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.
Shibe Park
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Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a baseball park located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League, when it opened April 12,1909, it became baseballs first steel-and-concrete stadium. In different eras it was home to The $100,000 Infield, The Whiz Kids, Shibe Park stood on the block bounded by Lehigh Avenue, 20th Street, Somerset Street and 21st Street. It was five blocks west, corner-to-corner, from the Baker Bowl, the stadium hosted eight World Series and two MLB All-Star Games, in 1943 and 1952, with the latter game holding the distinction of being the only All-Star contest shortened by rain. In May 1939, it was the site of the first night game played in the American League, Phillies Hall-of-Fame centerfielder and longtime broadcaster Richie Ashburn remembered Shibe Park, It looked like a ballpark. It had a feeling and a heartbeat, a personality that was all baseball, when as many as 28,000 showed up to fill the 9,500 wooden bleacher seats, Shibe and partner Connie Mack decided the As needed a new place to play. He searched for a site for his new park and found one on Lehigh Avenue between 20th and 21st Streets, five blocks west of Baker Bowl, straddling the neighborhoods known as Swampoodle and Goosetown. It was still primitive at the time, an area of high bluffs, rain-washed gullies, quagmires, open fields, even ponds where chickens pecked. Although a grid of streets was planned for the area, few actually existed, without the hospital, the areas stigma would eventually dissipate, but at the time, the land was still a bargain. He spent a total of $67,500 on seven land packages totaling 5.75 acres, for the design and its execution, Shibe hired William Steele and Sons. Their engineering staff had worked with the new technology of steel-reinforced concrete, and designed and built the citys first skyscraper, the Steele design for the Shibe façade was in the ornate French Renaissance style, including arches, vaultings, and Ionic pilasters. The souvenir program on Opening Day called it a combination of color. Gabled dormer windows on the upper decks copper-trimmed green-slate mansard roof looked out over the streets below, presiding over all were terra cotta busts of Shibe and Mack above the main entrances on Lehigh and 21st. The signature feature of the design was the octangular tower on the southwest corner. On the ground floor was an entrance lobby. Bobby Shantz, pitcher for the As in their last years at Shibe, Shibe was proud of the egalitarianism of the design, he said it was for the masses as well as the classes. In April 1908, design in hand, the Shibes and the Steeles broke ground, with the resources of the Steele firm, construction was speedy, efficient and completed in time to open the 1909 season. The city was excited about its new ballpark – the Philadelphia Public Ledger called it a palace for fans, American League president Ban Johnson pronounced that Shibe Park is the greatest place of its character in the world
3.
Philadelphia
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In 1682, William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the city to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. Philadelphia was one of the capitals in the Revolutionary War. In the 19th century, Philadelphia became an industrial center. It became a destination for African-Americans in the Great Migration. The areas many universities and colleges make Philadelphia a top international study destination, as the city has evolved into an educational, with a gross domestic product of $388 billion, Philadelphia ranks ninth among world cities and fourth in the nation. Philadelphia is the center of activity in Pennsylvania and is home to seven Fortune 1000 companies. The Philadelphia skyline is growing, with a market of almost 81,900 commercial properties in 2016 including several prominent skyscrapers. The city is known for its arts, culture, and rich history, Philadelphia has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city. Fairmount Park, when combined with the adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the watershed, is one of the largest contiguous urban park areas in the United States. The 67 National Historic Landmarks in the city helped account for the $10 billion generated by tourism, Philadelphia is the only World Heritage City in the United States. Before Europeans arrived, the Philadelphia area was home to the Lenape Indians in the village of Shackamaxon, the Lenape are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government. They are also called Delaware Indians and their territory was along the Delaware River watershed, western Long Island. Most Lenape were pushed out of their Delaware homeland during the 18th century by expanding European colonies, Lenape communities were weakened by newly introduced diseases, mainly smallpox, and violent conflict with Europeans. Iroquois people occasionally fought the Lenape, surviving Lenape moved west into the upper Ohio River basin. The American Revolutionary War and United States independence pushed them further west, in the 1860s, the United States government sent most Lenape remaining in the eastern United States to the Indian Territory under the Indian removal policy. In the 21st century, most Lenape now reside in the US state of Oklahoma, with communities living also in Wisconsin, Ontario. The Dutch considered the entire Delaware River valley to be part of their New Netherland colony, in 1638, Swedish settlers led by renegade Dutch established the colony of New Sweden at Fort Christina and quickly spread out in the valley. In 1644, New Sweden supported the Susquehannocks in their defeat of the English colony of Maryland
4.
