1.
American League
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The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League, is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a league based in the Great Lakes states. It is sometimes called the Junior Circuit because it claimed Major League status for the 1901 season,25 years after the formation of the National League. At the end of season, the American League champion plays in the World Series against the National League champion. Through 2016, American League teams have won 64 of the 112 World Series played since 1903, the 2016 American League champions are the Cleveland Indians. The New York Yankees have won 40 American League titles, the most in the history, followed by the Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics. Originally a minor league known as the Western League, the American League later developed into a major league after the American Association disbanded, in its early history, the Western League struggled until 1894, when Ban Johnson became the president of the league. Johnson led the Western League into major league status and soon became the president of the newly renamed American League, babe Ruth, noted as one of the most prolific hitters in Major League Baseball history, spent the majority of his career in the American League. The American League has one notable difference versus the National League, in 1902, the Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis and were renamed the St. Louis Browns. In 1902, The Cleveland Bluebirds were also renamed the Cleveland Broncos, in 1903, the Broncos were renamed the Cleveland Naps. In 1915, the Naps were renamed the Cleveland Indians, in 1903, the Baltimore Orioles moved to New York and were renamed the New York Highlanders. In 1913, the Highlanders were renamed the New York Yankees, in 1904, the Chicago White Stockings were renamed the Chicago White Sox. In 1908, the Boston Americans were renamed the Boston Red Sox, in 1954, the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore and were renamed as the Baltimore Orioles. In 1955, the Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City and were renamed as the Kansas City Athletics, in 1961, the league expanded and added two teams as the Los Angeles Angels and the Washington Senators, expanding the league to 10 teams. The original Senators team moved to Minneapolis/St, Paul in 1961 and were renamed as the Minnesota Twins. The Angels team name changed to the California Angels in 1966, then to the Anaheim Angels in 1997, the Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Pilots were added to the American League, expanding the league to 12 teams. In 1970, the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee and were renamed the Milwaukee Brewers, in 1972, the Washington Senators relocated to the Dallas/Fort Worth area and were renamed the Texas Rangers. In 1977, the league expanded to fourteen teams, when the Seattle Mariners, in 1998, the Tampa Bay Rays was added to the American League and at the same time, the Milwaukee Brewers were switched to the National League, leaving the American League with 14 teams
2.
South Side Park
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South Side Park was the name used for three different baseball parks that formerly stood in Chicago, Illinois, at different times, and whose sites were all just a few blocks away from each other. The first South Side Park was the home of the short-lived Chicago Unions entry in the Union Association of 1884, newspapers gave its location as the corner of 39th Street and South Wabash Avenue, not specifying which corner. The venue was also called Union Base Ball Park and 39th Street Grounds in local newspapers, a late-winter report on improvements to the 39th Street Grounds indicates the site had already been used as an amateur ball field. The Unions played 35 games at this park between May 2 and August 1, the papers indicated they were then headed on a three-week road trip. After that road trip, they re-emerged as the Pittsburgh entry, in 1890, it was usually called Brotherhood Park in the local newspapers, as with several of the Players League venues. The parks location was given as 35th and Wentworth, which was the location of the main entrance. The field generally occupied the same footprint as the future Comiskey Park along with Armour Square Park, the article said the grandstand would be built along 35th Street. The League club acquired the lease on the grounds after Comiskeys team and they played a partial schedule at this field in 1891, continuing to play other games at West Side Park during 1891. They then played their home season on the South Side in 1892. They sought a new location, which turned out to be West Side Park, after drawing well on their first few Sundays, the club abandoned the South Side park and moved to the West Side on a full-time basis. The south end of the property was site of Comiskey Park from 1910 through 1990, Armour Square Park was established in 1905 and still has ball fields on it. The 39th Street Grounds served as the field of the Chicago Wanderers cricket team during the 1893 Worlds Fair. After Charles Comiskey built a grandstand on the site in 1900. It served as home to the White Sox first in 1900 as a league team. Meanwhile, South Side Park became the home of the newly formed Negro League baseball team called the Chicago American Giants in 1911 and it was renamed Schorlings Park for team owner Rube Fosters white business partner, John C. Schorling, a south side saloon keeper who leased the grounds, the American Giants played their games there through the 1940 season. Then on Christmas Day of 1940, Schorlings Park was destroyed by fire, the American Giants would play their remaining 10 seasons at Comiskey Park. Today, the Chicago Housing Authoritys Wentworth Gardens housing project occupies the site, the South Side Park/Schorlings Park/Wentworth Gardens site is located across Pershing Road from a junkyard site which was named a Superfund site in the late 1990s
3.
