamper with players affiliated with organized baseball but planned to
develop its own players. Each team to be entered into the Federal League had
to post a bond with the new league of $5,000 and was further required to be
capitalized to the extent of $100,000.
     Franchises were awarded to interests in Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cleveland,
St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati. Two more franchises were sought,
but they did not materialize, possibly because of the short time remaining
until the opening of the season. In addition, preparations for the Cincinnati
franchise ran into trouble, and the franchise was eventually located in
Covington, Kentucky, across the river from Cincinnati. Federal League teams
challenged existing major league teams in five locations and the minor league
American Association in one.
     The Federal League strategy for its first season was to sign a well-known
manager and as many experienced free-agent players as possible and fill out
the team with promising youngsters. Burt Keeley became the manager at
Chicago, Deacon Phillippe at Pittsburgh, Bill Phillips at Indianapolis, Sam
Leever at Covington, Jack O'Connor at St. Louis, and Cy Young at Cleveland.
     The season opened May 3 with Covington and Cleveland playing a 6-6
ten-inning tie. The other teams opened three days later with surprisingly good
attendance in some locations. On May 11, Indianapolis drew some 18,500 to a
game--in part because of a new provision they had made for fans. Parking for
automobiles was available, and over two hundred cars were accommodated.
Unfortunately, attendance declined steadily through the remainder of the
season.
     Organized baseball ignored the Federal League at first. Then in early
June Federal League teams signed three players whom they considered were free
of organized-baseball ties but who were still claimed by their former teams.
Elmer Knetzer, an ex-Brooklyn Dodger, had left that team because of illness in
his family and had his salary reduced as a result. He signed with Pittsburgh,
which was his hometown. Two other Pittsburgh boys, Jack Lewis and Tom Murray,
felt they were unfairly assigned to St. Paul and left that team also to join
the Pittsburgh Feds.
     Within days, teams in organized baseball began raids on Federal League
teams with Indianapolis losing two stars, Ben Taylor and James Scott. Several
Chicago Federal League players also received offers mostly from the NL Cubs.
     The Federal League also faced other difficulties. The Western Union
Telegraph had refused to allow Federal League scores on its ticker service.
In mid-June a representative of the Federal League, E.E. Gates of
Indianapolis, appeared before the Interstate Commerce Commission and alleged
that such refusal was a violation of the Hepburn Act. He stated that the
Federal League had offered to pay for the ticker service privilege but had
been refused. The Federal League believed organized baseball was behind the
Western Union refusal. Gates also conferred with U.S. Representative
Gallagher, who had introduced a resolution in Congress asking that baseball be
investigated for possible antitrust violations. Gates complained about
reserve clauses, blacklists, and other arbitrary actions of baseball. Gates
thought the questions was "Is it possible that organized baseball, through its
years of tyrannical rule and usurpation, has secured certain privileges and
immunities which do not belong to other organizations in the country?" Gates
thought not.
     Indianapolis had the best team in the Federal League and by the end of
June had a four-game lead over Chicago. Cleveland and Covington also had
posted winning records, with Pittsburgh bringing up the rear. Despite its
winning record, the Covington team was plagued by poor attendance and on June
26 was transferred to Kansas City.
     On June 28 a conference of American Association and major league baseball
leaders was held in Chicago to combat "the encroachments of the Federal
League." Two Indianapolis American Association players, Ray Aschenfelder and
Fred Link, had just signed with Federal League teams. That and the invasion
of Kansas City was said to have "aroused all the clubs owners in the American
Association to the necessity of strengthening their hold on their players and
their territory." It was all-out war from that point in time.
     On August 2, Powers was removed as president by the Federal League
owners. He was replaced by James Gilmore of Chicago, who was able to
stabilize matters in the Federal League and allow it to finish the season
despite some talk of disbandment.
     The Indianapolis Feds easily won the Federal League championship with a
75-45 record, some 10 games ahead of Cleveland. Pittsburgh finished last with
a 49-71 record. "Biddy" Dolan of Indianapolis, a career minor leaguer, is
usually considered the batting champion with a .346 batting average. Only one
player in the league hit more than 5 home runs: John Kading of Chicago hit 9
to easily lead the league. Two pitchers, Pete Henning of Covington and Kansas
City and Tom McGuire of Chicago, each pitched 18 wins to lead the hurlers.
McGuire also led with 170 strikeouts.
