The beginning of modern Major League Baseball kicked off Jan. 28, 1901. Charles Comiskey and other baseball owners and minds gathered in Chicago to form what would eventually become the American League.
At its inception, the league consisted of eight teams: the Chicago White Stockings, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Americans, Cleveland Blues, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Athletics and Washington Senators.
Some teams have moved locations — the original Milwaukee Brewers became today’s Baltimore Orioles, the Washington Senators are now the Minnesota Twins and the Philadelphia Athletics are now the Oakland Athletics.
The league now has 15 teams in three divisions — the East, Central and West. The league also stands out because of the designated hitter rule it adopted in 1973 — though all major-league teams used the rule in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season under terms agreed to by the players’ union and the owners..
Here’s a deeper dive into how the American League came to be.
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White Sox infielder and pitcher Kid Gleason, left, shakes hands with team owner Charles Comiskey in an undated photo. (Chicago Tribune historical photo / Chicago Tribune)
The early days
The National League was formed Feb. 2, 1876, with eight charter teams including a different franchise called the Chicago White Stockings, which eventually became the Cubs.
In the late 19th century, other leagues formed and attempted to compete with the National League. However, none of them amounted to a serious threat until the turn of the century. In 1900, the National League contracted from 12 teams to eight. That opened the door for the Western League, one of the National League’s rivals at the time. Commissioner Ban Johnson renamed the league the American League that year, eventually withdrew from the National Agreement — a pact that governed relations between leagues at the time — and declared his American League as a major league alongside the National League.
Johnson’s move wasn’t well-received by all. The American League expanded its boundaries and established teams in National League territories including Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Washington.
Even in Chicago, James Hart — then-president of the Chicago National League team — wasn’t thrilled about having another team in the city. In 1899, before the American League was formed, Hart agreed to let Comiskey’s minor-league team, the St. Paul Saints, move to Chicago. The Saints eventually became the White Stockings and then the White Sox.
But, Hart allowed the move under the condition that the Saints would not be permitted to play north of 35th Street. That way Hart could maintain his territorial rights.
Some newspapers at the time, including the Chicago Tribune, characterized the dispute between the leagues as full of animosity. But Johnson didn’t want it to be seen that way.
“The National League is forcing this war on us,” Johnson told the Tribune on Jan. 22, 1901. “All we ask is a chance for good, healthy rivalry and competition, but if the National League insists on fighting we shall be able to take care of ourselves.”
From the pages of the Chicago Tribune:
On Jan. 27, 1901, nearly 20 baseball owners gathered at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Chicago to organize the American League, though initially the conversations were considered informal. But on Jan. 28, the owners signed a 10-year organization agreement and spent the next few days ironing out details about the league.
Here are excerpts of Tribune stories in the wake of the American League’s formation:
From the story “Baseball Men Meet for Work”: “They are the men who have been making a lot of baseball history for three or four months, and they intend to make some more in the next three or four days. The men whom the National league and its allies have called ‘outlaws’ and ‘pirates of the baseball world’ wore neither disguises nor a hunted look. ... If they did not go hunting for publicity, they did not try to avoid it.”
From the story “American Association Is a Joke” by Joseph Vila: “I’ll venture to predict that the schedule, if one is adopted, will not be played and that between now and spring there’ll be a general breakdown in the circuit. The association cannot expect financial encouragement from the people, because it was organized not for the good of baseball but to act as a tool in the hands of the men who have pretty nearly killed the national sport.”
From “Last Week and This Week in Sports”: “The meeting of the American league baseball magnates in this city which begins today is the feature of the present week of sports.”
The World Series and interleague play
The long-term effects of this milestone were instrumental in the evolution of Major League Baseball.
By signing popular players such as Cy Young and Nap Lajoie, the American League was able to gain traction and credibility. It sustained its success and forced the National League to create a new National Agreement that recognized the two as major leagues in 1903.
The two leagues also established the World Series that year, pitting the best team from the National League against the American League’s best. The first meeting between the league champions was the Boston Americans against the Pittsburgh Pirates, with the Americans prevailing fives games to three.
In 1904, however, the NL champion New York Giants refused to play the Americans in the World Series. The leagues did resume the World Series in 1905 and have played every year since, aside from the 1994 players’ strike that ended the season prematurely.
Cubs pitcher Jack Pfiester winds up during the sixth inning of Game 3 of the 1906 World Series against the White Sox at the West Side Grounds. (Chicago History Museum)
The American League’s Chicago White Stockings kept their name until 1904, when they changed their name to the White Sox. Two years later, they took home the first World Series in franchise history — beating the crosstown rival Cubs. They went on to win another World Series in 1917 but had to wait until 2005 before capturing another.
However, there was no interleague play between teams in the regular season for more than 90 years. That changed in 1997, when the leagues introduced regular-season interleague play. The Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants kicked off that era on June 12, 1997.
On April 1, 2013, the Los Angeles Angels and Cincinnati Reds played the first interleague game on opening day after the Houston Astros moved from the National League to the American League creating an even 15-team balance in each league.
www.chicagotribune.com
At its inception, the league consisted of eight teams: the Chicago White Stockings, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Americans, Cleveland Blues, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Athletics and Washington Senators.