Chicago
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Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the third-most populous city in the United States. With over 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the state of Illinois, and it is the county seat of Cook County. In 2012, Chicago was listed as a global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Chicago has the third-largest gross metropolitan product in the United States—about $640 billion according to 2015 estimates, the city has one of the worlds largest and most diversified economies with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce. In 2016, Chicago hosted over 54 million domestic and international visitors, landmarks in the city include Millennium Park, Navy Pier, the Magnificent Mile, Art Institute of Chicago, Museum Campus, the Willis Tower, Museum of Science and Industry, and Lincoln Park Zoo. Chicagos culture includes the arts, novels, film, theater, especially improvisational comedy. Chicago also has sports teams in each of the major professional leagues. The city has many nicknames, the best-known being the Windy City, the name Chicago is derived from a French rendering of the Native American word shikaakwa, known to botanists as Allium tricoccum, from the Miami-Illinois language. The first known reference to the site of the current city of Chicago as Checagou was by Robert de LaSalle around 1679 in a memoir, henri Joutel, in his journal of 1688, noted that the wild garlic, called chicagoua, grew abundantly in the area. In the mid-18th century, the area was inhabited by a Native American tribe known as the Potawatomi, the first known non-indigenous permanent settler in Chicago was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. Du Sable was of African and French descent and arrived in the 1780s and he is commonly known as the Founder of Chicago. In 1803, the United States Army built Fort Dearborn, which was destroyed in 1812 in the Battle of Fort Dearborn, the Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi tribes had ceded additional land to the United States in the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis. The Potawatomi were forcibly removed from their land after the Treaty of Chicago in 1833, on August 12,1833, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of about 200. Within seven years it grew to more than 4,000 people, on June 15,1835, the first public land sales began with Edmund Dick Taylor as U. S. The City of Chicago was incorporated on Saturday, March 4,1837, as the site of the Chicago Portage, the city became an important transportation hub between the eastern and western United States. Chicagos first railway, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, and the Illinois, the canal allowed steamboats and sailing ships on the Great Lakes to connect to the Mississippi River. A flourishing economy brought residents from rural communities and immigrants from abroad, manufacturing and retail and finance sectors became dominant, influencing the American economy. The Chicago Board of Trade listed the first ever standardized exchange traded forward contracts and these issues also helped propel another Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, to the national stage
4.
Illinois
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Illinois is a state in the midwestern region of the United States, achieving statehood in 1818. It is the 6th most populous state and 25th largest state in terms of land area, the word Illinois comes from a French rendering of a native Algonquin word. For decades, OHare International Airport has been ranked as one of the worlds busiest airports, Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics. With the War of 1812 Illinois growth slowed as both Native Americans and Canadian forces often raided the American Frontier, mineral finds and timber stands also had spurred immigration—by the 1810s, the Eastern U. S. Railroads arose and matured in the 1840s, and soon carried immigrants to new homes in Illinois, as well as being a resource to ship their commodity crops out to markets. Railroads freed most of the land of Illinois and other states from the tyranny of water transport. By 1900, the growth of jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted a new group of immigrants. Illinois was an important manufacturing center during both world wars, the Great Migration from the South established a large community of African Americans in Chicago, who created the citys famous jazz and blues cultures. Three U. S. presidents have been elected while living in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, additionally, Ronald Reagan, whose political career was based in California, was the only U. S. president born and raised in Illinois. Today, Illinois honors Lincoln with its official slogan, Land of Lincoln. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located in the capital of Springfield. Illinois is the spelling for the early French Catholic missionaries and explorers name for the Illinois Native Americans. American scholars previously thought the name Illinois meant man or men in the Miami-Illinois language and this etymology is not supported by the Illinois language, as the word for man is ireniwa and plural men is ireniwaki. The name Illiniwek has also said to mean tribe of superior men. The name Illinois derives from the Miami-Illinois verb irenwe·wa he speaks the regular way and this was taken into the Ojibwe language, perhaps in the Ottawa dialect, and modified into ilinwe·. The French borrowed these forms, changing the ending to spell it as -ois. The current spelling form, Illinois, began to appear in the early 1670s, the Illinois name for themselves, as attested in all three of the French missionary-period dictionaries of Illinois, was Inoka, of unknown meaning and unrelated to the other terms. American Indians of successive cultures lived along the waterways of the Illinois area for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans, the Koster Site has been excavated and demonstrates 7,000 years of continuous habitation
5.
Charles Comiskey
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Charles Albert Charlie Comiskey, also nicknamed Commy or The Old Roman, was an American Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League, Comiskey Park, the White Sox storied baseball stadium, was built under his guidance and named for him. Comiskey was inducted as an executive into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939, Comiskey was born on August 15,1859, in Chicago, the son of Illinois politician John Comiskey. He attended public and parochial schools in Chicago, St. Ignatius College Prep and he played baseball at St. Comiskey started his playing career as a pitcher, and moved to first base after developing arm trouble. He is credited with being the first to play hitters off of first base and he entered the American Association in 1882 with the St. Louis Brown Stockings. He managed the team during parts of its first seasons and took over full-time in 1885, leading the Browns to four consecutive American Association championships and a close second in 1889. He also played and managed for the Chicago Pirates in the Players League, the Browns again, Comiskey left Cincinnati and the majors in fall 1894 to purchase the Western League club in Sioux City, Iowa and move it to Saint Paul, Minnesota. He had compiled a.264 batting average with 29 home runs,883 RBI and 419 stolen bases, as a manager, he posted an 839-542 record. The St. Paul Saints moved to the South Side as the White Stockings of the renamed American League for the 1900 season, the American League then declared itself a major league starting in 1901. As owner of the White Sox from 1900 until his death in 1931, Comiskey oversaw building Comiskey Park in 1910 and winning five American League pennants, Comiskey was notoriously stingy, even forcing his players to pay to launder their own uniforms. Traci Peterson notes that, in an era when professional athletes lacked free agency and she writes, Charles Risberg and Claude Williams made less than $3,000 a year. Joe Jackson and George Weaver made only $6,000 a year, eddie Cicotte had been promised a $10,000 bonus if he could win 30 games in a season. When Cicotte closed in on the 30-game goal, Comiskey had him benched to keep him from reaching the mark, Comiskeys stated reason for having manager Kid Gleason bench Cicotte was that with the Sox headed for the World Series he had to protect his star pitchers arm. In one incident, he promised his players a bonus for winning the 1919 pennant — the bonus turned out to be a case of flat champagne, however, he initially defended the accused players and, in an unusual display of largesse, provided them with expensive legal representation. Indeed, the White Sox promptly tumbled into seventh place and would not be a factor in a pennant race again until 1936, five years after Comiskeys death. Comiskey is sometimes credited with the innovation of playing the first base position behind first base or inside the foul line, later he had played a large role in the dissolution of the National Commission, baseballs former body of authority, following a quarrel with Ban Johnson. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939, Comiskey died in Eagle River, Wisconsin in 1931. Comiskeys son J. Louis inherited the team but died a few years later, the trustees of his estate were going to sell the team, but J. Louis widow Grace was able to gain control of the team and avoid a sale
6.
