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92-588: The field was the first National League home for the Pittsburgh Pirates (at the time referred to as the Alleghenys) of Major League Baseball . It also hosted many football games of the Western University of Pennsylvania (today's University of Pittsburgh ). In November 1892, the park hosted the first known American football game that included a professional player. Only one known photograph, taken from

184-418: A "baseball war" during 1901 and 1902 before agreeing to a "peace pact" that recognized each other as legitimate "major leagues". As part of this agreement, the leagues agreed to respect player contracts, establish rules about relationships with minor league clubs, and allow their champions to meet in a " World Series " to decide the overall professional baseball championship. National League teams have won 51 of

276-690: A condition of the sale of the Astros to Jim Crane in November 2011, the team agreed to move to the American League effective with the 2013 season. In 2023, National League teams played 46 regular season interleague games against all 15 American League teams, 23 at home and 23 on the road. As of the end of the 2024 season, the Dodgers have won the most NL pennants, with 25. Representing the National League against

368-691: A game between the Stars and the Athletics as being for the championship of the National Football League. The Athletics had split on the season with the Phillies, as had Pittsburgh. Although a Philadelphia victory on Thanksgiving would give the A's the championship hands down, a win by the Stars could tie the league race tighter. Mack readied his A's for the big game by playing an exhibition tour through northern Pennsylvania and southern New York. In Elmira, New York

460-531: A lease on the park in 1901 to block the upstart American League from establishing a competing baseball franchise in Pittsburgh. To monetize the grounds, Dreyfuss installed a modern bicycle track to be used for motor-paced races featuring the stars of the sport. Baseball umpire and boxing referee Tim Hurst managed the facility, which opened in May 1902 under a name variously spelled as "Colosseum" or "Coliseum." The track,

552-479: A more "traditional" or "pure" league, the National League did not adopt the designated hitter rule until the shortened 2020 season . Only the American League previously adopted the rule in 1973. In theory, this meant that the role of the manager was greater in the National League than in the American League, because the NL manager must take offense into account when making pitching substitutions and vice versa. However, this

644-601: A postseason championship—the World Series . Major League Baseball narrowly averted radical reorganization in November 1920. Dissatisfied with American League President and National Baseball Commission head Ban Johnson , NL owners dissolved the league on November 8 during heated talks on MLB reorganization in the wake of the Black Sox Scandal . Simultaneously, three AL teams also hostile to Johnson ( Boston Red Sox , Chicago White Sox , and New York Yankees ) withdrew from

736-558: A record of 18–37 at home that season, finishing 11th in the league. The ballpark was used as a neutral site for one game in the 1885 World Series and for one game in the 1887 World Series . In 1887, owner William A. Nimick transferred the club into the National League, and on April 30, the Alleghenies defeated the Chicago White Stockings , 6–2 in front of 10,000 spectators. This was the first officially recognized contest of

828-464: A smooth wooden oval with 20-foot (6 m) bankings, encompassed a multipurpose field. Surrounding the track was new seating for 7,000 spectators, including covered grandstands on the north and south sides and open bleachers. The venture proved a failure: Cycling did not catch on as a spectator sport, and although the stadium found alternative use as a football venue, there was not enough football to bring sufficient revenue. No longer fearing an invasion by

920-574: A statement that college football was too big and would always draw a bigger crowd than the pro game. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times featured two articles on the pros and cons of a professional football league. Times columnist Harry A. Williams supported the idea of a league. However, he felt that the league would have a better chance by teaming up with teams associated with the Pacific Coast League instead of major league baseball , due to

1012-580: 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 (1885 and 1890) ending in disputed ties. The NL won four times and the AA 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. This undercut

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1104-405: A very distant vantage point, shows the grounds in its longtime baseball configuration. It was discovered in 2015 in a time capsule left by scientific instrument maker John Brashear . A much-altered facility appears in later photos, including several newspaper shots of football games. Opened in 1865 as a skating center, the park was adapted for baseball use in 1867. Known until 1885 as Union Park ,

