"The reason baseball has no black managers or general managers is that I truly believe that they may not have some of the necessities to be, let's say, a field manager. Why are black men, or black people, not good swimmers? Because they don't have the buoyancy."
--Al Campanis, soon-to-be-fired Dodgers executive on ABC's Nightline
American League
American League
By Wikipedia
The American League (or formally the American League of
Professional Baseball Clubs) is one of two leagues that make up Major
League Baseball. It developed from the Western
League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, that
eventually aspired to major league status. The A.L. is often called the Junior
Circuit because it was elevated to Major League status 25 years after
the formation of the National
League. Beginning with the 1903 season, the regular season champions
of the two leagues have met annually in the World
Series, with the exception of 1904 and 1994. Through the 2005 season,
American League teams have won 60 and lost 41 of the 101 World Series
played. It should be noted that 26 of those wins were won by the New
York Yankees.
At
a glance...
BALTIMORE MAJOR LEAGUE
League
Facts
Established
1893
(as Western
League) 1900 (as American
League)
1901 (as a major league)
Ban
Johnson 1901-1927
Ernest Barnard 1927-1931
Will Harridge 1931-1959
Joe Cronin 1959-1973
Lee McPhail 1973-1984
Bobby Brown 1984-1994
Gene Budig 1994-1999
With the demise of the American
Association after the 1891 season, the National League expanded to
become a 12-team circuit with monopoly status for the rest of the decade.
The league became embroiled in internal conflicts, including a plan
supported by some owners to form a "trust," wherein there would
be one common ownership of all N.L. teams. In 1894, the N.L. established a
$2,400 limit on annual player wages. Then, the league contracted to eight
teams for the 1900 season, eliminating its teams in Baltimore,
Cleveland,
Louisville,
and Washington.
Western League President Bancroft
"Ban" Johnson felt the time was right to challenge the N.L.
monopoly.
The Western League renamed itself the American League on October
11, 1899, and placed teams in the abandoned Cleveland market as well as on
the south side of Chicago. This was done with the approval of the National
League, which did not immediately recognize the potential threat such a
move would pose to its monopoly.
During the 1900 season, the renamed A.L. was still
a minor league circuit subject to the National Agreement. The league
declined to renew its National Agreement membership when it expired in
October of 1900, and on January 28, 1901, officially declared itself a
major league. It placed teams in Baltimore and Washington, both victims of
the N.L. contraction, as well as in Boston and Philadelphia where (as in
Chicago) it would compete head-to-head with the older league. (Only
Detroit and Milwaukee remained of the original Western League franchises.)
The new league began to hire disgruntled National League players. A roster
war was on.
The older 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. During the baseball "war" however, the American
League moved its Milwaukee franchise to St. Louis in 1902 and the
Baltimore franchise to New York in 1903, thus competing with the N.L. in
those markets as well.
The American League consisted of the same eight teams from 1903 through
1954, when the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore and were rechristened
the Baltimore Orioles. In 1955, the Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas
City (the A's would move to Oakland in 1968). In 1961, the Washington
Senators moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul and became the Minnesota Twins.
In 1961, the league expanded to ten teams for the first time in its
history when the Los Angeles Angels and the Washington Senators joined the
league, the latter replacing the original Washington Senators franchise
which had just relocated to Minnesota. The Los Angeles Angels went through
several name changes and are now formally known as the Los Angeles Angels
of Anaheim. The second Washington franchise moved to Dallas-Fort Worth in
1972 and became the Texas Rangers.
In 1969 the American League expanded to 12 teams when the Kansas City
Royals and Seattle Pilots joined the league. (The Pilots stayed just one
season in Seattle before moving to Milwaukee and becoming the Milwaukee
Brewers). With the addition of these teams, the league reorganized into
two divisions of six teams (East and West), with the division champions
meeting in the American League Championship Series, an additional round of
postseason competition, for the right to advance to the World Series.
Beginning with the 1994 season, the league has been divided into three
divisions (East, West, and Central), with the addition of a wild card team
(the team with the best record among teams finishing in second place) to
enable four teams to advance to the preliminary American League Division
Series.
