The Union Club of Morrisania was founded in 1855 and had won the NABBP national championship back in 1867, as well as the Amateur Association crown in 1872. But after the AA (and the club) turned professional, Union struggled, even suffering the indignity of relegation after the 1891 season (and were near the bottom of the UA in '92) -- so, they decided a big change was in order. They built a new ballpark just a bit west of Morrisania (which technically didn't exist anymore, having been absorbed by New York City in 1873), a few blocks from the Harlem River on 164th Street in the Bronx. They dubbed the new ballfield
Union Park, and changed the name of the club to the
New York Unions.
Not so fast, said the Giants and Mutuals, who claimed that
they were the only baseball clubs that had the rights to the name "New York". It wound up in court, and the judge ruled against the Unions. So, the club decided to go even bigger, calling themselves the
Greater New York Baseball Club, or GNYBBC. The Giants and Mutuals guffawed, but chose not to challenge the name in court.
From NA to AA: St. Paul, Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets [in place of the Chicago White Stockings]
From AA to NA: Montreal, Worcester, Detroit Wolverines.
From AA to UA: Baltimore Marylands, Paterson, Rockford.
From UA to AA: Pittsburgh Alleghneys, Syracuse, Philadelphia Phillies.