1196-446: Is called the "Junior Circuit". Both leagues currently have 15 teams. The National League survived competition from various other professional baseball leagues during the late 19th century. Most did not last for more than a few seasons, with a handful of teams joining the NL once their leagues folded. The American League declared itself a second major league in 1901, and the AL and NL engaged in

1288-714: The Houston Astros three years later. In 1969, the league added the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals ), becoming a 12-team league for the first time since 1899. In 1969, as a result of its expansion to 12 teams, the National League—which for its first 93 years had competed equally in a single grouping—was reorganized into two divisions of six teams (respectively named

1380-782: The National League East and West , although geographically it was more like North and South), with the division champions meeting in the National League Championship Series (an additional round of postseason competition) for the right to advance to the World Series. In 1993 the league expanded to 14 teams, adding the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins (which became the Miami Marlins shortly after

1472-546: The Philadelphia Athletics , 11–0, at the field. The Western University of Pennsylvania (WUP) football team played their first game of the 1898 season at Recreation Park, defeating Westminster 5–0. Though WUP played some games at Exposition Park as early as 1900, games were hosted at Recreation Park until the University signed an exclusive contract with Exposition Park in 1904. Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss secured

1564-829: The Pittsburgh Burghers baseball franchise and the Players' League , the Alleghenys moved to the third incarnation of Exposition Park, which had been constructed for the Burghers. On November 12, 1892, the Allegheny Athletic Association football team defeated the Pittsburgh Athletic Club in the first known American football game to feature a professional player. The team had hired Pudge Heffelfinger , an all-American guard from Yale , for $ 500. Decades later,

1656-666: The Pittsburgh Steelers and Pirates built stadiums not far from this site. In the late 1860s and early 70s, Pittsburgh was home to three local amateur baseball teams—the Enterprise Club, the Xanthas, and the Olympics—which played most of their games Union Park. In 1876, the professional Allegheny club played its first game against Xantha at Union Park, winning 7–3. Allegheny lasted for three years, playing mostly other squads from

1748-545: The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway . Recreation Park has a reference in the city directory as late as 1914, but the open land was soon covered over by various industrial buildings, since the early 1900s. National League (baseball) The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs , known simply as the National League ( NL ), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in

1840-537: The Pro Football Hall of Fame discovered a page torn from an 1892 account ledger prepared by Allegheny manager O. D. Thompson with the line item: "Game performance bonus to W. Heffelfinger for playing (cash) $ 500." In 1902, a Pirates-backed football team, the Pittsburgh Stars of the first National Football League , played its home games at the field. The Stars would win the league's only championship against

1932-643: The United States and Canada , and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP) of 1871–1875 (often called simply the "National Association"), the NL is sometimes called the Senior Circuit , in contrast to MLB's other league, the American League , which was founded 25 years later and

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2024-568: The Washington and Jefferson Presidents football team had a much greater following than the Stars. Professional ice hockey would become the sport of the moment in the early to mid-1900s (decade) as the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League began hiring professional players. The league had been slightly ahead of its time; it would not be until 1920 that the idea for a true "National Football League" would come to be accepted. With

2116-402: The 119 World Series championships contested from 1903 to 2023. For decades, Major League baseball clubs only played teams from their own league during the regular season and most of the playoffs, with only their champions facing off in the World Series. This separation gradually caused the leagues to develop slightly different strategies and styles of play. The National League was long considered

2208-409: The 1902 season. Ironically the roots of the league lay with baseball , not football. It began as a part of the baseball wars between the National League and the new American League that began in 1901. In Philadelphia the AL's Athletics lured several of the NL's Phillies from their contracts, only to lose them through court action. When Phillies owner John Rogers decided to start a football team,

2300-454: The AL and joined the eight NL teams in forming a new National League; the 12th team would be whichever of the remaining five AL teams loyal to Johnson first chose to join; if none did so an expansion team would have been placed in Detroit , by far the largest one-team city at that time. Four days later, on November 12, both sides met (without Johnson) and agreed to restore the two leagues and replace

