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For other uses, see National League (disambiguation). The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the National League ( NL) is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball
National League
Current season or competition:
2008 Major League Baseball season
National League
Sport Baseball
Founded 1876
No. The 2008 Major League Baseball season began on March 25 2008 in Tokyo Japan with the 2007 World Series champion Boston Red Sox defeating Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each Baseball February 2 - The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs (NL is founded at the Grand Central Hotel in New York City the first pro sports of teams 16
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Most recent
champion(s)		 Colorado Rockies

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Founded on February 2, 1876 to replace the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, it is sometimes called the Senior Circuit in contrast to the "Junior Circuit" of the American League, established as a major league in 1901. Events 962 - Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor Year 1876 ( MDCCCLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP or simply the National Association (NA was founded in 1871 and lasted through the 1875 season The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League ( AL) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in The two league champions of 1903 arranged to meet in the World Series and, after the 1904 champions failed to do likewise, the two leagues have arranged to meet in that annual culmination of the American baseball season, failing to do so only in the strike-shortened 1994 season. For other events named "World Series" see World Series (disambiguation. The 1994 Major League baseball strike was the eighth work stoppage in Baseball history as well as the fourth in-season work stoppage National League teams have won 42 and lost 61 of the 103 World Series played between these two leagues from 1903 to 2007. The Colorado Rockies are the defending National League champions, winning the NL Pennant in 2007. The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Minor League Baseball

Contents

Early League History

By 1875, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was dangerously weak. The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP or simply the National Association (NA was founded in 1871 and lasted through the 1875 season The N. A. suffered from a lack of strong authority over clubs, unsupervised scheduling, unstable membership, dominance by one team, and an extremely low ($10, $172 adjusted for inflation)[1] entry fee that gave clubs no incentive to abide by league rules when it was not convenient.

William Hulbert, a Chicago businessman and officer of the Chicago White Stockings approached several N. William Ambrose Hulbert Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The Chicago Cubs are a Professional Baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. A. clubs with the plan for a league with stronger central authority and exclusive territories in larger cities only. Additionally, Hulbert had a problem -- five of his star players were treated from expulsion from the NAPBBP because Hulbert had signed them to his club using what were considered questionable means. Hulbert had a great vested interest in creating his own league. After recruiting St. Louis privately, four western clubs met in Louisville, Kentucky in January 1876. With Hulbert speaking for the four in New York City on February 2, 1876, the National League was established with eight charter members. The City of New York Events 962 - Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor Year 1876 ( MDCCCLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year

The National League's formation meant the end of the N. The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati Ohio, USA The Louisville Grays were a 19th century US Baseball team and charter member of the National League, based in Louisville, Kentucky A. , as its remaining clubs shut down or reverted to amateur or minor status. The only strong club from 1875 excluded in 1876 was a second one in Philadelphia, often called the White Stockings or Phillies.

The new league's authority was tested after the first season. The Athletic and Mutual clubs fell behind in the standings and refused to make western road trips late in the season, preferring to play games against local non-league competition to recoup some of their losses rather than travel extensively. Hulbert reacted to the clubs defiance by expelling them, an act which not only shocked baseball followers (New York and Philadelphia were the two most populous cities in the league) but made it clear to clubs that league schedule commitments, a cornerstone of competition integrity, were not to be ignored.

1877–1962

The National League operated with six clubs during 1877 and 1878. Over the next several years, teams joined and left the struggling league, except for the Boston and Chicago members. When all eight participants for 1881 returned for 1882, the first offseason without turnover in membership, the "circuit" was two nearly straight lines between the anchor cities, with Detroit, Buffalo, Troy, and Worcester on the northern route, and Providence and Cleveland constituting its southern.

The N. L. encountered its first strong rival organization when the American Association began play that same year of 1882, although direct competition was merely impending, with the A. This article refers to the former Baseball major league that existed from 1882 to 1891 A. circuit a distant southerly line stretching from St. Louis to Philadelphia. The A. A. offered Sunday games and alcoholic beverages in locales where permitted, and it sold cheaper tickets everywhere (25 cents versus the N. L. 's standard 50 cents, a hefty sum for many in 1882).

In 1883 the New York Giants and Philadelphia Phillies began league play. The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in, that currently play in the National League West Division. The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Both teams remain in the NL today, the Phillies in their original city and the Giants now in San Francisco.

The National League and American Association participated in a version of the World Series seven times during their ten-year coexistence, though the series were only exhibition games arranged by the teams involved. For other events named "World Series" see World Series (disambiguation. The N. L. won most of those encounters, while some ended in ties due to disputes or other issues.