The league adopted the designated hitter (or "DH") rule in
1973 whereby a team may choose to designate a tenth player (not a position
player) to bat in place of the pitcher. Contrary to popular belief, use of
the DH is not mandatory. Though maligned by some critics, use of the DH
rule has spread to almost every amateur and professional league, the two
most notable exceptions being the National League and Japan's Central
League.
The third expansion came in 1977, when the Seattle Mariners and Toronto
Blue Jays joined the A.L., which thus became a 14-team league. Finally, in
1998 the Tampa Bay Devil Rays became the fifteenth team to join the
American League. Concurrently, however, the Milwaukee Brewers withdrew
from the league to join the National League. The simultaneous expansion
and contraction kept the A.L. a 14-team league, which it remains today.
For the first 96 years of its existence, American League teams faced
their National League counterparts only in exhibition games or in the
World Series. Beginning in 1997, however, interleague games have been
played during the regular season, and count in the standings.
Through the 2005 season, the Yankees have won the most American League
pennants (39), followed by the Athletics (14) and Red Sox (11). Likewise,
the Yankees have also won the most World Series (26). Among American
League teams, the runners-up are again the Athletics (9) and Red Sox (6).
Team History and Movements
The Yankees were the
Orioles originally. The Orioles were
the Browns, but were the Brewers originally. The Brewers,
who now find themselves in the National League,
were the Seattle Pilots years before Seattle got the Mariners.
The Rangers were the Senators, but not
the original Senators. The Twins
were originally an earlier Washington Senators than the Rangers' Senators,
but they too were not the original
Senators. The A's were in
Philadelphia, but where not the
original Athletics before moving on to Kansas City. Kansas
City along with Tampa Bay (who
seem to have dropped the "Devil" from Devil Rays) and Toronto
(who are still are the "Blue" Jays and not yet the Rogers' Jays)
received expansion franchises and have stayed put. The Los Angeles Angels
of Anaheim (as I refuse to refer to them as on this site - except
here) were the Los Angeles Angels before becoming the California Angels
but later became the Anaheim Angels. The White
Sox are not related to the Chicago
White Stockings (who are actually now the Cubs) any more than the Red
Sox are related to the Boston Red
Stockings (who are actually now the Atlanta Braves). Confused? Maybe
this will help...
Charter AL Franchises
Starting in 1901, the eight
charter teams were the following:
Baltimore Orioles moved to New York (1903) and became the team now
known as the New York Yankees
Boston Americans (unofficial name) became the Red Sox
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Blues became the Naps and then the Indians
Detroit Tigers
Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis (1902) and to Baltimore (1954) and
became today's Baltimore Orioles
Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City (1955) and then to Oakland
(1968)
Washington Senators moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul (1961) and became the
Minnesota Twins
AL Expansion and Relocation
1902: Milwaukee Brewers move to St. Louis, renamed "St. Louis
Browns"
1903: Baltimore Orioles move to New York, renamed "New York
Highlanders" (later "New York Yankees")
1954: St. Louis Browns move to Baltimore, renamed "Baltimore
Orioles"
1955: Philadelphia Athletics move to Kansas City
1961: Washington Senators move to Minneapolis-St. Paul, renamed
"Minnesota Twins"
1961: Los Angeles Angels and Washington Senators enfranchised
1968: Kansas City Athletics move to Oakland
1969: Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots enfranchised
1970: Seattle Pilots move to Milwaukee, renamed "Milwaukee
Brewers"
1972: Washington Senators move to Dallas-Fort Worth, renamed "Texas
Rangers"
1977: Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays enfranchised
1998: Tampa Bay Devil Rays enfranchised
1998: Bud
Selig moves his Milwaukee Brewers from the American League to join the
National League so they can play the Cubs every year
NOTES: 1. The office of American League President was
eliminated in 1999, although Jackie Autry, former owner of the Anaheim
Angels, currently holds the title of honorary American League
president. 2. See commentary on Western
League page. The Buffalo, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Minneapolis
teams were replaced by teams in Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia and
Washington in 1901, but it is unclear and disputed as to which team went
where.
Our sites have always been by you and about you. If
you check
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of 1970s TV shows, survivors of hurricanes or aircraft accidents, etc. from all over the world sharing their memories, asking
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--Patrick Mondout
JUNIOR CURCUIT
As the 'younger' of the two Major Leagues, the AL is known as the Junior Curcuit.
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American League
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