Clark Griffith
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Clark Calvin Griffith, nicknamed The Old Fox, was an American Major League Baseball pitcher, manager and team owner. He began his MLB playing career with the St. Louis Browns, Boston Reds and he then served as player-manager for the Chicago White Stockings and New York Highlanders. He retired as a player after the 1907 season, remaining manager of the Highlanders in 1908 and he managed the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Senators, making some appearances as a player with both teams. He owned the Senators from 1920 until his death in 1955, Griffith was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. Griffith was born in Clear Creek, Missouri, to Isaiah and Sarah Anne Griffith and his parents were of Welsh ancestry. They had lived in Illinois prior to Clark Griffiths birth, the family took a covered wagon west toward the Oklahoma Territory. Along the way, the family encountered hungry and disenchanted people returning from the Oklahoma Territory, Griffith grew up with five siblings, four of them older. When Griffith was a child, his father was killed in a hunting accident when fellow hunters mistook him for a deer. Sarah Griffith struggled to raise her children as a widow, but Clark Griffith later said that his neighbors in Missouri had been helpful to his mother, planting crops for her. Fearing a malaria epidemic that was sweeping through the area, the Griffith family moved to Bloomington, a childhood incident taught him about the money side to baseball, Griffith recalled. When he was 13, he and a few young boys had raised $1.25 to buy a baseball. They sent one of the boys 12 miles on horseback to make the purchase, the ball burst on the second time that it was struck. Griffith later found out that the boy who purchased the ball only spent a quarter, at the age of seventeen, Griffith had made ten dollars pitching in a local baseball game in Hoopeston, Illinois. Griffith entered the American Association in 1891, pitching 226 1⁄3 innings and winning 14 games for the St. Louis Browns and he began the following season with the Chicago Colts. In 1893, the box was moved back, it had been 55 feet from home plate and was moved to the modern distance of 60 feet. Following that change, offensive numbers increased across baseball and many pitchers had to adjust their approaches, cap Anson was the player-manager of the Colts during Griffiths tenure and he utilized a rotation of only three starting pitchers. Just before Griffiths arrival on the team, pitcher Bill Hutchinson had thrown more than 600 innings in a season for Anson. Griffith tried a new pitch to increase his longevity, by modifying the grip of a curveball, he threw a pitch similar to the screwball that Christy Mathewson had developed
7.
Chicago White Sox
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The Chicago White Sox is an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the American League Central division. The White Sox play their games at Guaranteed Rate Field. They are one of two league clubs in Chicago, the other is the Chicago Cubs, who are a member of the National League Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf. One of the American Leagues eight charter franchises, the Chicago team was established as a major baseball club in 1900. The club was called the Chicago White Stockings, but this was soon shortened to Chicago White Sox. The team played games at South Side Park before, in 1910. The White Sox won the 1906 World Series with a team dubbed the Hitless Wonders, and the 1917 World Series led by Eddie Cicotte, Eddie Collins. The 1919 World Series was marred by the Black Sox Scandal, in response, Major League Baseballs new Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned the players from Major League Baseball for life. In 1959, led by Early Wynn, Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio and manager Al Lopez and they won the AL pennant in 2005, and went on to win the World Series. The White Sox originated as the Sioux City Cornhuskers of the Western League, in 1894, Charles Comiskey bought the Cornhuskers and moved them to St. Paul, Minnesota, where they became the St. Paul Saints. In 1901, the Western League broke the National Agreement and became the new major league American League, the very first season in the American League ended with a White Stockings championship. However, that would be the end of the season as the World Series did not begin until 1903, the franchise, now known as the Chicago White Sox, made its first World Series appearance in 1906, beating the crosstown Cubs in six games. The White Sox would win a pennant and second World Series in 1917, beating the New York Giants in six games with help from stars Eddie Cicotte. The Sox were heavily favored in the 1919 World Series, huge bets on the Reds fueled speculation that the series had been fixed. This set the franchise back, as they did not win another pennant for 40 years. The White Sox did not finish in the half of the American League again until after club founder Charles Comiskey died and passed ownership of the club to his son
8.
