On April 29, 1902, Baltimore Orioles infielder John McGraw is hit by pitches five times, but home plate umpire Jack Sheridan refuses to allow him to take first base. In the ninth inning, McGraw is hit for the last time and sits down in the batter’s box in protest. American League president Ban Johnson will…
Ban Johnson and Charles Comiskey lease Sportsman’s Park for five years for an American League team. Two weeks later, they announced the Brewers, one of the league’s eight charter franchises, will be leaving Milwaukee to play in St. Louis as the Browns next season.
1901 – Ban Johnson says the American League will place a team in St. Louis in 1902. The Milwaukee franchise is seen as the most likely to be transferred. New York will likely have a franchise while Cleveland and Baltimore will likely lose theirs.
On January 28, 1901 The American League formally organizes as a major league, having been a top minor league in 1900: the Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Athletics, and Boston Americans are admitted to join the Washington Nationals, Cleveland Blues, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Chicago White Sox. Three of the original clubs – Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and…
1900 – The National League considers going back to 12 teams to counter American League moves into some cities. Club owners invite Ban Johnson to come to the NL meeting, but change their mind about compromise and leave the AL head outside the meeting room. The NL awards the AL’s Minnesota and Kansas City territories to the new Western League, even before the AL officially abandons them. The NL agrees to hear the players in a public meeting, but rejects all their demands.
1900 – At the National League meetings at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York, rumors fly. Ban Johnson says the American League has signed a lease on a park in Detroit. The Players Protective Association says its members will not sign with the NL.
1900 – Ban Johnson writes a letter to National League president Nicholas Young seeking peace, based on parity as a major league for the American League.
1899 – Ban Johnson, president of the new American League, contemplates exchanging players of equal ability with the National League with a view to giving the public new attractions.
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