1898 ATLANTIC LEAGUE
Teams:
Allentown (PA) Peanuts
Hartford (CT) Cooperatives
Lancaster (PA) Maroons
Newark (NJ) Colts
Norfolk (VA) Jewels
Paterson (NJ) Weavers
Reading (PA) Coal Heavers
Richmond (VA) Bluebirds
Schedule Characteristics:
SCHEDULE type="ILN_BGY_G139_T8_C_" inter_league="0" balanced_games="1" games_per_team="139" start_month="4" start_day="25" start_day_of_week="2"
Teams play 128 to 139 games. Teams play each opponent 18 to 23 times.
Season starts on April 25 and ends on September 14. Weekday and Saturday games start at 3:00. Sunday games start at 1:00. Double-header games start at noon and 3:00. Holiday split double-header games (Newark-Paterson) start at 10:00 and 3:00. Sunday games only at Newark and Paterson.
This is a schedule that I actually made a couple of years ago, but I didn't post it at the time because I was probably amazed at how weird the whole thing was. My source (
Sporting Life, 4/2/1898) says that "the schedule calls for 132 games." In fact,
no team was scheduled to play 132 games. Instead, the league scheduled extra Sunday games at Newark and Paterson to take advantage of New Jersey's lack of Sunday blue laws. Richmond, however, refused to play any Sunday games. even on the road, leading to the following away/home breakdown:
Allentown: 67/64 = 131
Hartford: 67/64 = 131
Lancaster: 68/67 = 135
Newark: 65/74 = 139
Norfolk: 72/63 = 135
Paterson: 66/72 = 138
Reading: 66/65 = 131
Richmond: 63/65 = 128
In addition, according to my source the season was supposed to end on September 10, but Norfolk plays four additional road games after that date (one in Newark, three in Lancaster), so the league's season actually ends on September 14, even though most teams are finished on the 10th.
So yeah, it's weird, but if you're playing with historical schedules from this era, you really need to be prepared to embrace the weirdness.
Atlantic League 1898.lsdl