Outfielder
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An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the fielder. An outfielders duty is to try to catch fly balls before they hit the ground or to quickly catch or retrieve. Outfielders normally play behind the six members of the defense who play in or near the infield. By convention, each of the nine positions in baseball is numbered. The outfield positions are 7,8 and 9 and these numbers are shorthand designations useful in baseball scorekeeping and are not necessarily the same as the squad numbers worn on player uniforms. Outfielders named to the MLB All-Century Team are Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Pete Rose, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, players can be characterized as either corner outfielders or a center fielder. Corner outfielders are often slower and have less value than the center fielder. However, there are important differences between right fielders and left fielders. Right fielders tend to have the best throwing arms of the outfield so they can make the throw to third base. For example, Babe Ruth was moved from pitcher to the outfield, left fielders and right fielders are more often slow power hitters, and center fielders are usually fast base-runners and good defensive players. Center field is considered the most difficult outfield position, requiring both a good throwing arm and speed. Center fielders on many teams often bat lead off, players who do not routinely start games, but often substitute as a pinch hitter or defensive replacement in the outfield are referred to as fourth outfielders or even fifth outfielders. These players can play any of the three outfield positions. Corner outfielders are outfielders who play the positions of right field. Corner outfielders often have less speed than center fielders, but make up for this deficiency with their offensive play, many left fielders have had the speed to play center field, but have lacked the throwing ability required. Gorman Thomas is an example of the reverse theory and he was a centerfielder his entire career, but was not nearly in shape as the typical player for this position. He compensated for it with sheer hustle and determination, often, when an outfield prospect arrives in the majors, he plays both corner positions before settling at one or another
9.
Dummy Hoy
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Hoy is noted for being the most accomplished deaf player in Major League history, and is credited by some sources with causing the establishment of signals for safe and out calls. He was also an excellent baserunner, scoring over 100 runs nine times and he is one of only 29 players to have played in four different Major Leagues. His 1,004 career walks put him second in Major League history behind Billy Hamilton when he retired, and he also ended his career ranking eighth in career games played. He opened a repair store in his hometown and played baseball on weekends, earning a professional contract in 1886 with an Oshkosh, Wisconsin. In 1888, with the Washington Nationals of the National League, Hoy became the third player in the Major Leagues, after pitcher Ed Dundon. In his rookie year he led the league in stolen bases, at 54 and batting left-handed, he was able to gain numerous walks with a small strike zone, leading the league twice and compiling a.386 career on-base percentage. Hoys speed was an advantage in the outfield, and he was able to play shallow as a result. On June 19,1889, he set a Major League record by throwing out three runners at home plate in one game, with catcher Connie Mack recording the outs. He returned to Washington for two years with the Washington Senators of the National League, and was traded to the Reds in December 1893, where he was reunited with Comiskey. In May of his last season with the Reds, he batted against pitcher Dummy Taylor of the New York Giants in the first faceoff between deaf players in the Major Leagues, Hoy got two hits. Hoy retired with a.287 batting average,2044 hits,1426 runs,726 runs batted in,248 doubles,121 triples and 40 home runs. He had 487 stolen bases from 1888 through 1897, and 107 more after the statistic was redefined to its present meaning in 1898 and his 1795 games in the outfield ranked second to Jimmy Ryan in Major League history. Jesse Burkett broke his Major League record for putouts in 1905. His record for games in center field was broken by Tris Speaker in 1920. Hoy himself often corrected individuals who addressed him as William, indeed, no articles printed during Hoys lifetime have been found to support the suggestion that he influenced the creation of signals, nor did he ever maintain that he had such a role. They also raised his nephew, Paul Hoy Helms, the founder of the Helms Athletic Foundation in Los Angeles, Hoy also worked as an executive with Goodyear after supervising hundreds of deaf workers during World War I. In 1951 he was the first deaf athlete elected to membership in the American Athletic Association of the Deaf Hall of Fame and he could see, if not hear, the standing ovation he received. Upon his death that December, his remains were cremated according to tradition and were scattered at Lytle Park in Cincinnati
10.
Fielder Jones
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Fielder Allison Jones was an American center fielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He was best known as the player-manager of the World Series champion 1906 Chicago White Sox, born in Shinglehouse, Pennsylvania, Jones was an outfielder who entered professional baseball in the Oregon State League in 1893. Joness major league playing career began with the Brooklyn Bridegrooms in 1896, in 1901, he joined the Chicago White Sox in the new American League. Jones managed the Hitless Wonders in the 1906 World Series, which was the White Sox first World Series win and that year, the White Sox had a team batting average of only.230. Jones was head coach for the Oregon State Beavers baseball team in 1910, going 13-4-1 and winning the Northwest championship. Six years after his last game with the White Sox, he joined the St. Louis Terriers of the newly formed Federal League, where he served as a player-manager before the league folded. He had one last stint as a manager with the St. Louis Browns and he died of heart disease in Portland, Oregon, at age 62
11.
Frank Isbell
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William Frank Isbell was a Major League first baseman, second baseman, and outfielder in the 1910s. Born in Delevan, New York, Isbell was nicknamed Bald Eagle due to his receding hairline and it was known as one of the worst-hitting teams to ever win the World Series, with only Davis and Isbell hitting above.260. He played for the Chicago Cubs in 1898, briefly, with 37 hits in 159 at bats, thirteen of his seventeen games pitched came with the Cubs. After not being seen in baseball for the year, Isbell showed up again in 1900 playing for the Chicago White Sox as a full-time first baseman. The American League was not recognized in the Majors until 1901, Isbell played with the Sox until 1909. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed, Isbell set many offensive World Series records that year, including doubles and extra base hits in a game. However, he was known for his outstanding speed, including his 1901 season when he had 52 stolen bases. He averaged 37 steals a year and ended with 253 for his career, in 1,119 games, Isbell finished with a.250 batting average with 13 home runs and 455 RBIs. He had 1,056 career hits in 4,219 at bats, as a pitcher, he went 4–7 with a 3.59 ERA. Isbell also became notable for being manager and owner of many teams in the Western League
12.