2392-514: The All-Star Game, or in the World Series. Beginning in 1997, however, interleague games have been played during the regular season and count in the standings. Prior to the early 2020s – before the universal designated hitter rule was started in both leagues – as part of the agreement instituting interleague play, the DH rule was used only in games where the American League team was the home team. In 1999,

2484-471: The American Association. After the 1891 season, the AA disbanded and merged with the NL, which became known legally for the next decade as the "National League and American Association". The teams now known as the Cincinnati Reds , Los Angeles Dodgers (originally Brooklyn) and Pittsburgh Pirates (as well as the now-defunct Cleveland Spiders ) had already switched from the AA to the NL prior to 1892. With

2576-677: The American League under the auspices of Major League Baseball, which now operates much like other North American professional sports leagues, albeit with two "leagues" instead of "conferences". By 1875, the National Association of Professional Ball Players (NAPBBP, often referred to as the "National Association"), founded four years earlier, was suffering from a lack of strong authority over clubs, unsupervised scheduling, unstable membership of cities, dominance by one team (the Boston Red Stockings ), and an extremely low entry fee ($ 10) that gave clubs no incentive to abide by league rules when it

2668-776: The American League, Dreyfuss let the lease expire in April 1904. The track was torn down and the grounds turned back over to the owners. Beyond simply major sporting events, the park often also doubled as a venue for circuses, carnivals, various ethnic and holiday celebrations, and track meets. Before the Exposition grounds were used for major gatherings, Union Park was a main local gathering place that could easily and closely accommodate large crowds for exhibitors. Popular national figures such as Adam Forepaugh and P. T. Barnum would hold their shows here, spending up to three days before moving off to one-night shows in smaller towns. The park sat next to

2760-577: The American League, the Cardinals have won the most World Series (11) followed by the Giants and Dodgers (8), Pirates (5), and Reds (5). St. Louis also holds the distinction of being the only AA club to defeat an NL club in the 19th-century version of the World Series, having done so against their now-division rival Cubs. The eight charter teams were the following: The eight-team lineup established in 1900 remained unchanged through 1952. All franchises are still in

2852-401: The Athletics and Philadelphia Phillies . However, both Rogers and Shibe knew that to lay claim (to what they hoped would be) the "World Championship"; they had to play a team from Pittsburgh, which was the focal point of football at the time. They called on pro football promoter Dave Berry , and a Pittsburgh team was soon formed around a championship team from Homestead . This team was named

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2944-433: The Athletics and the Phillies gave up more points than they scored in their league games. Finally Dave Berry used his power as league president and named his Stars the 1902 champions. In 1917, an unnamed representative from a professional football club in Detroit attempted to start a professional football league, based on the model of the 1902 NFL. The plan called for the league to be backed by Major League Baseball , with

3036-412: The Athletics followed suit. A's owner Ben Shibe fielded a team made up of several baseball players as well as some local football talent. He appointed his baseball manager Connie Mack as the team's general manager and named former University of Pennsylvania football player Charles "Blondy" Wallace as the team's coach. Each Philadelphia team was named after their respective baseball clubs and became

3128-519: The Athletics joined in the first night game in pro football history. Lights were set up along the sidelines and giant searchlights glared from behind the goal posts. The A's won the game 39–0 over the Kanaweola Athletic Club . When Mack agreed to Berry's championship game, he was promised $ 2,000 for his team's participation. However, when he arrived in Pittsburgh, he saw that the stands were pretty much empty and since his $ 2,000 came from

3220-399: The Athletics. Not many fans noticed the championship win. The Pittsburgh players were too busy suing Temple for their Thanksgiving Day money to do much gloating over their victory, and the story disappeared from the newspapers before the suit was settled. Most of the players tried it again with Franklin or Canton or Massillon in the next few years. The Philadelphia Athletics went home and beat