     The Federal League, instead of disbanding, expanded for the 1914 season.
Clubs were added in Buffalo, Brooklyn, and Baltimore, and the Cleveland club
was dropped. Gilmore was extremely successful at adding men with money to the
Federal League owners. Charles Weeghman, owner of a chain of lunchrooms, took
over the Chicago team. Phillip Ball of St. Louis invested in the St. Louis
franchise. Most important for the Federal League finances, Robert Ward became
the backer of the new Brooklyn team. The Federal League declared that
beginning with the 1914 season, it was a major league equal to the other major
leagues.
     Federal League teams challenged existing major league teams in four
cities. They challenged the International League in Baltimore and Buffalo and
the American Association in Indianapolis and Kansas City. St. Louis and
Chicago now had three "major league" teams apiece.
     The Federal League, at least by the beginning of the 1914 season, was
organized as a single corporation with the stock divided among the owners. It
is unclear whether this had also been the arrangement in 1913. The Federal
League player contract was also different. It did not contain a reserve
clause but provided for an option for the players' services for the next year.
The option for the next season had to be exercised by September 15, and a
minimum 5 percent increase in salary was required. A player could become a
free agent after ten Federal League seasons.
     The Federal League jumped quickly into the fray with the signing for 1914
of three well-known National League stars as managers for their teams. George
Stovall was signed to manage the Kansas City club after spending much of
the 1913 season squabbling with his St. Louis American League owner. Mordecai
"Three Finger" Brown joined the St. Louis club as manager after pitching for
Cincinnati in 1913. Most irritating to the National League was the signing of
Joe Tinker. Tinker, the long-time Chicago star of "Tinker to Evers to Chance"
fame, had just been sold by the Cincinnati Reds to the Brooklyn Dodgers for a
reported $15,000. Tinker at first agreed to the deal but then refused when
offered a salary of only $7,500. He then signed with the Chicago Feds for
$12,000 per year plus stock in the club.
     Many other National and American League players used Federal League
offers to seek and receive better contracts from their original clubs. The
best-known case involved Bill Killefer, a catcher for the Philadelphia
Phillies in 1913. Killefer promised to sign again with Philadelphia for 1914
but instead signed a three-year Federal League contract for a total of
$17,500. After being pressured by his former team and threatened with the
blacklist, he signed with Philadelphia again for $6,500 a season. The matter
ended up in the courts with Philadelphia winning because part of Killefer's
1913 salary had been designated as payment for an option on his services for
1914. At least three other players "did a Killefer" and returned to their
organized-baseball club after signing with the Federal League.
     National Commission rules specified a three-year suspension for reserve
rule jumpers and five-year suspensions for contract breakers.
     Other notable battles were fought over the ten-day clause in the standard
National League and American League contract. This provision allowed a club
to release a player on ten days' notice whereas a player was bound to a club
for his whole career if the club chose. When pitcher Chief Johnson jumped his
contract to sign with the Kansas City Feds, the matter ended up in court with
the ruling eventually being that such a contract lacked mutuality. Then Hal
Chase, first baseman of the Chicago White Sox, gave them a ten-day notice and
jumped to the Buffalo Feds. The case ended up in court with Chase finally
winning.
     The 1914 Federal League pennant winner was again Indianapolis, this time
with an 88-65 record, only 1 1/2 games ahead of Chicago. Bennie Kauff, "the
Ty Cobb of the Federal League," was the batting champion with a .370 batting
average. Duke Kenworthy of Kansas City and Dutch Zwilling of Chicago each had
15 home runs to lead the league. Claude Hendrix of Chicago led the pitchers
with 29 wins.
     There were secret peace discussions following the 1914 season, but they
proved futile because the Federal League wanted too much. What was requested
is not clearly indicated, but it is believed that the Federal League wished to
continue operation as the third major league.
     On January 5, 1915, the Federal League filed suit against organized
baseball, charging that violations of the antitrust laws had occurred.
Organized baseball was said to have been an illegal combination and monopoly
which engaged in illegal acts such as farming out of players and other actions
in restraint of free trade. The suit was filed in the court of Judge Kenesaw
Mountain Landis, who had a reputation as a trust buster because of his famous
antitrust decision against Standard Oil.
     Federal League president Gilmore made several changes in preparation for
a continuing Federal League in 1915. New money was located in the person of
the fabulously rich Harry Sinclair, later to be implicated in the Teapot Dome