Minor League Baseball
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All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses. Most are members of the organization known as Minor League Baseball. Several leagues, known as independent baseball leagues, do not have any links to Major League Baseball. Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball teams may enter into a PDC for a two- or four-year term. At the expiration of a PDC term, teams may renew their affiliation, or sign new PDCs with different clubs, though many relationships are renewed and endure for extended time periods. Minor League teams that are owned directly by the major league club do not have PDCs with each other and are not part of the reaffiliation shuffles that occur every other year, several more independent leagues operate in the United States and Canada. The earliest professional baseball association, the National Association of 1871 to 1875 and this system proved unworkable, however, as there was no way to ensure competitive balance, and financially unsound clubs often failed in midseason. This problem was solved in 1876 with the formation of the National League, with a membership which excluded less competitive. Professional clubs outside the National League responded by forming regional associations of their own, there was a series of ad hoc groupings, such as the New England Association of 1877 and the Eastern Championship Association of 1881. These were loose groups of independent clubs which agreed to play a series of games for a championship pennant, the first minor league is traditionally considered to be the Northwestern League of 1883 to 1884. Unlike the earlier minor associations, it was conceived as a permanent organization and it also, along with the National League and the American Association, was a party to the National Agreement of 1883. Included in this was the agreement to respect the reserve lists of clubs in each league, teams in the National League and the American Association could only reserve players who had been paid at least $1000. Northwest League teams could reserve players paid merely $750, implicitly establishing the division into major and minor leagues, over the next two decades, more minor leagues signed various versions of the National Agreement. Eventually, the minor leagues joined together to negotiate jointly, in the late 1890s, the Western League run by the fiery Ban Johnson decided to challenge the National Leagues position. Representatives of the different minor leagues met at the Leland Hotel in Chicago on September 5,1901, in response to the National–American battle, they agreed to form the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, called the NAPBL, or NA for short. The purpose of the NA at the time was to maintain the independence of the leagues involved, several did not sign the agreement and continued to work independently. Powers was made the first president of the NAPBL, whose offices were established in Auburn, in 1903, the conflict between the American and National Leagues ended in the National Agreement of 1903. The NAPBL became involved in the stages of the negotiations to develop rules for the acquisition of players from their leagues by the National
13.
National League
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Both leagues currently have 15 teams. The two league champions of 1903 arranged to compete against each other in the inaugural World Series, after the 1904 champions failed to reach a similar agreement, the two leagues formalized the World Series as an arrangement between the leagues. National League teams have won 48 of the 112 World Series contested from 1903 to 2016, the 2016 National League champions are the Chicago Cubs. By 1875, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was dangerously weak, additionally, Hulbert had a problem—five of his star players were threatened with expulsion from the NAPBBP because Hulbert had signed them to his club using what were considered questionable means. Hulbert had a vested interest in creating his own league. After recruiting St. Louis privately, four western clubs met in Louisville, Kentucky, Boston Red Stockings, the dominant team in the N. A. Hartford Dark Blues from the N. A. Mutual of New York from the N. A. St. Louis Brown Stockings from the N. A, the only strong club from 1875 excluded in 1876 was a second one in Philadelphia, often called the White Stockings or Phillies. The first game in National League history was played on April 22,1876, at Philadelphias Jefferson Street Grounds, 25th & Jefferson, the new leagues authority was tested after the first season. The National League operated with six clubs during 1877 and 1878, over the next several years, various teams joined and left the struggling league. By 1880, six of the eight members had folded. The two remaining original NL franchises, Boston and Chicago, remain in operation today as the Atlanta Braves, in 1883 the New York Gothams and Philadelphia Phillies began National League play. Both teams remain in the NL today, the Phillies in their original city, the NL encountered its first strong rival organization when the American Association began play in 1882. The A. A. played in cities where the NL did not have teams, offered Sunday games and alcoholic beverages in locales where permitted, the National League and the American Association participated in a version of the World Series seven times during their ten-year coexistence. These contests were less organized than the modern Series, lasting as few as three games and as many as fifteen, with two Series ending in disputed ties, the NL won four times and the A. A. only once, in 1886. Starting with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1887, the National League began to raid the American Association for franchises to replace NL teams that folded and this undercut the stability of the A. A. Other new leagues that rose to compete with the National League were the Union Association, the Union Association was established in 1884 and folded after playing only one season, its league champion St. Louis Maroons joining the NL. The NL suffered many defections of star players to the Players League, the Brooklyn, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and New York franchises of the NL absorbed their Players League counterparts. The labor strife of 1890 hastened the downfall of the American Association, after the 1891 season, the A. A. disbanded and merged with the NL, which became known legally for the next decade as the National League and American Association
14.