3312-454: The Central had one more team). A third postseason round was added at the same time: the three division champions plus a wild card team (the team with the best record among those finishing in second place) now advance to the preliminary National League Division Series . Due to a players' strike, however, the postseason was not actually held in 1994. Before the 1998 season, the American League and

3404-612: The NAPBBP because Hulbert had signed them to his club using what were considered questionable means. Hulbert had a great vested interest in creating his own league, and after recruiting St. Louis privately, four western clubs met in Louisville, Kentucky , in January 1876. With Hulbert speaking for the five later in New York City on February 2, 1876, the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs

3496-486: The NL did not have teams, offered Sunday games and alcoholic beverages in locales where permitted, and sold cheaper tickets everywhere (25 cents versus the NL's standard 50 cents, a hefty sum for many in 1882). The NL struck back by establishing new clubs in 1883 in AA cities Philadelphia (later called "Phillies") and New York (the team that would become the Giants). The National League and the American Association participated in

3588-462: The NL to modify its labor practices, including a salary cap and a reserve clause that bound players to their teams indefinitely. The NL suffered many defections of star players to the Players' League, but the P.L. collapsed after one season. The Brooklyn, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and New York franchises of the NL absorbed their Players' League counterparts. The labor strike of 1890 hastened the downfall of

3680-509: The NL. By 1903, the upstart AL had placed new teams in the National League cities of Boston , Chicago, New York, Philadelphia , and St. Louis , as well as the "abandoned" NL cities Cleveland and Washington (and, temporarily, Baltimore). Only the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates had no AL team in their markets. The AL among other things enforced a strict conduct policy among its players. The National League at first refused to recognize

3772-481: The National League each added a fifteenth team. Because of the odd number of teams, only seven games could possibly be scheduled in each league on any given day. Thus, one team in each league would have to be idle on any given day. This would have made it difficult for scheduling, in terms of travel days and the need to end the season before October. In order for MLB officials to continue primarily intraleague play, both leagues would need to carry an even number of teams, so

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3864-527: The North Shore Coliseum, while the two Philadelphia teams used their own respective baseball stadiums, Columbia Park and the Baker Bowl , for home games. Each team played two games against each of other two teams. When they were not playing each other, the teams played various teams from colleges and athletic clubs from Pennsylvania and southern New York state. On Thanksgiving Day 1902, Berry billed

3956-430: The Phillies to wrap up second place. It was a nice win and gave them the city championship, but that was all that it was; the season was won by Pittsburgh the week before. Meanwhile, several members of the Athletics and the Phillies went on to play in the first World Series of Pro football on a team erroneously named " New York " at Madison Square Garden (the "error" was deliberate as the tournament's founder felt that

4048-460: The Pittsburgh Pirates franchise. Legend has it that, before opening game of the 1887 season, Pittsburgh's catcher Fred Carroll buried his pet monkey beneath home plate. Also during that season, local businessman Walter Brown organized an early attempt of a league for African American ballplayers, with his Pittsburgh Keystones taking up residence at the park. In 1891, after the collapse of

4140-599: The Stars, after the number of football players on the team who were considered football stars during the era. The team was owned and operated by Berry, the former manager of the Latrobe Athletic Association . However many historians believe that due to Berry's limited wealth and the amount of talent on team, that Pittsburgh Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss and/or Pirates president William Chase Temple (who briefly owned other pro football teams in Pittsburgh only to see them fail in short fashion) may have secretly owned

4232-589: The West Coast of the U.S. for the first time. The NL remained an eight-team league for over 60 years. (For the eight teams, see Expansion (1887–1899) above, and "Classic Eight" below.) In 1962—facing competition from the proposed Continental League and confronted by the American League 's unilateral expansion in 1961—the NL expanded by adding the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s. The "Colts" were renamed

