John McGraw and Wilbert Robinson end their holdout and sign with the Cardinals. Both contracts have the reserve clause crossed out, freeing McGraw to return to Baltimorein the American League in 1901.
1900 – Brothers Joe, Jim, and Tom Delahanty, playing their third year together with the Allentown Peanuts, open the Atlantic League season by banging out a family total of 11 hits for 20 total bases.
At Schorling’s Park on Chicago’s south side, the White Sox, as a minor league team, play their first game in franchise history, losing to Milwaukee, 5-4. The small wooden ballpark located at 39th and Princeton, also known as Southside Park, will continue to be the Windy City home for the team when they join the American League next season.
1900 – At an American League meeting in Chicago, Ban Johnson announces that an A.L. team will be placed in the Windy City to ensure the stability of the league. Other franchises are in Kansas City, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo. In an agreement with Chicago National League officials, the A.L. club will be situated on the south side of the city and will be permitted to use the nickname Chicago White Stockings, formerly used by the N.L. team. However, the White Stockings will not be able to use the word Chicago in their official name. The new franchise, known as the White Sox, will be the 1901 A.L. champion in the junior circuit’s inaugural season as a major league.
1900 – In New York, the National League meets, voting to shrink to eight teams. They pay the Baltimore owners $30,000 for their franchise, with Charles Ebbets and Ned Hanlon reserving the right to sell the players. Cleveland, Louisville, and Washington receive $10,000 each, with Louisville owner Barney Dreyfuss sending most of his players to his Pittsburgh Pirates team. The circuit will remain the same until the Boston Braves move to Milwaukee, WI in 1953.
1900 – Mary Hamilton Von Derbeck is to become owner of the Detroit American League franchise and of Bennett Park, in lieu of unpaid alimony. However, her ex-husband George Von Derbeck files the required bond with a Michigan court to cover the alimony due, regains ownership of the club, and sells it to Tiger manager George Stallings on March 6th.
The A.J. Reach Company is granted a patent for protective headgear known as the “Reach Pneumatic Head Protector.” It won’t gain acceptance, though a few players, notably Roger Bresnahan, will occasionally wear it.
1900 – Baltimore Orioles manager John McGraw threatens that if the National League drops the Orioles, which are controlled by the owners of the Brooklyn Superbas, he will form an American League team. Two weeks later the NL Circuit Committee recommends buying out Baltimore, Washington, Cleveland, and Louisville and going to an eight-team league. McGraw then organizes a Baltimore club in the AL.
1899 – The National League rules Brooklyn’s purchase of Zeke Wrigley in September is illegal and nullifies the 16 games he played for Brooklyn. But Brooklyn still wins the pennant.
1899 – Louisville president Barney Dreyfuss transfers to the Pittsburgh club (of which he is part owner) most of his top stars, including player-manager Fred Clarke, Hans Wagner, Claude Ritchey, Tommy Leach, Rube Waddell, and Deacon Phillippe. Louisville is a likely candidate in the reduction of National League franchises from 12 to 8.
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