St. Paul Saints
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The St. Paul Saints are an American professional baseball team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Saints are a member of the North Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, the Saints played their home games at Midway Stadium starting in 1993, when the modern-day team started as a member of the Northern League. In 2006 the team was a member of the modern American Association. The team started playing in the new CHS Field in 2015, before the arrival of the Minnesota Twins in 1961, there was a long history of minor-league baseball teams called the St. Paul Saints, as well as their crosstown rivals the Minneapolis Millers. One incarnation of the Saints participated in the Union Association, a major league. A second incarnation was active in the Western League from 1894 to 1899, the third and most long-lived incarnation of the Saints was active in the American Association from 1915 to 1960. The current inception of the St. Paul Saints was formed in 1993 in the Northern League, the Saints are known for promotions that are sometimes over-the-top even by the standards of minor league baseball. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox, comedian and actor Bill Murray is also a part owner. Despite the considerable naysaying at their inception, the Saints became one of the most successful teams in the Northern League and all of independent baseball. In spite of a cool, if not outright hostile reception. The Saints have figured prominently in the creation of independent baseball. The team has featured in books and a cable network series. Mike Veeck wrote a book that covered the mantra Fun is Good, on May 31,1997, the Saints became the first professional mens baseball team since integration to have a female on their roster. Ila Borders, a pitcher, played with the out of the bullpen for a month before being traded. On September 29,2005, the Saints left the Northern League, along with the Lincoln Saltdogs, Sioux City Explorers, in June 2009 the Saints began a push to build a new stadium in Downtown Saint Paul. The proposed 7,500 seat stadium would be located in the Lowertown neighborhood near a planned facility for the METRO Green Line light rail. The city of Saint Paul requested $25 million in its 2010 bonding wish list to the Minnesota Legislature, as described in Lee Allens book, The American League Story, the team began as the Sioux City franchise in a minor league called the Western League. The WL had reorganized itself in November,1893, with Ban Johnson as President
15.
Near South Side, Chicago
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The Near South Side is a community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located just south of the central business district, the Loop. The remaining area is undergoing a major residential and mixed-use redevelopment. The Near South Side is one of the most dynamic of Chicagos communities, the Near South Side was initially noted for wagon trails winding through a lightly populated bend of Lake Michigan. This area was first populated by working for the Illinois & Michigan Canal. Proximity to the railroads attracted light manufacturing and shops, in 1853, the community was absorbed by the extension of the city limits to 31st Street, in the same period, the Illinois Central Railroad was built into Chicago. In 1859, a South State Street horse-drawn streetcar line, linking the area to downtown, attracted wealthy families to the area. By the time of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, it was home to some of the citys finest mansions and most elite social families, however, by the start of the 20th century, rapid transit evolved and many families moved slightly farther from the Loop business district. The railroads brought warehouses and light manufacturing, Michigan Avenue between 14th Street and 22nd Street became an auto row. The Levee vice district of brothels and gambling dens around Cermak Street, Burnham Park and several accompanying institutions were built in the 1910s and 1920s. World War I and post World War I Great Migration settlers moved in, urban renewal and public housing projects later replaced some of the slums. In the 1940s, some of the slums were on the Near South Side. The Century of Progress International Exposition was the name of the Worlds Fair held on the Near South Side lakefront from 1933 to 1934 to celebrate the citys centennial, the theme of the fair was technological innovation over the century since Chicagos founding. More than 40 million people visited the fair, which symbolized for many hope for Chicago, in 1977, George Halas surrendered 51 acres of railyards for redevelopment as Dearborn Park apartments, townhouses and accompanying tree-lined walkways. In 1988, the phase of Dearborn Park construction began between State St. and Clark St. south of Roosevelt Rd. A housing boom emerged in the 1990s and continues to the present day with the construction of new condominium. Construction of the Central Station development commenced in 1990 and this was a mixed-use development on 72 acres of former rail yards and air rights east of Indiana Avenue between Roosevelt Road and 18th Street. Among the prominent buildings are One Museum Park and One Museum Park West along a redeveloped Prairie Avenue, landfill use created Burnham Park and Northerly Island in the 1920s and 1930s along Lake Michigan
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Earl Moore
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Earl Moore was a professional baseball pitcher who had a 14-year career in Major League Baseball. Moores sidearm throwing style earned him the nickname crossfire and his contract was purchased by the Cleveland Blues from Dayton, Ohio for $1000. On May 9,1901, he pitched the American Leagues first no-hitter and he was also the first pitcher in the 20th century to lose a no-hit game. In 1903, he led the league with a 1.77 ERA and he was traded to the New York Highlanders in 1907, and then to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1908. He won a career-high 22 games for the Phillies in 1910 and he lost 19 games the following year. In 1913, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs and his career record was 161–154 with a 2.78 ERA
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1901 Cleveland Bluebirds season