4324-514: The baseball leagues was resolved the next spring. While the NFL thrived in Philadelphia, it never took hold in Pittsburgh, where professional football had already had its moment in the spotlight come and go over the previous decade. Public relations errors by Berry resulted in a lukewarm reaction to the franchise. Many Pittsburghers followed their local athletic clubs and colleges more than the Stars. In fact

4416-581: The baseball players, many of the others had jobs that kept them in good condition. For example, Pittsburgh halfback Artie Miller , came in after a summer's lumberjacking in the Wisconsin woods. To make the preseason even less stressful, the average football team in 1902 only used about a half-dozen plays and they were all standard. The league played all of its games on Saturdays, since there were no Sunday sports events according to Pennsylvania blue laws in 1902. The Pittsburgh team played all of its home games at

4508-603: The behavior of teammates that he quit playing in 1891 to become one of America's most famous evangelical Christian preachers. Most fans appear to have felt the same way, because attendance at games was plummeting by 1900. After eight seasons as a 12-team league, the NL contracted back to eight teams for the 1900 season, eliminating its teams in Baltimore , Cleveland , Louisville (which has never had another major league team since), and Washington . This provided an opportunity for competition. Three of those cities received franchises in

4600-449: The clubs' defiance by expelling them, an act which not only shocked baseball followers (New York and Philadelphia were the two most populous cities in the league) and the then sports world, but made it clear to clubs that league scheduling commitments, a cornerstone of competitive integrity, were not to be ignored. The National League operated with only six clubs during 1877 and 1878. Over the next several years, various teams joined and left

4692-405: The combined team was the best in the event, and bestowed upon them home field advantage for the tournament). New York and Syracuse AC played in the first indoor football game in front of 3,000 spectators, on December 28, 1902. Syracuse, with Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner at offensive guard , won the game 6–0 and went on to win the tournament. The league quietly folded, and the war between

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4784-742: The decision was made to move one club from the AL Central to the NL Central. Eventually, Milwaukee agreed (after Kansas City declined) to change leagues; the National League now had 16 teams, the American League 14 with the switch. Beginning with the 2013 season, the Houston Astros moved from the National League Central to the American League West, which now gave both leagues three divisions of five teams each. Often characterized as being

4876-421: The designated hitter rule in 2022 , and the expansion of interleague play to 46 games beginning in 2023 , has further blurred the lines between leagues. Though both leagues agreed to be jointly governed by a commissioner in 1920, they remained separate legal and business entities with their own president and management. This was the case until after the 1999 season, when the National League legally merged with

4968-585: The end of the 2011 season). In 1998, the Arizona Diamondbacks became the league's fifteenth franchise, and the Milwaukee Brewers moved from the AL to the NL, giving the NL 16 teams for the next 15 seasons. In 1994, the league was again reorganized, into three geographical divisions (East, West and Central , all currently with five teams; from 1994 to 1997 the West had one fewer team, and from 1998 to 2012,

5060-516: The game, and the game soon began. Corey got his money's worth, if he liked evenly matched games. Both teams played at their best to a scoreless tie. It was a fair verdict, but Berry's "championship game" had not decided anything. Another championship game was soon planned between Berry and Mack. Because of a lack of funds Berry almost ended up canceling the game. However, he later promised to his players they would all share equally in Saturday's game, which

5152-647: The ineffective National Commission with a one-man Commissioner in the person of federal Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis . The National League circuit remained unchanged from 1900 through 1952. In 1953 the Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee ; in 1966 they moved again, to Atlanta . In 1958 the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants moved to Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively, bringing major league baseball to

5244-399: The institution of interleague play, little remains to differentiate between the two leagues. By 2011, MLB had changed its policy on interleague play, deciding to schedule interleague games throughout the season rather than only during specially designated periods. This policy would allow each league to have 15 teams, with one team in each league playing an interleague game on any given day. As

5336-412: The league outside of Pennsylvania into other major cities like Chicago and New York City. Investors in neither city were interested in joining the league at the time. With all the baseball involvement, training did not get underway for the football teams until September 29, 1902, with the season was scheduled to open a week later on October 4. However, most of the players were already in shape. Besides