After the 1891 season, the A. A. disbanded and merged with the N. L. , which became known legally for the next decade as the "National League and American Association". The teams now known as the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers (in Brooklyn) and Pittsburgh Pirates (as well as the now defunct Cleveland Spiders) had already switched from the A. The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati Ohio, USA The Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball team based in Los Angeles California, USA The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Cleveland Spiders were a Major League Baseball team which played between 1887 and 1899 in Cleveland Ohio. A. to the N. L. prior to 1892. With the merger the N. L. absorbed the team now known as the St. Louis Cardinals, along with three other teams which did not survive into the 20th century. The St Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards " or "the Redbirds " are a professional Baseball team based in St While four teams from the A. A. moved to the N. L. and remain there today, only two original N. L. franchises remain in the league: the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves (then in Boston). The Chicago Cubs are a Professional Baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. The Cubs are the only charter member to play continuously in the same city.

The National League became a 12-team circuit with monopoly status for the rest of the decade. The league became embroiled in numerous internal conflicts, not the least of which was a plan supported by some owners (and bitterly opposed by others) to form a "trust," wherein there would be one common ownership of all twelve N. L. teams. The N. L. used its monopoly power to force a $2,400 limit on annual player wages in 1894.

Then, the league contracted to eight teams for the 1900 season, eliminating its teams in Baltimore, Cleveland, Louisville (which has never had another major league team since), and Washington. Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D This provided an opportunity for competition. Three of those cities received franchises in the new American League in 1901. The A. L. declined to renew its National Agreement membership when it expired, and on January 28, 1901, officially declared itself a second major league. By 1903, the upstart A. L. had located teams in Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The City of New York Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə Only the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates had no A. L. team in their markets.

The National League at first refused to recognize the new league, but reality set in as talent and money drained away to the new league. After two years of bitter contention a new version of the National Agreement was signed in 1903. This meant formal acceptance of each league by the other as an equal partner in major league baseball.

Major League Baseball narrowly averted radical reorganization in November, 1920. Dissatisfied with American League President and National Commission head Ban Johnson, NL owners dissolved the league on November 8 during heated talks on MLB reorganization in the wake of the Black Sox Scandal. The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League ( AL) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson ( January 5, 1864 &ndash March 28, 1931) was an American executive in Professional baseball Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration The Black Sox Scandal refers to a number of events that took place around and during the play of the 1919 World Series. Simultaneously, three AL teams also hostile to Johnson (New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox) withdrew from the AL and the 11 teams formed a new NL; the 12th team would be whichever of the remaining five AL teams loyal to Johnson first chose to join; if none did so an expansion team would have been placed in Detroit, by far the largest one-team city at that time. The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of The Bronx, in New York City, New York. The Boston Red Sox are a Professional baseball team based in Boston Massachusetts, and are the reigning (2007 World Series Champions. The Chicago White Sox are a professional Baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. Four days later, on November 12, both sides met (without Johnson), agreed to restore the two leagues and replace the ineffective National Commission with a one-man Commissioner in the person of Federal Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Events 764 - Tibetan troops occupy Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days Kenesaw Mountain Landis ( November 20 1866 &ndash November 25 1944) was an American Jurist who served as a federal [2]

The National League circuit did not change until 1953 when the Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee; in 1966 the club moved on to Atlanta. In 1958 the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants moved to Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively, bringing major league baseball to the West Coast of the U. The Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball team based in Los Angeles California, USA The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in, that currently play in the National League West Division. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city S. for the first time.

The Expansion Era

The N. L. remained an eight-team league for over 60 years. In 1962, facing competition from the Continental League and confronted by the unilateral expansion of the American League in 1960, it added the New York Mets and the Houston Colt . The Continental League (or formally the Continental League of Professional Baseball Clubs) was a proposed third major league for Baseball, announced in 1959 and scheduled The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League ( AL) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in "Mets" redirects here For the medical term see Metastasis. 45s. The "Colts" would be renamed the Houston Astros three years later. The Houston Astros are a Professional baseball team based in Houston Texas. In 1969, the league added the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals), becoming a 12-team league for the first time since 1899. The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego California since their founding in 1969 Franchise history Creation of the franchise In 1960 Montreal lost its International League team the Montreal Royals (an affiliate of The Washington Nationals is an American professional baseball team based in Washington D In 1993 the league expanded to 14 teams, adding the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins. The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. The Florida Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami Gardens Florida. In 1998, the Arizona Diamondbacks became the league's fifteenth franchise, and the Milwaukee Brewers moved from the American League to the National, to make the National League the 16-team league it is today. The Arizona Diamondbacks (also referred to as the D-backs) are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix Arizona. The Milwaukee Brewers are a Major League Baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which plays in the Central Division of the National League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League ( AL) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in