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The 1901 Cleveland Bluebirds season was a season in American baseball. It was the franchises first in the majors, being one of the franchises of the American League. Unofficially known as the Blues, the finished seventh out of eight teams. As a result,1900 marked the first year since 1886 during which the city of Cleveland did not have an affiliated with Major League Baseball. During this time, Cleveland had a minor baseball team, known as the Bluebirds or Blues due to their all-blue uniforms. The American League became a major league before the 1901 season, as the American League made the jump to major league status, many players jumped ship, including Cy Young and Nap Lajoie, which led the National League to call them an outlaw league in November 1900. The Cleveland Blues played their first game of the season against the Chicago White Stockings on April 24,1901 and this was the first games in the history of the American League, three other games scheduled that day were rained out. The starting lineup consisted of, Ollie Pickering, Jack McCarthy, Frank Genins, Candy LaChance, Bill Bradley, Erve Beck, Bill Hallman, Bob Wood, and Bill Hoffer. Hoffer allowed seven runs in the first two innings and the Blues failed to recover, as they lost the game 8–2, earning the first loss in American League history. In the second game of the season, Beck hit the first home run in American League history off pitcher John Skopec, on May 9,1901, Earl Moore threw the first no-hitter in the history of the franchise and the American League. The Blues lost to Chicago by a score of 4–2 despite allowing no hits, on May 23, Cleveland scored nine runs with the bases empty and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Washington 14–13. Note, Pos = Position, G = Games played, AB = At bats, R = Runs, H = Hits, 2B = Doubles, 3B = Triples, Avg. = Batting average, HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in, SB = Stolen bases Note, G = Games played, AB = At bats, R = Runs, H = Hits, 2B = Doubles, 3B = Triples, Avg. The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, Indians Journal, Year by Year & Day by Day with the Cleveland Indians since 1901
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Road (sports)
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A road game or away game is a sports game where the specified team is not the host and must travel to another venue. Most professional teams represent cities or towns and amateur sports teams often represent academic institutions, each team has a location where it practices during the season and where it hosts games. When a team is not the host, it must travel to games. Thus, when a team is not hosting a game, the team is described as the team, the visiting team, or the away team. The venue in which the game is played is described as the stadium or the road. The host team is said to be the home team, major sporting events, if not held at a neutral venue, are often over several legs at each teams home ground, so that neither team has an advantage over the other. Occasionally, the team may not have to travel very far at all to a road game. These matches often become local derbies, a few times a year, a road team may even be lucky enough to have the road game played at their own home stadium or arena. This is prevalent in college athletics where many schools will play in regional leagues or groundshare. The related term true road game has seen increasing use in U. S. college sports in the 21st century, while regular-season tournaments and other special events have been part of college sports from their creation, the 21st century has seen a proliferation of such events. These are typically held at sites, with some of them taking place outside the contiguous U. S. or even outside the country entirely. In turn, this has led to the use of true road game to refer to contests played at one home venue. In some association football leagues, particularly in Europe, the teams fans sit in their own section. Depending on the stadium, they will either sit in a designated section or be separated from the home fans by a cordon of police officers. However, in the leagues in England, supporters may be free to mix. When games are played at a site, for instance the FA Cup final in England which is always played at Wembley Stadium. This results in each team occupying one half of the stadium and this is different from other sports, particularly in North America, where very few fans travel to games played away from their home stadium. Home and away fans are not separated at these games
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1901 Boston Americans season
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The 1901 Boston Americans season was the first season for the professional baseball franchise that later became known as the Boston Red Sox, and the first season of play for the American League. It resulted in the Americans finishing second in the AL with a record of 79 wins and 57 losses, the team was managed by Jimmy Collins and played its home games at Huntington Avenue Grounds. The Americans were led by Buck Freeman, who hit 12 home runs and their longest winning streak of the season came between June 14 and 22 when they defeated the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Stockings, and Cleveland Blues until succumbing on the 23rd to the Blues. Their longest losing streak was between May 11 and 16, when they fell to the Washington Senators and Baltimore Orioles, Note, Pos = Position, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. = Batting average, HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in Note, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. com
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1901 Detroit Tigers season
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The 1901 Detroit Tigers season was the Tigers first in Major League Baseball. The team was a member of the American League, which was originally formed as the minor-league Western League. The Tigers finished in place with a record or 74–61. Most of Detroits home games were played at Bennett Park, with Sunday games played at Burns Park due to Detroits blue laws, roscoe Miller led the team in wins and was the Tigers first 20-game winner. His performance headlined a pitching staff that had the third lowest ERA in the American League. Joe Yeager had an ERA of 2.61, for the second best Adjusted ERA+ in the AL, the offense was not as strong however, scoring 741 runs – fifth among the eight teams in the league. The teams best hitters were shortstop Kid Elberfeld and center fielder Jimmy Barrett, the Tigers had played their games at Bennett Park since 1896, but the graduation to a major league meant that there would now be games scheduled on Sundays, which was forbidden by Detroits blue laws. In order to avoid running afoul of this stricture, owner James D. Burns built a ballpark on his own property in Springwells Township, named Burns Park, the Tigers would play their Sunday home games there for the 1901 and 1902 seasons. The following were key dates in the leading up to the Tigers inaugural season. The Detroit Base Ball and Amusement Company was incorporated for the term of 10 years, the stated purposes of the new company were the owning and improving of grounds and parks for base ball, foot ball, field-day sports, picnics and other forms of recreation and amusement. The capital stock was $50,000 in 2000 shares issued to James D. Burns, George Stallings, Kathleen Burns, Belle Stallings and these five also composed the board of directors. The composition of the American League circuit was confirmed as follows, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Chicago, Cleveland, Milwaukee, ten years agreement signed and ground leases placed in Ban Johnsons hands. The following were key dates in the season of the Tigers inaugural season. After years in the Western League, the Tigers were scheduled to take the field for their first official American League game on April 24,1901, a standing room only crowd was anticipated at Bennett Park, but the Tigers inaugural American League game was postponed due to weather. In their first major game, the Tigers played in front of 10,023 fans in Detroit. Detroit entered the ninth inning trailing the Milwaukee Brewers 13–4, but scored 10 runs in the bottom of the inning to win the game. Third basemen Doc Casey started the rally with a ground rule double. The Tigers continued the rally to eventually reduce their deficit to one run