5428-645: The league, with five remaining in the same city. Following the 1999 season, the American and National Leagues were merged with Major League Baseball, and the leagues ceased to exist as business entities. The role of the league president was eliminated. In 2001, Bill Giles , son of Warren Giles, was named honorary president of the NL. Honorary presidents perform only ceremonial duties such as presenting league championship trophies and representing their respective leagues at All-Star Games . National Football League (1902) The first National Football League ( NFL )

5520-409: The league: the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta Braves (originally in Boston, and later Milwaukee). The Cubs are the only charter member to play continuously in the same city. The other two pre-1892 teams still in the league are the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants (originally New York), both of which joined in 1883. The National League became a 12-team circuit with monopoly status for

5612-482: The merger, the NL absorbed the St. Louis Browns (now known as the St. Louis Cardinals ), along with three other teams that did not survive into the 20th century—the Baltimore Orioles (not the current MLB team), Louisville Colonels , and Washington Statesmen . While four teams that moved from the AA remain in the NL today (Pittsburgh [1887], Cincinnati [1890], Los Angeles [originally Brooklyn; 1890], and St. Louis [1892]), only two original NL franchises (1876) remain in

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5704-466: The more "traditional" league, a reputation most exemplified by the NL's more prevalent use of " smallball " tactics and lack of a designated hitter rule, which the AL implemented in 1973. However, with the advent of free agency in the 1970s allowing for more player movement between leagues, and the introduction of regular season interleague play in 1997, the difference in play between the two major leagues has diminished considerably. The NL's adoption of

5796-475: The new league disappeared from the papers. Comiskey's decision to take part in organizing a new professional football league based on the 1902 NFL was never made public. All interest in the story died by April 1917, when the country entered into World War I . At war's end, a flu pandemic swept the world, and virtually all of the professional football teams in the country shut down or drastically scaled back operations. The modern National Football League, formed as

5888-405: The new league, but reality set in as talent and money was split between the two leagues, diluting the league and decreasing financial success. After two years of bitter contention, a new version of the National Agreement was signed in 1903. This meant formal acceptance of each league by the other as an equal partner in major-league baseball, mutual respect of player contracts, and an agreement to play

5980-419: The newly christened American League (AL) when the minor Western League changed its name to the AL in 1900, with the approval of the NL, which regarded the AL as a lesser league since they were a party to the National Agreement. The AL declined to renew its National Agreement membership when it expired the next year, and on January 28, 1901, the AL officially declared itself a second major league in competition with

6072-423: The northeast within the International Association, but occasionally taking on National League teams in exhibition games. One long-remembered match took place in early May 1877, when Pud Galvin threw a shutout and hit a home run in a 1–0 victory over the Boston Red Stockings . In 1884, the two-year-old Pittsburgh Alleghenys of the American Association moved from Exposition Park II to Union Park. The team posted

6164-439: The offices of American League and National League presidents were discontinued and all authority was vested in the Commissioner's office. The leagues subsequently appointed "honorary" presidents to carry out ceremonial roles such as the awarding of league championship trophies. Additionally, the distinction between AL and NL umpires was erased, and instead all umpires were unified under MLB control. Following these actions, as well as

6256-418: The owner of Detroit Tigers , and Charles Comiskey , the owner of the Chicago White Sox . Comiskey told reporters, "If pro football can be made to pay it will be an answer to a problem that has confronted baseball owners since the game started. For years we have been going along using our ballparks three months in a year, only to see the property lie idle the other nine months." He then stated that he would take

6348-402: The presence of the pitcher in the NL batting order. As the collective bargaining agreement came closer to expiring after the 2021 season, owners expressed their intentions to use the designated hitter in all games starting in 2022. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, rule changes were instituted in both leagues for the 2020 season , which included an abbreviated 60-game schedule,