Connie Mack
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Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy, better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball player, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he records for wins, losses. Mack managed the Philadelphia Athletics for the clubs first 50 seasons of play, starting in 1901, before retiring at age 87 following the 1950 season, however, constant financial struggles forced repeated rebuilding of the roster, and Macks teams also finished in last place 17 times. Mack was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937, Mack was born Cornelius McGillicuddy in East Brookfield, Massachusetts on December 22,1862. As with many Irish immigrants whose names began with Mc, the McGullicuddys were often referred to as Mack and his parents, Michael McGillicuddy and Mary McKillop, were both immigrants from Ireland. Michael McGillicuddys father was named Cornelius McGillicuddy, and by tradition, Connie is a common nickname for Cornelius, so Cornelius McGillicuddy was called Connie Mack from an early age. Connie Mack never legally changed his name, on the occasion of his marriage at age 48. His nickname on the field was Slats, for his height of 6 feet 2 inches. During the American Civil War, he served with the 51st Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Michael McGillicuddy suffered from several ailments as the result of his military service, he was able to work only infrequently, and drew a disability pension. Mack was educated in East Brookfield, and began working summers in local cotton mills at age 9 to help support his family. He quit school after completing the eighth grade at age 14, intending to work full-time to contribute to the familys support and he clerked at a store, worked on local farms, and worked on the production lines of the shoe factories in nearby towns. Mack was also an athlete, and frequently played baseball. In 1879 his skills landed him a place on East Brookfields town team, though younger than his teammates by several years, Mack was the teams catcher and de facto captain. Beginning in 1886, Mack played 10 seasons in the National League and one in the Players League, for a total of 11 seasons in the major leagues, almost entirely as a catcher. Beginning in 1884, he played on minor league teams in the Connecticut cities of Meriden, in the winter of 1889, he jumped to the Buffalo team of the new Players League, the Bisons, investing his entire life savings of $500 in shares in that club. But the Players League went out of business only a year. In December 1890 Mack signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League, as a player, Mack was a light-hitting catcher with a reputation as a smart player, but didnt do anything particularly well as a player. Mack was one of the first catchers to position himself directly behind home plate instead of in front of the backstop, according to Wilbert Robinson, Mack never was mean
5.
Ben Shibe
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Benjamin Franklin Shibe was an American sporting goods and baseball executive who was owner and president of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League from 1901 until his death. He is credited with the invention of the automated stitching machinery to make standardized baseballs, Shibe Park was named in his honor from 1909 to 1954. Shibe died in 1922, and is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Shibe was a leader of the local baseball fraternity no later than the 1870s. Prior to purchasing the Athletics, Shibe and his sons worked for A. J. Reach & co, Shibe and his sons bought 50 percent of the Athletics from Charles Somers in 1901. At that time, he was named president, a title he would retain until his death. He took on manager Connie Mack and two sportswriters as part-owners, in 1913, Shibe made Mack a full partner, ceding him complete authority over the baseball side of the operation. When Shibe died in 1922, his sons Tom and John became president and vice-president of the As, however, Mack was now the operating head of the franchise. Tom died in 1936, with John following in 1937 and their heirs would retain a minority stake in the team until 1950. Photograph of Benjamin Shibe, Connie Mack and others at the groundbreaking of Shibe Park in 1908 courtesy Temple University Libraries SABR Biography Ben Shibe at Find a Grave
