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National League
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The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest existent professional team sports league. Founded on 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, established as a major league in 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 to meet in that annual culmination of the American baseball season, failing to do so only in the strike-shortened 1994 season.
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The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest existent professional team sports league. Founded on 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, established as a major league in 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 to meet in that annual culmination of the American baseball season, failing to do so only in the strike-shortened 1994 season. National League teams have won 43 and lost 61 of the 104 World Series played between these two leagues from 1903 to 2008. The Philadelphia Phillies are the defending National League champions, winning the NL Pennant in 2008; and are the defending World Series champions, having won the 2008 World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers lead the National League with 21 National League Titles.
History
Early League History
By 1875, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was dangerously weak. The N.A. suffered from a lack of strong authority over clubs, unsupervised scheduling, unstable membership, dominance by one team, and an extremely low ($10, $172 adjusted for inflation) 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 N.A. clubs with the plan for a league with 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 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. 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:
The National League's formation meant the end of the N.A., as its remaining clubs shut down or reverted to amateur or minor status. The only strong club from 1875 excluded in 1876 was a second one in Philadelphia, often called the White Stockings or Phillies.
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 non-league 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 (New York and Philadelphia were the two most populous cities in the league) but made it clear to clubs that league schedule commitments, a cornerstone of competition integrity, were not to be ignored.
1877–1962
The National League operated with six clubs during 1877 and 1878. Over the next several years, teams joined and left the struggling league, except for the Boston and Chicago members. When all eight participants for 1881 returned for 1882, the first offseason without turnover in membership, the "circuit" was two nearly straight lines between the anchor cities, with Detroit, Buffalo, Troy, and Worcester on the northern route, and Providence and Cleveland constituting its southern.
The N.L. 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 A.A. circuit a distant southerly line stretching from St. Louis to Philadelphia. The A.A. offered Sunday games and alcoholic beverages in locales where permitted, and it sold cheaper tickets everywhere (25 cents versus the N.L.'s standard 50 cents, a hefty sum for many in 1882).
In 1883 the New York Giants and Philadelphia Phillies began league play. Both teams remain in the NL today, the Phillies in their original city and the Giants now in San Francisco.
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 (in Brooklyn) and Pittsburgh Pirates (as well as the now defunct Cleveland Spiders) 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. While four teams from the A.A. moved to the N.L. and remain there today, only two original N.L. franchises remain in the league: the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves (then in Boston). The Cubs are the only charter member to play continuously in the same city.
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 (and bitterly opposed by others) 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 (which has never had another major league team since), 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.
Major League Baseball narrowly averted radical reorganization in November, 1920. Dissatisfied with American League President and National 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 (New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox) withdrew from the AL and the 11 teams formed a new NL; 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), agreed to restore the two leagues and replace the ineffective National Commission with a one-man Commissioner in the person of Federal Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
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.
The Expansion Era
The N.L. remained an eight-team league for over 60 years. In 1962, facing competition from the Continental League and confronted by the unilateral expansion of the American League in 1960, it added the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s. The "Colts" would be renamed 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 1993 the league expanded to 14 teams, 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, was reorganized into two divisions of six teams (respectively dubbed 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.
Beginning with the 1994 season, the league has been divided into three geographical divisions (East and West, currently each with five teams, and Central, currently with six teams; from 1994-97 the West and Central each had one team less). 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. However, due to a player's strike, the postseason was not actually held in 1994.
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 manager is greater in the National League than in the American, because the N.L. manager must take offense into account when making pitching substitutions and vice versa. Overall, there are fewer home runs and runs scored in the National League than in the American due to the presence of the pitcher in the N.L. batting order.
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 ("championship") season, and count in the standings.
Through the 2007 season, the Dodgers have won the most National League pennants (21, plus one A.A. pennant), followed closely by the Giants (20) and Cardinals (17, plus 4 A.A. pennants). Representing the National League against the American, the Cardinals have won the most World Series (10) followed by the Dodgers (6), Pirates (5), Reds (5), and Giants (5). St. Louis also holds the distinction of being the only A.A. club to defeat an N.L. club in the 19th century version of the World Series.