Scandals. Sinclair wanted to operate a club in Newark as an entree into an
eventual move into New York City. The Federal League attempted to transfer
the Kansas City club to Newark, but the Kansas City investors took the matter
to court. Gilmore acquiesced and allowed the club to stay in Kansas City.
Eventually the Indianapolis club, the Federal League pennant winner in its
first two seasons, was moved to Newark. Kauff was assigned to the Brooklyn
team in order to strengthen that franchise.
     The player raids began again in earnest after the breakdown of the peace
talks. Several members of Connie Mack's pennant-winning Philadelphia A's were
known to be negotiating with the Federal League, and Eddie Plank did jump to
the Federal League. Mack sold the rest of his stars rather than lose them to
the Federal League, and as a result his club finished last in 1915 and in each
of the next six seasons.
     Most alarming to organized baseball was the apparent defection of
Washington Senator star pitcher Walter Johnson to the Chicago Federal League
team. Johnson had received an offer from Washington for 1915 but found it
inadequate. He then signed a three-year contract with the Chicago Federal
League team and pocketed a $6,000 bonus. Washington owner Clark Griffith
convinced Johnson to return to his fold with a contract calling for $12,500
per season. To his credit Johnson returned the Federal League bonus, but he
never adequately explained the breaking of the Federal League contract.
     Organized baseball also attempted their share of player raids. Federal
League batting champion Bennie Kauff signed a three-year contract with the
Brooklyn Federal League club after being transferred there from Indianapolis.
He then signed with the New York Giants and played in exhibition games with
them. The Boston Braves complained that Kauff had previously jumped his
contract with organized baseball and was blacklisted as a contract jumper.
Kauff applied for reinstatement but was refused. He then returned to the
Brooklyn Federal League team.
     The 1915 Federal League season was one of the closest and most
interesting of all time. Six of the eight clubs were in the race until the
last week of the season. The championship was not settled until the last day
of the season when Chicago split a doubleheader with Pittsburgh to finish with
an 86-66 record, just ahead of St. Louis at 87-67 and Pittsburgh at 86-67.
Bennie Kauff again won the batting championship, this time with a .342 batting
average. Hal Chase of Buffalo hit 17 home runs to lead in that category.
George McConnell of Chicago lead the pitchers with 25 wins.
     By one count, that of historian Harold Seymour, 264 players appeared in
one or more games in the two years the Federal League was a major league. Of
that total, 43 players jumped major or minor league contracts to join the
Federal League, and 188 players ignored the reserve clause to join the Federal
League. The remaining 33 players were free agents or had no previous
professional experience.
     Although aided greatly by the close pennant race, attendance was
generally disappointing throughout the Federal League in 1915. Several clubs,
including Kansas City and Buffalo, were forced to seek additional
financing in order to finish the season and Buffalo may have received
some assistance from the league itself. The prevailing sentiment
of Federal League owners was to push for a
settlement. That sentiment was reinforced when wealthy Brooklyn Federal
League owner Robert Ward died in October.
     After prolonged negotiations, a peace agreement was finally reached and
signed on December 22, 1915, in Cincinnati. Terms of the agreement provided
that Weeghman of the Chicago Feds would be allowed to purchase the Chicago
Cubs (for a reported $500,000) and that Ball would be allowed to purchase the
St. Louis Browns (for $525,000). The Ward estate was to receive $400,000 to
be paid in twenty payments. The owners of the Pittsburgh Feds received
$50,000 and the right to bid on several major league franchises on which
prices had been established. Sinclair was given $100,000 to be paid in ten
payments and control of all of the Newark, Kansas City, and Buffalo players
plus Benny Kauff, Lee Magee, and George Anderson of the Brooklyn team. The
Baltimore owners were offered $50,000 for their settlement but did not accept.
The Baltimore club eventually filed suit over the agreement, with the suit
dragging on until 1922. Other Federal League owners got left behind for the
most part, although initially they were promised International League
franchises. The antitrust suit pending before Judge Landis and all other
suits were to be dismissed.
     All Federal League players were removed from the blacklist and certified
as eligible to play for organized baseball clubs in 1916. All Federal League
contracts were to be paid in full, and the organized baseball team that had
lost them originally could not get them back unless they purchased them.
     Estimates of Federal League losses ranged from $2 million to $3 million,
with the losses of the National League and American League close to
$2 million. It had been a costly war, and the editor of The Spalding Guide
mused as follows:

     The war is over. It is not the intention of the editor of The Guide to
     enter into any new argument or refutation of false argument in connection
     with this episode in Base Ball. It is his intention, however, to call
     attention again to the fact that Organized Base Ball has once more proved
     to the world that it is the originator of the best and finest method to
     control a sport, which is called a nation's sport, of any method in the
     history of sport throughout the civilized world.

The Continental League (1959-1960)

     The "Continental League" was organized on July 27, 1959, in New York
City. The backers, who included several men now associated with the National
League or the American League, planned an eight-club league with a very
important franchise to be located in New York City. Other charter members
were Denver, Houston, Toronto, and the twin cities of Minneapolis and St.
Paul. The eleven other cities listed as applicants included San Juan, Puerto
Rico.
     New York had been abandoned after the 1957 season by both the Giants and
the Dodgers. Each club cited better opportunities on the West Coast.
National League president Warren Giles had even downplayed the importance of
New York by quipping, "Who needs New York?"
     The founders' group of the Continental League included chairman William
Shea of New York, Jack Kent Cooke of Toronto, and Craig F. Cullian, Jr., of
Houston.
     The Continental League founders hoped to operate the new league within
the structure of organized baseball. When asked why the Continental League
was formed, the founders replied:

     The Continental League is the result of the increasing demand of cities
     in this country and Canada for major league baseball. Not only New York,
     since losing the Giants and Dodgers, but many other cities have done
     everything in their power to obtain franchises in the two existing major
     leagues without success.

     When asked what action the Continental League would take if the
established major leagues opposed the new league, Shea replied, "We will go
ahead anyway."
     Continental League teams were to be capitalized to $2,500,000, exclusive
of the cost of stadiums and other facilities. Each stadium was to have a
capacity of at least 35,000. The Continental League name was one of four
considered for the new league, the others being the Third League, the United
States League, and the International League.
     The National League and the American League were, surprisingly, not
openly hostile to the new league, although several observers expressed the
fear that the Continental League would weaken the minor leagues by taking
several of the best minor league cities. Ford Frick, commissioner of
baseball, announced that a committee which would include the presidents of the
National and American Leagues would be appointed to meet with the
representatives of the new league.
     One of the motivating factors may have been the hearings being conducted
by the House Judiciary Committee into possible antitrust violations by
baseball. The chairman of that committee, Representative Emanuel Celler of
Brooklyn, was a long-time critic of the big-business aspects of baseball. He
said that if the new league ran into any problems with which Congress could
help, "it would be duty-bound to do so in the interest of the national
pastime."
     Pressure to accept the new league also came from Senator Estes Kefauver
of Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Antitrust and Monopoly Committee. He had
introduced a bill proposing to limit to eighty the number of players a major
league team could control. Kefauver said of the Continental League, "I hope
we can get some legislation that will help them get started."
     Branch Rickey, a seventy-seven-year-old ex-major league player, manager,
and executive, was appointed president of the Continental League on August 18,
1959. An hour after his appointment. Rickey met with Ford Frick's major
league committee. Rickey's statements to the committee included, "We want
your cooperation, we need your cooperation, we demand your cooperation."
     After some seven hours of meeting, the committee endorsed the idea of the
Continental League as a major league providing that several conditions were
met. The Continental League was required to play a balanced 154-game
schedule; it had to adopt the major league minimum-salary agreement and join
the player pension plan and agree to admit no city smaller than the smallest
currently in the major leagues. Kansas City was the smallest major league
city, with a population of 460,000.
     Rickey and Shea were among those who had testified in front of Senator
Kefauver's committee. Their joint letter to the committee read in part:

     The present major league franchise owners apparently have a total lack of
     loyalty to the communities which support their enterprises. The major
     league owner today refers to the "national pastime" with great reverence.
     And, when it suits him, he behaves as if he were operating a quasi-public
     trust. But let a better "deal" be offered in another city and he reverts
     instantaneously to the hundred percent businessman whose only guide is
     the earnings statement.