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Nixey Callahan
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James Joseph Nixey Callahan was an American pitcher and left fielder in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Colts/Orphans, and Chicago White Sox. He also managed the White Sox, as well as the Pittsburgh Pirates, born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, he died at age 60 in Boston. On September 20,1902, Callahan pitched the first no-hitter in American League history, also, he is the only pitcher to have collected five hits in a game three times. Only two years earlier, in the extreme of his career, he gave up 48 hits in two consecutive starts in 1900, yielding 23 on September 11 and 25 in the game before
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Jack McAleese
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John James McAleese was a Major League Baseball player. He began his career as a pitcher, and appeared in one game with the Chicago White Stockings in 1901 as a reliever and he pitched three innings, giving up seven hits and three runs. He then went to the leagues, where he was converted into a full-time outfielder by 1904. He did not return to the majors until 1909, when he served as the primary reserve outfielder for the St. Louis Browns, after batting just.213 in 85 games, he returned to the minors for a few years, retiring after the 1912 season. Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference
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Roy Patterson
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Roy Lewis Patterson was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. Nicknamed The Boy Wonder, he played for the Chicago White Sox from 1901 to 1907, Patterson started his professional baseball career for the Western Leagues St. Paul Saints in 1899. The following year, the became known as the Chicago White Sox of the American League, in 1901. Patterson hit his peak in 1900-03, winning 15 or more each year. On April 24,1901, he became the first AL winning pitcher and that season, Patterson won 20 games for the only time in the majors and led the White Sox in games started and innings pitched. After 1903, Patterson remained a pitcher, but his workload diminished. He joined the American Associations Minneapolis Millers in 1908, pitching most of the decade for them. He pitched and managed in the Dakota League from 1921 to 1922 before retiring, Patterson took over his fathers freight-hauling business after his baseball career ended. He died at the age of 76, career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference
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Wiley Piatt
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Wiley Harold Piatt was a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1898 to 1903. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Piatt was the only pitcher in the 20th century to pitch two complete games in one day and lose them both. This occurred on June 25,1903, when, pitching for the Beaneaters, he lost to the St. Louis Cardinals by scores of 1-0, career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference
25.
Billy Sullivan (baseball)
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William Joseph Sullivan, Sr. was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for 16 seasons, although he was a relatively weak hitter, he was considered one of the best defensive catchers of his era. Sullivans reputation as a standout is enhanced because of the era in which he played. He had to every type of pitch imaginable, such as shine balls, spitballs, knuckleballs. William Joseph Sullivan was born on February 1,1875 in the town of Oakland, Wisconsin and he attended Fort Atkinson High School, where he played mainly as an infielder until their regular catcher couldnt play due to an injury. Sullivan substituted and excelled, so much so that he began being scouted by an amateur team. After his graduation from High School, Sullivan played for an independent team located in Edgewater and he played on his first professional team in 1896 for the Cedar Rapids Bunnies of the Western Association, a Class-B minor league. He stayed in the Western Association for the 1897 season, playing for the Dubuque, in 124 games played that season, he batted just.216, but did hit seven home runs and stole 27 bases. Sullivan then transferred to the Class-A Western League in 1898 to play for the Columbus Buckeyes, also referred to as the Senators, and had a.276 batting average in 68 games played. He stayed with the Buckeyes to begin the 1899 season, though he moved with the team to Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was hitting.306 after 83 games when he was sold to the Boston Beaneaters of the National League for $1000. Sullivan made his league debut with the Beaneaters on September 13,1899 at the age of 24. On September 27, against the Washington Senators, he hit his first major league home run, in 1900, Sullivan hit 8 home runs, the fifth highest total in the National League. Sullivan then joined the Chicago White Sox of the American League in 1901 and he played as catcher in the American Leagues first game as a major league, an 8-2 Chicago victory over Cleveland on April 24,1901. He helped guide the White Sox pitching staff to the lowest team earned run average in the league as they went on to win the American League championship, Sullivans pitch-calling skills were evident in 1904 as the White Sox led the league with 26 shutouts. He caught for two twenty-game winning pitchers in 1905, with Nick Altrock winning 23 games and Frank Owen winning 21 games, Frank Smith added 19 wins and Doc White provided another 17 victories as the White Sox once again led the league in earned run average. The team battled the Philadelphia Athletics in a pennant race and were tied for first place with 11 games left in the season before faltering to finish the season in second place. Sullivan was a member of the 1906 White Sox team that became known as the Hitless Wonders when they won the American League pennant despite posting the lowest team batting average in the league
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Dave Brain
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He was born in Hereford, England. The English-born Brain was an unreliable fielder who showed some power with his bat and good speed on the basepaths. In 1903 for the St. Louis Cardinals he stole 21 bases and hit 15 triples, but his accomplishments were overshadowed by his 67 errors –41 at shortstop and 22 at third base. In 1904 Brain played around the infield, hitting 24 doubles with 12 triples and 18 stolen bases, in 1905 he divided his playing time between St. Louis and the Pittsburgh Pirates, and played the next two seasons with the Boston teams of the National League. Brain led the batters with 10 home runs in 1907. He played his last major league season in 1908, appearing in 27 games with the Cincinnati Reds, in a seven-season career, Brain was a.252 hitter with 27 home runs and 303 RBI in 679 games. Brain died in Los Angeles, at the age of 80, list of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders Baseball Reference