As a result of expansion to 12 teams in 1969, the National League, which for the first 93 years of its existence competed equally in a single grouping, was reorganized into two divisions of six teams (East and West, although geographically it was more like North and South), with the division champions meeting in the National League Championship Series (an additional round of postseason competition) for the right to advance to the World Series. A division in Sports consists of a group of Teams which compete against one another for a divisional title

Beginning with the 1994 season, the league has been divided into three geographical divisions (East and West, currently each with five teams, and Central, currently with six teams; from 1994-97 the West and Central each had one team less). A third postseason round was added at the same time: the three division champions plus a wild card team (the team with the best record among those finishing in second place) now advance to the preliminary National League Division Series. The term wild card refers broadly to a Tournament or Playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series ( NLDS) determine which two teams from the National League will advance to the National However, due to a player's strike, the postseason was not actually held in 1994.

Often characterized as being a more "traditional" or "pure" league, the National League has never adopted the designated hitter rule as did the American League in 1973. In Baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6 In theory, this means the role of the manager is greater in the National League than in the American, because the N. In Baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager (or more formally the field manager) this individual controls matters L. manager must take offense into account when making pitching substitutions and vice versa. Overall, there are fewer home runs and runs scored in the National League than in the American due to the presence of the pitcher in the N. In Baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the Pitcher's mound toward the Catcher to begin each play with the goal of L. batting order.

For the first 96 years of its coexistence with the American League, National League teams faced their A. L. counterparts only in exhibition games or in the World Series. Beginning in 1997, however, interleague games have been played during the regular ("championship") season, and count in the standings. Interleague play is the term used to describe regular season Major League Baseball games played between teams in different leagues introduced in.

Through the 2007 season, the Dodgers have won the most National League pennants (21, plus one A. A. pennant), followed closely by the Giants (20) and Cardinals (17, plus 4 A. A. pennants). Representing the National League against the American, the Cardinals have won the most World Series (10) followed by the Dodgers (6), Pirates (5), and Giants (5). St. Louis also holds the distinction of being the only A. A. club to defeat an N. L. club in the 19th century version of the World Series.

Teams

Charter franchises (1876)

The eight charter teams were the following:

Other franchises, 1878–1891

Joined in 1878

Joined in 1879

Joined in 1880

Joined in 1881

Joined in 1883

Joined in 1885

Joined in 1886

Joined in 1887

Joined in 1889

Joined in 1890

Post-AA merger, 1892–1899

In 1892, the National League absorbed the American Association, bringing in four teams from the A. A. , in addition to the four teams that had switched leagues in the preceding half-decade. From 1892 through 1899, the twelve teams in what, for a time, was termed the "National League and American Association" were the following:

Classic Eight

After the 1899 season, the league underwent its largest contraction since 1877, dropping four clubs: the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Spiders, Louisville Colonels, and Washington Senators. This left the "classic eight" teams of the National League. All eight teams still exist today, and they would stay in place for over 50 years:

Contraction, expansion, and relocation, 1953–present

Current teams

National League East

National League Central

National League West

National League presidents, 1876–1999

Office eliminated in 1999, although Bill Giles, son of former N. John Kinley Tener ( July 25 1863 May 19 1946) was a Major League baseball player and from 1911 to 1915 Governor of Pennsylvania John Arnold Heydler ( July 10 1869 - April 18 1956) was an American executive in Major League Baseball. Ford Christopher Frick ( December 19, 1894 – April 8, 1978) was an American Sportswriter and executive who served Warren Crandall Giles ( 28 May, 1896 - 7 February, 1979) was a National League executive in Major League Baseball. Charles Stoneham "Chub" Feeney ( August 31 1921 — January 10 1994) was an American front office executive in Major Angelo Bartlett "Bart" Giamatti ( April 4, 1938 &ndash September 1, 1989) was the President of Yale University, and Bill White refers to different people Bill White (neo-Nazi, American neo-nazi activist Bill White (mayor, the mayor of Houston Texas Leonard S Coleman Jr was the last non-honorary president of the National League. L. President Warren C. Giles, currently holds the title of honorary National League president.

See also

References

  1. ^ The Inflation Calculator. The following is a list of United States Major League Baseball teams that played in the National League in the 19th century. The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League ( AL) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in S. Morgan Friedman (2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-28. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 306 - Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor. 312 - Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine
  2. ^ Koppett, Leonard, "Koppett's Concise History of Major League Baseball" New York: Carroll & Graf, 2004, pg. 141

External links

Dictionary

National League

-proper noun

  1. (baseball) The older of the two professional baseball leagues within Major League Baseball.
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