     In October 1959 Calvin Griffith, owner of the Washington Senators, was
reportedly seriously considering moving his club to Minneapolis, and the
Cincinnati Reds were considering relocating to New York. Both moves were
apparently stymied by the pending legislation. Representative Celler said if
the moves were made it would "prove that baseball is not a sport but a
business."
     By January 29, 1960, Buffalo, Atlanta, and Dallas-Ft. Worth had been
admitted into the Continental League, thus completing an eight-club league.
Branch Rickey found it significant that the Continental League completed its
circuit sixty years to the day from the founding of the American League.
     Indemnification of the minor leagues proved to be a major obstacle for
the Continental League. The International League, which was to lose two
cities, demanded $750,000 per city plus $100,000 relocation costs per
franchise. The American Association expected $800,000 total per city lost.
Although the monetary demands were later moderated, territorial issues
continued to plague the Continental League with the International League
proving particularly obstreperous.
     The question of where the Continental League would find players was
addressed in several ways. Rickey reported a number of inquiries about the
possibility of playing in the Continental League. Secondly, Rickey helped
form a new Class D Western Carolina League to begin operation in 1960. The
Continental League was to subsidize the league with $60,000, to be divided
among the eight clubs plus paying managers' salaries, training costs, and
certain transportation costs. All Western Carolina League players were to
train together and then were to be allocated to the various clubs. The
Western Carolina League as proposed was rejected by Ford Frick, commissioner
of baseball, because the player pool to be operated under Continental League
sponsorship, violated, he said, a long-standing rule against major league
teams controlling more than one team in a league.
     Kefauver's bill to limit the control of organized baseball over players
and removal of its antitrust exemption was narrowly defeated in June 1960,
despite the lobbying of Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson. With the
defeat, pressure on the established major leagues was off.
     On July 18, 1960, the National League voted to expand if it developed
that the Continental League idea was not practical. New York was to be a part
of any expansion plan, Ford Frick assured. The American League also set up an
expansion committee at about this time.
     About two weeks later, on August 2, 1960, the Continental League backers
submitted a formal application to organized baseball for recognition as the
third major league. Instead, the immediate expansion by two clubs each of the
existing major leagues was approved, with the eight Continental League backers
concurring. With that action the Continental League formally expired.
     A New York National League franchise was ultimately awarded to William
Shea, with Houston joining at the same time. They began play in the 1962
season. The American League moved even quicker. They allowed the Washington
club to move to Minneapolis-St. Paul and admitted new clubs for 1961 in
Washington and Los Angeles. The rest of the Continental League cities were
promised consideration when expansion occurred again. All of the Continental
League cities, with the exception of Buffalo, did eventually end up with major
league franchises, either through expansion or the transfer of existing clubs
from other cities.

Afterword

     In 1968 a Special Baseball Records Committee, appointed by the
Commissioner of Baseball, considered the various claims made by and for
leagues that they were or had been major leagues. Four of the "other major
leagues"--the American Association (1882-1891), the Union Association (1884),
the Players League (1890), and the Federal League (1914-1915)--joined the
National League (1876 to present) and the American League (1901 to present) as
recognized major leagues. Not recognized as part of their major league
histories were the 1900 American League season and the 1913 Federal League
season.
     The decisions of this Special Baseball Records Committee have been widely
accepted by modern historians, although certain contemporaries of the Union
Association and the Players League might have expressed considerable surprise
in the decisions. Of the modern authorities, The Sporting News has continued
to treat the Federal League as less than a major league in its reference books
but is in agreement on the remaining leagues.
     The National Association was not recognized by the committee as a major
league despite the fact that it was the very first professional league and the
only professional league for five years. "Erratic scheduling and procedures"
were cited as reasons. Many early historians of the game had a different
opinion. Total Baseball, alone of reference works, lists the National
Association as a major league.
     The claims of the other leagues that actually did operate were not
accepted by the Special Baseball Records Committee and are not taken seriously
by modern historians. The International Association/National Association
(1877-1880) had even more erratic scheduling and procedures than the old
National Association, if that is possible. The United States League
(1912-1913) lasted only a little over a month over two seasons, and no one
makes much of a case for it. None will be attempted here.