6440-402: The rest of the decade. The league became embroiled in numerous internal conflicts, not the least of which was a plan supported by some owners (and bitterly opposed by others) to form a "trust", wherein there would be one common ownership of all twelve teams. The NL used its monopsony power to force a $ 2,400 ($ 85,000 today) limit on annual player wages in 1894. As the 20th century dawned, the NL

6532-451: The stability of the AA. Other new leagues that rose to compete with the National League were the Union Association and the Players' League . The Union Association was established in 1884 and folded after playing only one season, its league champion St. Louis Maroons joining the NL. The Players' League was established in 1890 by the Brotherhood of Professional Base-Ball Players, the sport's first players' union, which had failed to persuade

6624-528: The stadium had an early capacity of 2,500, and was later expanded with wooden grandstands to allow up to 17,000 spectators. After the Alleghenys moved a few blocks south in 1890, the main tenant became the Allegheny Athletic Association , and the grounds would eventually be referred to as 3A Park . After the turn of the 20th century, it was converted to a velodrome called the Coliseum . In 2001,

6716-486: The stands of the South End Grounds started a fire. The blaze quickly got out of hand and swept through downtown Boston, destroying or damaging 100 buildings. Team owners argued with each other, and players hated the NL's $ 2,400 salary cap. Many teams also ran into trouble with city governments that forbade recreational activities on Sunday . Billy Sunday , a prominent outfielder in the 1880s, became so disgusted with

6808-640: The state capital of Albany, New York ), Worcester ( Massachusetts ), Boston , and Providence . In 1883, new New York and Philadelphia clubs began National League play. Both teams remain in the NL today, the Phillies in their original city and the New York franchise (later named Giants) now in San Francisco since 1958. The NL encountered its first strong rival organization when the American Association began play in 1882. The AA played in cities where

6900-567: The struggling league. By 1880, six of the eight charter members had folded. The two remaining original NL franchises, Boston and Chicago, remain still in operation today as the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs . When all eight participants for 1881 returned for 1882—the first off-season without turnover in membership—the "circuit" consisted of a zig-zag line connecting the eight cities: Chicago , Detroit , Cleveland , Buffalo , Troy (near

6992-447: The team, a statement both vehemently denied. The first league had no bylaws, no offices and no schedule-making powers. Having three of the top professional football teams in the country helped make up for those shortfalls. These three teams are all that made up the 1902 NFL. Because of the animosity that existed between Philadelphia's Shibe and Rogers, Dave Berry was picked to the league's president. Attempts were initially made to expand

7084-669: The teams to be based in Chicago , New York City, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis , Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio . Several of these metropolitan areas and cities had existing professional clubs in the Ohio League and various other "major regional" leagues of the era, such as the Detroit Heralds , Columbus Panhandles , and the McKeesport Olympics (in the Pittsburgh metro area). Cleveland, though it did not have an Ohio League team at

7176-440: The ticket sales at the gate, it looked as if he would not be paid his $ 2,000 and his team would be stranded, with no money, in Pittsburgh. Therefore, seeing no reason to take the field, Mack refused to play until his team was paid their promised share of the gate, $ 2,000. It looked as if the game would not be played. However Mack received a check for $ 2,000 from William Corey, the head of Carnegie Steel , who impatiently wanted to see

7268-604: The time, was not very far away from the Northeast Ohio trifecta of dominant pro football teams: the Canton Bulldogs , Akron Pros and Massillon Tigers . Philadelphia also had a strong semi-pro football circuit, which included (among other teams) the Union Club of Phoenixville , 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia. Under the proposal, teams would then begin play immediately after baseball season concluded and continue as long "as

7360-530: The upcoming week to think over the proposal. The story was only closely examined by only two national newspapers, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Los Angeles Times . On January 4, 1917, an editorial in the Inquirer declared the idea "no good in Philadelphia" and supported their conclusion by citing a similar idea of fifteen years earlier, which was "long remembered as a failure". The commentary ended with