Since then some team names have changed — the Americans are now the Red Sox, the White Stockings are the White Sox and the Blues are now the Indians.Some teams have moved locations — the original Milwaukee Brewers became today’s Baltimore Orioles, the Washington Senators are now the Minnesota Twins and the Philadelphia Athletics are now the Oakland Athletics.
The league now has 15 teams in three divisions — the East, Central and West. The league also stands out because of the designated hitter rule it adopted in 1973 — though all major-league teams used the rule in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season under terms agreed to by the players’ union and the owners..
Here’s a deeper dive into how the American League came to be.
Paid Post
What Is This?
A Car Can’t Walk the Runway, But It Can Serve Some Fierce Looks [Watch]
It's all about the money shot.
Watch More
Sponsored Content by Genesis
White Sox infielder and pitcher Kid Gleason, left, shakes hands with team owner Charles Comiskey in an undated photo. (Chicago Tribune historical photo / Chicago Tribune)
The early days
The National League was formed Feb. 2, 1876, with eight charter teams including a different franchise called the Chicago White Stockings, which eventually became the Cubs.
In the late 19th century, other leagues formed and attempted to compete with the National League. However, none of them amounted to a serious threat until the turn of the century. In 1900, the National League contracted from 12 teams to eight. That opened the door for the Western League, one of the National League’s rivals at the time. Commissioner Ban Johnson renamed the league the American League that year, eventually withdrew from the National Agreement — a pact that governed relations between leagues at the time — and declared his American League as a major league alongside the National League.
Johnson’s move wasn’t well-received by all. The American League expanded its boundaries and established teams in National League territories including Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Washington.
Even in Chicago, James Hart — then-president of the Chicago National League team — wasn’t thrilled about having another team in the city. In 1899, before the American League was formed, Hart agreed to let Comiskey’s minor-league team, the St. Paul Saints, move to Chicago. The Saints eventually became the White Stockings and then the White Sox.
But, Hart allowed the move under the condition that the Saints would not be permitted to play north of 35th Street. That way Hart could maintain his territorial rights.
Some newspapers at the time, including the Chicago Tribune, characterized the dispute between the leagues as full of animosity. But Johnson didn’t want it to be seen that way.
“The National League is forcing this war on us,” Johnson told the Tribune on Jan. 22, 1901. “All we ask is a chance for good, healthy rivalry and competition, but if the National League insists on fighting we shall be able to take care of ourselves.”
From the pages of the Chicago Tribune:
On Jan. 27, 1901, nearly 20 baseball owners gathered at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Chicago to organize the American League, though initially the conversations were considered informal. But on Jan. 28, the owners signed a 10-year organization agreement and spent the next few days ironing out details about the league.
Here are excerpts of Tribune stories in the wake of the American League’s formation:
From the story “Baseball Men Meet for Work”: “They are the men who have been making a lot of baseball history for three or four months, and they intend to make some more in the next three or four days. The men whom the National league and its allies have called ‘outlaws’ and ‘pirates of the baseball world’ wore neither disguises nor a hunted look. ... If they did not go hunting for publicity, they did not try to avoid it.”
From the story “American Association Is a Joke” by Joseph Vila: “I’ll venture to predict that the schedule, if one is adopted, will not be played and that between now and spring there’ll be a general breakdown in the circuit. The association cannot expect financial encouragement from the people, because it was organized not for the good of baseball but to act as a tool in the hands of the men who have pretty nearly killed the national sport.”
From “Last Week and This Week in Sports”: “The meeting of the American league baseball magnates in this city which begins today is the feature of the present week of sports.”
The World Series and interleague play
The long-term effects of this milestone were instrumental in the evolution of Major League Baseball.
By signing popular players such as Cy Young and Nap Lajoie, the American League was able to gain traction and credibility. It sustained its success and forced the National League to create a new National Agreement that recognized the two as major leagues in 1903.
The two leagues also established the World Series that year, pitting the best team from the National League against the American League’s best. The first meeting between the league champions was the Boston Americans against the Pittsburgh Pirates, with the Americans prevailing fives games to three.
In 1904, however, the NL champion New York Giants refused to play the Americans in the World Series. The leagues did resume the World Series in 1905 and have played every year since, aside from the 1994 players’ strike that ended the season prematurely.
Cubs pitcher Jack Pfiester winds up during the sixth inning of Game 3 of the 1906 World Series against the White Sox at the West Side Grounds. (Chicago History Museum)
The American League’s Chicago White Stockings kept their name until 1904, when they changed their name to the White Sox. Two years later, they took home the first World Series in franchise history — beating the crosstown rival Cubs. They went on to win another World Series in 1917 but had to wait until 2005 before capturing another.
However, there was no interleague play between teams in the regular season for more than 90 years. That changed in 1997, when the leagues introduced regular-season interleague play. The Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants kicked off that era on June 12, 1997.
On April 1, 2013, the Los Angeles Angels and Cincinnati Reds played the first interleague game on opening day after the Houston Astros moved from the National League to the American League creating an even 15-team balance in each league.
120 years ago, the American League formed in Chicago with the White Sox as a charter member — putting the wheels in motion for what would become MLB
The beginning of modern Major League Baseball kicked off Jan. 28, 1901. Charles Comiskey and other baseball owners and minds gathered in Chicago to form what would eventually become the American Le…
www.chicagotribune.com
