A Big Merger

As most sports fans know the Baseballs' National League played its first season in 1876. Although I would believe not as many sports fans know that in 1882 the National League got a friendly competitor on the Major League level when the American Association began play.
    Together the two leagues fought off two attempts to form third leagues. By the time they fought off the Players League in 1890, the Association was bruised, bleeding and fighting for its life. After the 1891 season the Association stumbled to the bargaining table in an effort to negotiate a merger with the National League. Those negotitions ended on December 18, 1891 with announcement of a merger called "The National League and American Association of Professional Baseball Clubs". The National League had agreed to add the Baltimore, Maryland; Louisville, Kentucky; Saint Louis, Missouri and Washington, DC Clubs from the American Association.
     The long title did not last long and neither did the 12 club league. Just before the 1900 season was scheduled to start the league dropped 3 of the 4 old AA Clubs. I find it quite interesting that the only non-AA Club dropped was owned by a sydicate that owned the club being dropped and the only AA surviving club. The group owned both the Cardinals and the Cleveland Spiders. The Spiders were used as a farm club by the Cardinals and their record showed it as they finished with an embarassing 20-134 a record that even the 1962 expansion season New York Mets could not match in 1962.
     Our story for today ended after the 1900 season when the newly renamed American League (nee Western League (Whose first season was 1894)) declared its intention to turn on the National League and take it on as a rival. At the same time the American League moved two of its clubs into territory vacated by the National League the year before when they placed clubs at Baltimore (now the New York Yankees) and Washington, DC (Now the Minnesota Twins). I disagree with some historians that the 1900 American League should be recogized as a Major League. I base my opinion solely on the fact that the league did not declare itself as a major league until after the 1900 season was played. To change history like that would be wrong as that is not what the fans of the day believed.
  Tomorrow we will look at some Hockey roots.