Teams
Charter franchises (1876)
The eight charter teams were the following:
Other franchises, 1878–1891
Joined in 1878
Joined in 1879
Joined in 1880
- Worcester Ruby Legs, folded after 1882
Joined in 1881
Joined in 1883
Joined in 1885
Joined in 1886
- Kansas City Cowboys, folded after 1886
- Washington Nationals, folded after 1889
Joined in 1887
Joined in 1889
Joined in 1890
Post-AA merger, 1892–1899
In 1892, the National League absorbed the American Association, bringing in four teams from the A.A., in addition to the four teams that had switched leagues in the preceding half-decade. From 1892 through 1899, the twelve teams in what, for a time, was termed the "National League and American Association" were the following:
- Baltimore Orioles joined from A.A. in 1892, contracted after 1899
- Boston Beaneaters (now the Atlanta Braves), N.L. charter member, originated in N.A.
- Brooklyn Dodgers (now the Los Angeles Dodgers), joined from A.A. in 1890
- Chicago White Stockings or Colts (now the Chicago Cubs), N.L. charter member, originated in N.A.
- Cincinnati Reds, joined from A.A. in 1890
- Cleveland Spiders, joined from A.A. in 1889, contracted after 1899
- Louisville Colonels, joined from A.A. in 1892, contracted after 1899
- New York Giants (now the San Francisco Giants), enfranchised 1883
- Philadelphia Phillies, enfranchised 1883
- Pittsburgh Pirates, joined from A.A. in 1887
- St. Louis Browns (now the St. Louis Cardinals), joined from A.A. in 1892
- Washington Senators, joined from A.A. in 1892, contracted after 1899
Classic Eight
After the 1899 season, the league underwent its largest contraction since 1877, dropping four clubs: the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Spiders, Louisville Colonels, and Washington Senators. This left the "classic eight" teams of the National League. All eight teams still exist today, and they would stay in place for over 50 years:
- Boston Beaneaters (eventually to become known as the Atlanta Braves)
- Brooklyn Superbas (eventually to become known as the Los Angeles Dodgers)
- Chicago Orphans (eventually to become known as the Chicago Cubs)
- Cincinnati Reds
- New York Giants (eventually to become known as the San Francisco Giants)
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- St. Louis Perfectos (eventually to become known as the St. Louis Cardinals)
Contraction, expansion, and relocation, 1953–present
Current teams
- Atlanta Braves enfranchised 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings (or Red Caps) in National Association, and with connections to the original independent; joined National League as charter member (1876), moved to Milwaukee (1953) and to Atlanta (1966). Oldest professional sports franchise in North America (dating to 1869 in Cincinnati). Prior to the 1994 realignment, the Braves competed in the West division.
- Florida Marlins enfranchised 1993
- New York Mets enfranchised 1962
- Philadelphia Phillies enfranchised 1883 as the Quakers and adopted the Phillies name officially in 1884. From 1943 through 1948, the Phillies un-officially changed their name to the "Philadelphia Blue Jays." While their jerseys however retained the name "Phillies", they wore a blue jay patch on their sleeve. 'Philadelphia Phillies' is the longest continuously used name in American professional sports history.
- Washington Nationals enfranchised 1969 as the Montreal Expos, moved to Washington (2005)
- Chicago Cubs enfranchised 1871 in National Association, and has been continuously active since 1874. It joined National League as charter member (1876). The club has played in its current city longer than any other American professional sports franchise.
- Cincinnati Reds enfranchised 1882 in American Association, joined National League (1890)
- Houston Astros enfranchised 1962 as the Houston Colt .45s, changed name to Astros (1965)
- Milwaukee Brewers enfranchised 1969 as the Seattle Pilots in American League, moved to Milwaukee (1970), joined National League (1998)
- Pittsburgh Pirates enfranchised 1882 in American Association, joined National League (1887)
- St. Louis Cardinals enfranchised 1882 in American Association, joined National League (1892)
- Arizona Diamondbacks enfranchised 1998
- Colorado Rockies enfranchised 1993
- Los Angeles Dodgers enfranchised 1884 as the Brooklyn Atlantics in American Association, soon acquired nickname "Dodgers" (from "trolley dodgers"), joined National League (1890), moved to Los Angeles (1958)
- San Diego Padres enfranchised 1969
- San Francisco Giants enfranchised 1883 as the New York Gothams, nearly half of its original players were members of the recently disbanded Troy Trojans, moved to San Francisco (1958)
National League presidents, 1876–1999
Office eliminated in 1999, although Bill Giles, son of former N.L. President Warren C. Giles, currently holds the title of honorary National League president.
See also
External links
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