7452-417: The use of the designated hitter in all games, and expanded rosters. The National League reverted to its old batting rules during the 2021 season , but starting with the 2022 season , they permanently adopted the designated hitter rule after a new CBA was ratified. For the first 96 years of its coexistence with the American League, National League teams faced their AL counterparts only in exhibition games,

7544-458: The warmer weather. The opposing opinion was given by Warren Bovard, the manager of the University of Southern California football team, who stated that football was tailored for colleges and not professional play. He then stated that pro football would have to rely on all-star games , which draw well at first, but fail to hold any long-term interest. However, after Bovard's article, all mention of

7636-514: The weather is favorable." To build name recognition, it was determined that those baseball players with sufficient football skill would be featured on league rosters with the remaining slots filled by ex-college football players. The games would be played in the baseball parks such as Forbes Field , Comiskey Park , the Polo Grounds and Navin Field . The unnamed agent pitched the idea to Frank Navin ,

7728-468: The win, A's players decided to call the Stars game an exhibition, and declared themselves the champs. However, the team had agreed to that season-ending championship game against Pittsburgh the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and they had lost it. This was recognized by all parties at the time as the championship game. Each team carried a record of 2–2 for league play. Pittsburgh had by far the better point ratio, scoring 39 points to their opponents' 22. Both

7820-498: Was a curious mixture of football players and baseball players who adapted to playing football. Future Baseball Hall of Famer Rube Waddell was with the Philadelphia Athletics , and pitcher Christy Mathewson a fullback for Pittsburgh. Two of the three teams were owned by the Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia Athletics , with the third team suspected of being owned by the Pittsburgh Pirates . The league folded after

7912-402: Was disputed by some, such as former Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland , who claimed that the American League is more difficult because AL managers are required to know exactly when to pull a pitcher, whereas an NL manager merely pulls his pitcher when that spot comes up in the batting order. Overall, there were fewer home runs and runs scored in the National League than in the American, due to

8004-478: Was established with eight charter members, as follows: The National League's formation meant the end of the old National Association after only five seasons, as its remaining clubs shut down or reverted to amateur or minor league status. The only strong club from 1875 excluded in 1876 was a second one in Philadelphia, often called the White Stockings or later Phillies . The first game in National League history

8096-469: Was in trouble. Conduct among players was poor, and fistfights were a common sight at games. In addition to fighting each other, they fought with the umpires and often filled the air at games with foul language and obscenities. A game between the Orioles and Boston Beaneaters (a precursor to today's Atlanta Braves) in 1894 ended up having tragic consequences when players became engaged in a brawl and several boys in

8188-423: Was inconvenient to them. William A. Hulbert (1832–1882), a Chicago businessman and an officer of the Chicago White Stockings of 1870–1889, approached several NA clubs with the plans for a professional league for the sport of baseball with a stronger central authority and exclusive territories in larger cities only. Additionally, Hulbert had a problem: five of his star players were threatened with expulsion from

8280-676: Was played on April 22, 1876, at Philadelphia 's Jefferson Street Grounds , at 25th & Jefferson Streets, between the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston baseball club. Boston won the game 6–5. The new league's authority was soon tested after the first season. The Athletic and Mutual clubs fell behind in the standings and refused to make western road trips late in the season, preferring to play games against local non-league competition to recoup some of their financial losses rather than travel extensively incurring more costs. Hulbert reacted to

8372-421: Was sure to be a sell-out. After some complaints were addressed, everything was set. The crowd was a little better on Saturday, but not much. About 2,000 fans showed up, and the players knew before the game began that they were going to come up short at pay time. The game looked like it might once again end in a tie. However a late touchdown by Ellis and another by Artie Miller led Pittsburgh to an 11–0 win over

8464-541: Was the first attempt at forming a national professional American football league in 1902. This league has no ties with the modern National Football League . In fact the league was only composed of teams from Pennsylvania , which meant it was actually regional, despite having locations in the two largest cities in Pennsylvania. Two of the teams were based in Philadelphia , while the third was based in Pittsburgh . This NFL

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