Greg Ambrosius wrote: ↑Fri Mar 12, 2021 12:47 pm
We will give it another week for the 4 pm AL Auction League, but if we don't get this moving along by next Tuesday we are going to have to make a tough decision. We do have several owners willing to do a $1400 Mixed Auction league at that time and maybe that's an option for this group. But as of now, we're still holding out hope that we can find 5 more AL owners. Here's the current signup list:
LAS VEGAS - Bellagio
Friday, March 26, 4 pm PT
$1,400 AL Auction League
1. Dave Smith
2. Philip Glukhovsky
3. Shawn Childs
4. Eddie Gillis
5. Chris Cosley
6. Stephen Marshall
7. Brian Ogan (with proxy)
8. KJ Duke (hostage ransom payment for my remaining in NL Only)
4 SPOTS LEFT - AL ONLY AUCTION
If the number of sign-ups are any indication, then the AL is indeed still the “Junior Circuit.” For those unaware of the history of the formation of the "Junior" Circuit, in 1881 the American Association was formed with teams from cities that were not members of the National League and teams that had been expelled from the league (such as Cincinnati, which was disciplined in 1880 for playing games on Sunday and allowing liquor on the grounds). In 1890, after the National League tried to limit salaries (a $2,000 maximum for pitchers), the players formed the Players’ League, but it quickly failed. The American Association unsuccessfully challenged the National League and late in 1891 merged with it in a 12-team league that constituted a monopoly, an arrangement that prevailed through 1899. By 1900 the National League had shrunk to eight teams—Boston (the team that would eventually become the Braves), Brooklyn (soon to be the Dodgers), Chicago (soon to be the Cubs), Cincinnati (the Reds, who had returned to the league in 1890), New York City (the Giants), Philadelphia (the Phillies), Pittsburgh (the Pirates), and St. Louis (the Cardinals)—and it remained so constituted until 1953, when the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The Western League, organized in 1893, had Midwestern members. When in 1900 Charles Comiskey moved his St. Paul (Minnesota) team to Chicago as the White Sox and the Grand Rapids (Michigan) team was shifted to Cleveland as the Indians, the National League agreed to the moves. However, when permission was asked to put teams in Baltimore (Maryland) and Washington, D.C., the National League balked, and the “baseball war” was on. The Western League, renamed the American League and officially elevated to major league status in 1901, transferred teams from Indianapolis (Indiana), Kansas City (Missouri), Minneapolis, and Buffalo (New York) to Baltimore (the first of two American League teams to be called the Baltimore Orioles), Washington, D.C. (the Senators), Philadelphia (the Athletics), and Boston (the Red Stockings). American League teams also were established in Detroit, Michigan (the Tigers), and Milwaukee (the first of two teams to be named the Milwaukee Brewers), the latter club moving to St. Louis as the Browns in 1902. When the Baltimore club moved to New York City in 1903 to become the Highlanders (after 1912, the Yankees), the league took the form it was to keep until 1954, when the St. Louis Browns became the Baltimore Orioles.
During the “war,” the American League wooed away many of the National League’s star players. In 1903 the leagues agreed to prohibit single ownership of two clubs in the same city and the shifting of franchises from one city to another by either league without permission of the other. They also established rules for transferring players from one league to the other and for moving minor league players into the major leagues. The peace of 1903 resulted in the first World Series, which had a hiatus in 1904 when the New York Giants refused to play believing the opposition unworthy.
And 117 years later, as is often the case, history seems to repeat itself as much like the 1904 NY Giants, the NFBC has deemed the American League unworthy. Be a shame if the league of the red-sport coats Umpires, balloon chest protector, the DH & the greatest team in sports history went the way of the Dodo bird. Not to mention for a league originally started in the City of Milwaukee.