Encyclopedia
The
National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, or simply the
National League, is the older of two leagues constituting
Major League Baseball in the
United States and Canada. Founded February 2, 1876 to replace the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, it is sometimes called the "senior circuit" in contrast to the "junior circuit" of the
American League, founded only in 1900-1901. The two league champions of 1903 arranged to meet in the
World Series and, after the 1904 champions failed to do likewise, the two leagues have arranged for that annual culmination of the American baseball season, missing only in 1994. National League teams have won 41 and lost 60 of the 101 World Series played between these two leagues, 1903 to 2005.
League history
By 1875, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was on shaky ground. The NA suffered from a lack of strong authority over clubs, unsupervised scheduling, unstable membership, dominance by one team, and an extremely cheap entry fee that gave clubs no incentive to abide by league rules when it was not convenient.
William Hulbert, a
Chicago businessman and officer of the
Chicago White Stockings approached several NA clubs with the plan for a league with stronger central authority and exclusive territories in larger cities only. Additonally, Hulbert had a problem, five of his star players were treated from expulsion from the NAPBBP because Hulbert had signed them to his club using, what could be described at best, questionable means. Hulbert had a great vested interest in creating his own league. After recruiting St. Louis privately, four western clubs met in
Louisville, Kentucky in January, 1876. With Hulbert speaking for the four in
New York City on February 2, 1876, the National League was established with eight charter members.
- Chicago from the NA
- St. Louis from the NA
- Louisville, an independent team
- a new Cincinnati Red Stockings
- Boston, the dominant team in the NA
- Hartford from the NA
- Mutual of New York from the NA
- Athletic of Philadelphia from the NA
The National League's formation meant the death of the NA, as its remaining clubs folded or reverted to amateur or minor status.
The new league's authority was 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 nonleague competition to recoup some of their losses rather than travel extensively. Hulbert reacted to the clubs defiance by expelling them, an act which not only shocked baseball followers but made it clear to clubs that league schedule commitments, a cornerstone of competition integrity, were not to be ignored.
1877-1952
The National League operated with six clubs for 1877 and 1878. Over the next several years, teams came and went except for the stable Boston and Chicago entries as the league struggled. When all eight participants for 1881 returned for 1882, the first offseasion without turnover in members, the "circuit" was two nearly straight lines between the anchor cities, with Detroit, Buffalo, Troy, and Worcester on the northern route; Providence and Cleveland constituting its south.
The NL encountered its first strong rival organization when the American Association began play that same year of 1882, although direct competition was merely impending, with the AA circuit a distant southerly line stretching from St. Louis to Philadelphia. The AA offered Sunday games and alcoholic beverages in locales where that was permitted, and it sold cheaper tickets everywhere .
The National League and American Association participated in a version of the
World Series seven times during their ten-year coexistence, though the series were only exhibition games arranged by the teams involved. The N.L. won most of those encounters, while some ended in ties due to disputes or other issues.
After the 1891 season, the A.A. disbanded and merged with the N.L., 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 and Pittsburgh Pirates had already switched from the A.A. to the N.L. prior to 1892. With the merger the N.L. absorbed the team now known as the
St. Louis Cardinals, along with three other teams which did not survive into the 20th century.
The National League became a 12-team circuit with monopoly status for 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 to form a "trust," wherein there would be one common ownership of all twelve N.L. teams. The N.L. used its monopoly power to force a $2,400 limit on annual player wages in 1894.
Then, the league contracted to eight teams for the 1900 season, eliminating its teams in
Baltimore,
Cleveland,
Louisville, and
Washington. This provided an opportunity for competition. Three of those cities received franchises in the new American League in 1901. The A.L. declined to renew its National Agreement membership when it expired, and on January 28, 1901, officially declared itself a second major league. By 1903, the upstart A.L. had located teams in
Boston,
Chicago,
New York,
Philadelphia, and
St. Louis. Only the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates had no A.L. team in their markets.
The National League at first refused to recognize the new league, but reality set in as talent and money drained away to the new league. 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.
After the contraction to eight teams in 1900, the National League circuit did not change until 1953 when the
Braves moved from Boston to
Milwaukee; in 1966 the club moved on to
Atlanta. In 1958 the
Brooklyn Dodgers and
New York Giants moved to
Los Angeles and
San Francisco, respectively, bringing major league baseball to the West Coast of the U.S. for the first time.
Expansion
The N.L. remained an eight-team league until 1962, when it added the
New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s . In 1969 the league added the
San Diego Padres and the
Montreal Expos , becoming a 12-team league for the first time since 1899. In 1993 the league expanded again, adding the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins. In 1998, the
Arizona Diamondbacks became the league's fifteenth franchise, and the
Milwaukee Brewers moved from the American League to the National, to make the National League the 16-team league it is today.
As a result of expansion to 12 teams in 1969, the National League, which for the first 93 years of its existence competed equally in a single grouping, reorganized into two divisions of six teams , with the division champions meeting in the National League Championship Series for the right to advance to the World Series. Beginning with the 1994 season, the league has been divided into three divisions , with the addition of a wild card team to enable four teams to advance to the preliminary National League Division Series.
