National League
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National League |
The term
National League generally refers to the organization more properly referred to as the
National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, the older (founded on
February 2,
1876) of the two leagues constituting
Major League Baseball in the
United States and Canada. The National League is also known as the
Senior Circuit, due to the fact that it has existed 25 years longer than the rival
American League. Beginning with the 1903 season, the regular season champions of the two leagues have met annually in the
World Series, with the exception of 1904 and 1994. Through the 2005 season, National League teams have won 41 and lost 60 of the 101 World Series played.
By
1875, the
National Association of Professional Baseball 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 ($10) entry fee that gave clubs no incentive to abide by league rules when it was not convenient.
William Hulbert, a
Chicago businessman affiliated with the
White Stockings (now the Cubs) approached several NA clubs with the idea for a league with stronger central authority centered around the financial interest of clubs, and the National League was formed on
February 2,
1876 with eight charter members:
*
Boston Red Caps or Red Stockings, the dominant team in the NA (today's Atlanta Braves)
*
Mutual of New York from the NA (expelled after the 1876 season)
*
Athletic of Philadelphia from the NA (expelled after the 1876 season)
*
Hartford Dark Blues from the NA (folded in 1877)
*
Chicago White Stockings from the NA (today's Chicago Cubs)
*
Louisville Grays, an independent team (folded after 1877 season when four players were banned for gambling)
*a new
Cincinnati Red Stockings (expelled in 1877)
*
St. Louis Brown Stockings from the NA (folded in 1877)The NL'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 make an expensive trip west. Hulbert reacted to the clubs defiance by expelling them, an act which not only shocked baseball followers (New York and Philadelphia were by far the two most populous cities in the league at the time) but made it clear to clubs that league schedule commitments, a cornerstone of competition integrity, were not to be ignored. The NL functioned as a six-team league for the 1877 and 1878 seasons. Over the next several years, teams came and went except for the stable Boston and Chicago entries as the league became established.
The new league encountered its first rival organization, when the
American Association began play in 1882. The A.A. offered cheaper ticket prices (25 cents, as opposed to the NL's standard 50 cent admission, a hefty sum for many in 1882) as well as games on Sunday and the sale of alcoholic beverages at games where one or both were legal. The National League and American Association participated in an early 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 or so as the "National League and American Association". The teams now known as the
Cincinnati Reds,
Los Angeles Dodgers (in Brooklyn) 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 (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, 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 consisted of the same eight teams in the same cities until 1953, when the
Boston Braves moved to
Milwaukee. The team later moved to
Atlanta in 1966. 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 N.L. remained an eight-team league until 1962, when it added the
New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s (renamed the
Houston Astros in 1965). 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 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 (East and West), 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 divisions (East, West, and Central), with the addition of a
wild card team (the team with the best record among those finishing in second place) 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 (as of 2005 at least) 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 ("championship") season, and count in the standings.
Through the 2005 season, the Dodgers have won the most National League pennants (21, plus one A.A. pennant), followed closely by the Giants (20) and Cardinals (16, plus 4 A.A. pennants). Among National League teams, the Cardinals have won the most World Series (9) followed by the Dodgers (6), Pirates (5), and Giants (5).
Charter franchises (1876)
The original eight charter teams were the following:
*
Athletic of Philadelphia from National Association, expelled after 1876 season
*
Boston Red Stockings (some say Red Caps) from National Association (now the Atlanta Braves)
*
Chicago White Stockings from National Association (now the Chicago Cubs)
*
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 (now disbanded) 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 (contrary to many sources, they were
not called the Ruby Steps)
Post-AA merger (1892)
Many franchises came and went between 1876 and 1892 when the National League absorbed the American Association. In 1892 the twelve teams in what-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 Cardinals) joined from A.A. in 1892
*
Washington Nationals joined from A.A. in 1892, contracted after 1899
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 (eventually to become known as the Boston Braves), Brooklyn (eventually the Brooklyn Dodgers), Chicago (eventually the Chicago Cubs), Cincinnati Reds, New York Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals.
Contraction, expansion and relocation since 1892
* 1900:
Baltimore Orioles,
Cleveland Spiders,
Louisville Colonels, and
Washington Nationals are all dropped from the National League
* 1953:
Boston Braves move to Milwaukee
* 1958:
Brooklyn Dodgers move to Los Angeles and
New York Giants move to San Francisco
* 1962:
Houston Colt .45s (now the Astros) and
New York Mets enfranchised
* 1966:
Milwaukee Braves move to Atlanta
* 1969:
Montreal Expos and
San Diego Padres enfranchised
* 1993:
Colorado Rockies and
Florida Marlins enfranchised
* 1998:
Arizona Diamondbacks enfranchised
* 1998:
Milwaukee Brewers transfer from the
American League to the National League
* 2005:
Montreal Expos move to Washington, renamed the
Washington NationalsCurrent teams
National League East
*
Atlanta Braves enfranchised 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings (or Red Caps) in National Association, joined National League as Charter Member (1876), moved to Milwaukee (1953) and to Atlanta (1966). 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 (2005)
National League Central
*
Chicago Cubs enfranchised 1874 in National Association, joined National League as Charter Member (1876)
*
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)
National League West
*
Arizona Diamondbacks enfranchised 1998
*
Colorado Rockies enfranchised 1993
*
Los Angeles Dodgers enfranchised 1884 as the Brooklyn Atlantics in American Association, joined National League (1890), moved to Los Angeles (1958)
*
San Diego Padres enfranchised 1969
*
San Francisco Giants enfranchised 1883 in New York, moved to San Francisco (1958)
*
Morgan G. Bulkeley 1876â€"
1876 *
William A. Hulbert 1877â€"
1882*
Arthur H. Soden 1882â€"
1882*
Abraham G. Mills 1883â€"
1884 *
Nicholas E. Young 1885â€"
1902 *
Harry C. Pulliam 1903â€"
1909 *
John A. Heydler 1909â€"
1909 *
Thomas J. Lynch 1910â€"
1913 *
John K. Tener 1913â€"
1918 *
John A. Heydler 1918â€"
1934 *
Ford C. Frick 1934â€"
1951 *
Warren C. Giles 1951â€"
1969 *
Charles S. Feeney 1970â€"
1986 *
A. Bartlett Giamatti 1986â€"
1989 *
William D. White 1989â€"
1994 *
Leonard S. Coleman, Jr. 1994â€"
1999Office eliminated in 1999, although Bill Giles, son of former NL President
Warren C. Giles, currently holds the title of honorary National League president.
Several other sports have had leagues called "National League", usually with the sport name as a qualifier, including:
*
National Hockey League, the major league of
ice hockey in the United States and Canada
*
National Football League, the major league of
American football.
*There was once the
National Basketball League, which merged with its rival the
Basketball Association of America to form the
National Basketball Associationâ€"the surviving major league of
basketball in the United States and Canada.
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.
*
19th century National League teams*
National League pennant winners 1876-1900 *
National League pennant winners 1901-68*
National League Championship Series (NLCS)
