1915 – In a retreat in the face of competition from the Federal League, the Orioles of the International League move to Richmond, VA. With the demise of the FL, the Orioles will return to Baltimore in 1916.
1915 – According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the American League hometown franchise will now be known as the Indians replacing the nickname the Naps – a change due to Napoleon Lajoie, the player-manager for whom the team is presently named, leaving for the Philadelphia Athletics. Team owner Charles W. Somers asked the city’s baseball writers, who in turn asked their readers for suggestions. A false rumor claims that the origin of the name was former Cleveland Spiders outfielder, Chief Sockalexis.
1915 – Chalmer Luman Harris is born in New Castle, AL. He would become the first manager of an indoor baseball team when the Colt .45s move into the Astrodome and become the Houston Astros in 1965.
1915 – Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast L’Hommedieu Huston buy the New York Yankees from Frank Farrell and Bill Devery for $460,000. Ruppert, who owns a brewery, is thinking of renaming the team the “Knickerbockers” to promote his product, but is dissuaded by newspaper men.
1915 – The National Commission declares University of Michigan senior George Sisler a free agent after a two-year fight. Pittsburgh Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss claimed rights to Sisler, who had signed a contract as a minor leaguer but never played pro ball. After graduating, Sisler will sign with the St. Louis Browns, managed by his former college coach, Branch Rickey.
1915 – The Detroit Tigers waive Wally Pipp to the New York Yankees. Pipp hit .161 in 12 games, but he’ll eventually anchor first base in New York for a decade until Lou Gehrig’s appearance.
The Federal League sues organized baseball, claiming it to be an illegal trust and asking that it be dissolved and all contracts voided. The case is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, before Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. He will stall his decision, and peace will be declared at the end of the year, but another suit, brought by the owners of the Baltimore Terrapins franchise, will result in baseball receiving an exemption from antitrust laws. In the meantime, the FL shifts players to strengthen teams in key cities. Benny Kauff, the league’s answer to Ty Cobb, is moved from the Indianapolis Hoosiers to the Brooklyn Tip-Tops.
On January 5, 1915, the Philadelphia Athletics purchase future Hall of Famer Nap Lajoie from the Cleveland Indians. Lajoie slumped to a .258 average in 1914. Thirteen years after a U.S. District Court decision for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia effectively banned him from playing for the Philadelphia Athletics, Nap Lajoie rejoins the team. With Lajoie leaving the Cleveland Naps….
1915 – Infielder Hans Lobert, well known as the “fastest man” in the National League, is traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the New York Giants for pitcher Al Demaree, infielder Milt Stock, and catcher Bert Adams. The speedster will injure his knee in a preseason game at West Point.
On January 2, 1915, the St. Louis Cardinals file suit against star outfielder Lee Magee in an effort to prevent him from signing with the Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League. The suit will fail, clearing the way for Magee to play and manage in the rival league. [jetpack_subscription_form title=”Join the Community” subscribe_text=”We bring you…
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