Early Baseball Leagues
History

In 1845, Alexander Cartwright led the establishment of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, the first team believed to have played baseball under modern rules. The club's by-laws committee formulated the Knickerbocker Rules, which in large part dealt with organizational matters and laid out rules for playing the game. In 1857, sixteen New York area clubs, including the Knickerbockers, formed the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), the first organization to govern the sport and to establish a championship.

Aided by the Civil War, membership grew, leading to a more unified national version of the sport. Beginning in 1869, the association permitted professional play, addressing a growing practice that had not been permitted under its rules to that point. In 1870, a feud developed between professional and amateur ballplayers. The NABBP split into two groups, one became the National Association (NA), largely considered to be the first major league.

Timeline of Defunct Baseball Leagues

F i l t e r & S o r t

Federal League

FL: 1913-1915 (3 seasons)

Eliminated the 'reserve clause', allowing free agency that created competition and disdain with the AL and NL.

United States Baseball League

USBL: 1912-1912 (1 season)

Sputtering through two short seasons, the league was the first to introduce free agency and multi-year contracts.

American League

AL: 1894-1900 (7 seasons)

Originally a minor league called the Western League, evolved into a major league to form MLB with National League in 1901.

Players League

PL: 1890-1890 (1 season)

Known as "The Brotherhood" league, it was formed around players from the National League's first players' union.

Union Association

UA: 1884-1884 (1 season)

The league president's favoritism toward his own St. Louis franchise doomed the league from the beginning.

American Association

AA: 1882-1891 (10 seasons)

Became a significant force in baseball by playing on Sundays and allowing sales of alcohol, unlike the NL.

National League

NL: 1876-1900 (25 seasons)

The "Senior Circuit" is the world's oldest professional team sports league still in existence today.

National Association

NA: 1871-1875 (5 seasons)

Included most of the pro clubs and highest caliber players of its time, paving the way for the origin of the NL in 1876.

National Association of Base Ball Players

NABBP: 1857-1870 (14 seasons)

The first organization governing professional baseball and establishing standard rules across the national sport.

The Knickerbocker Rules Era

NYK: 1846-1856 (11 seasons)

A set of baseball rules formalized by the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club in 1845. Considered to be the earliest rules from which the evolution of modern baseball originated.

1 Comment

Larry Wayne Scofield says:

February 28, 2022 at 6:43 am

I sincerely appreciate the research work, and the information being shared. It is important and interesting history.

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Noteworthy Teams

Early Championships

League championships were typically awarded to the the team with the best regular-season record

In 1876, the top NL teams played in a Championship of the West series

From 1884-1890, the NL and AA met in a World's Championship Series

The NL has tried several championship formats: a playoff in 1892 between half-season champions, a Temple Cup series from 1894-1897, and the Chronicle-Telegraph Cup in 1900

Since 1903, the AL and NL champions have met in the MLB World Series

Recap

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