Often characterized as being a more "traditional" or "pure" league, the National League has never adopted the designated hitter rule as did the American League in 1973. In theory, this means the role of the N.L. manager is somewhat expanded in comparison to the A.L., because the manager must take offense into account when making pitching substitutions and vice versa. There are perceived to be fewer
home runs and big offensive plays due to the presence of the
pitcher in the batting order, although this is not always the case.
For the first 96 years of its coexistence with the American League, National League teams faced their A.L. counterparts only in exhibition games or in the World Series. Beginning in 1997, however,
interleague games have been played during the regular season, and count in the standings.
Through the 2005 season, the Dodgers have won the most National League pennants , followed closely by the Giants and Cardinals . Representing the National League against the American, the Cardinals have won the most World Series followed by the Dodgers , Pirates , and Giants .
Teams
Charter franchises
The original eight charter teams were the following:
- Athletic of Philadelphia from National Association, expelled after 1876 season
- Boston Red Stockings from National Association
- Chicago White Stockings from National Association
- Cincinnati Red Stockings new franchise, expelled after 1877 season
- Hartford Dark Blues from National Association, folded after 1877 season
- Louisville Grays new franchise, folded after 1877 season
- Mutual of New York from National Association, expelled after 1876 season
- St. Louis Brown Stockings from National Association, folded after 1877 season.
Other franchises, 1876-1892
- Buffalo Bisons, existed 1879-1885
- Cleveland Blues, existed 1879-1884
- Detroit Wolverines, existed 1881-1888
- Indianapolis Blues, existed only 1878
- Indianapolis Hoosiers, existed 1887-1889
- Kansas City Cowboys, existed 1886
- Milwaukee Grays, existed 1878
- Providence Grays, existed 1878-1885
- Syracuse Stars, existed 1879
- Troy Trojans, existed 1879-1882
- Washington Nationals, existed 1886-1889
- Worcester Worcesters, existed 1880-1882
Post-AA merger
Many franchises came and went between 1876 and 1892 when the National League absorbed the American Association. In 1892 the twelve teams in what---for a time---was termed the "National League and American Association" were the following:
The
St. Louis Cardinals are a Major League Baseball [i] team based in St. Louis, Missouri [i]. ...
joined from A.A. in 1892
After the 1899 season, the league contracted for the first time since 1877, dropping four clubs and leaving the "classic eight" teams which would stay in place for over 50 years: Boston , Brooklyn , Chicago , Cincinnati Reds, New York Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals.
Contraction, expansion and relocation since 1892
The
Milwaukee Brewers are a Major League Baseball [i] team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin [i]. ...
transfer from the
American League to the National League
Current teams
National League East
- Atlanta Braves enfranchised 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings in National Association, joined National League as Charter Member , moved to Milwaukee and to Atlanta . Oldest professional sports franchise in North America.
- Florida Marlins enfranchised 1993
- New York Mets enfranchised 1962
- Philadelphia Phillies enfranchised 1883
- Washington Nationals enfranchised 1969 as the Montreal Expos, moved to Washington
National League Central
- Chicago Cubs enfranchised 1874 in National Association, joined National League as Charter Member . Has played in its current city longer than any other North American professional sports franchise.
- Cincinnati Reds enfranchised 1882 in American Association, joined National League
- Houston Astros enfranchised 1962 as the Houston Colt .45s, changed name to Astros
- Milwaukee Brewers
The
Milwaukee Brewers are a Major League Baseball [i] team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin [i]. ...
enfranchised 1969 as the Seattle Pilots in American League, moved to Milwaukee , joined National League
- Pittsburgh Pirates enfranchised 1882 in American Association, joined National League
- St. Louis Cardinals
The
St. Louis Cardinals are a Major League Baseball [i] team based in St. Louis, Missouri [i]. ...
enfranchised 1882 in American Association, joined National League
National League West
NL presidents 18761999
- Morgan G. Bulkeley 18761876
- William A. Hulbert 18771882
- Arthur H. Soden 18821882
- Abraham G. Mills 18831884
- Nicholas E. Young 18851902
- Harry C. Pulliam 19031909
- John A. Heydler 19091909
- Thomas J. Lynch 19101913
- John K. Tener 19131918
- John A. Heydler 19181934
- Ford C. Frick 19341951
- Warren C. Giles 19511969
- Charles S. Feeney 19701986
- A. Bartlett Giamatti 19861989
- William D. White 19891994
- Leonard S. Coleman, Jr. 19941999
Office eliminated in 1999, although Bill Giles, son of former NL President Warren C. Giles, currently holds the title of honorary National League president.
Other leagues
Several other sports have had leagues called "National League", usually with the sport name as a qualifier, including:
Sources
- The National League Story, Lee Allen, Putnam, 1961.
- The American League Story, Lee Allen, Putnam, 1962.
- The Baseball Encyclopedia, published by MacMillan, 1968 and later.
See also
- 19th century National League teams
- National League pennant winners 1876-1900
- National League pennant winners 1901-68
- National League Championship Series
