National Baseball League

bagelman · 07-10-2015, 12:23 AM

When the world's first baseball game was played in 1869 between ivy league colleges, nobody would know what in less than a century this sport would become more popular than ever imagined. At the time though it was considered to be a promising sport, but was erroneously thought too slow paced and mathematical to be popular with the masses. Although football remained more popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States, many colleges during the last 30 years of the century fielded teams of baseball players and competed against one another. Rules were sometimes inconsistent, a few leagues considered the pitcher to be on the same team as the batter and not the defense, while others made the pitcher play for the same "team" as the umpires, having him pitch for or against batters of both teams.

By the dawn of the new century, these rules had been ironed out, placing the pitcher firmly on the team playing on the field against the batters, and each team having a rotation of pitchers to face the batters, including relief pitchers that would take over in the late game if the starting pitchers was injured or tired. The rules of the game were essentially in their modern form at this time, although some minor changes and restrictions would be added down the line.

The first professional baseball team was an unnamed team somewhere in the Allegheny Valley region of western Pennsylvania, but was forced to disband by it's parent league, which was amateur only.

The first professional baseball league was also formed in the state of Pennsylvania. Formed by only three teams and operating for only a single season, this league included many football players and two out of three of it's teams were owned by football teams. The Philadelphia Athletics and Phillies were owned by football teams of the same name, while the Pittsburgh Stars were rumored to be owned or otherwise supported by the Pittsburgh Pirates. With a record of 20 wins and 9 losses, the Athletics claimed the title of league champion. The Stars contested this claim on the grounds that they won more games while barnstorming independent teams in the Allegheny valley and in other locations in the state. The league commissioner, seeking more money from Major League Football, declared this argument invalid. However, the league did not have enough funds to continue for a second season and folded. The popularity of the sport declined for a time in the state, with football fans declaring it a fad.

After the failure of the first league, baseball found new life to the west in Ohio. The Ohio League was a more informal association of baseball teams, and was one of the two precursors to the NBL. In 1905, the two most powerful teams in the Ohio League were the Canton Bulldogs and Massillon Tigers, and they were fierce rivals. Fans came from far and wide, as far west as Chicago and as far east as Buffalo, to see them play against each other. That year's championship was decided between the two teams in the second of a two game series. The Tigers won the game by using special bats, possibly partially made of a metallic material. While this would be a severe violation of modern NBL regulations, at the time complaints coming from Canton were seen as sore losers whining.

Canton would get another shot in 1906. During the end of the season, the two intra-county rivals were once again tied, and set to play a three game set against each other. Sadly, there would be no result to this series other than disaster. A Massillon newspaper uncovered a plot by professional gamblers to fix the result of the first two games to force a third deciding game. The gamblers would collect huge profits by betting everything on the team they know would win, and the teams would collect the most gate by forcing a winner take all game, which would attract the most fans and the highest proportion of fans outside Stark County.

While there was no hard evidence that the plot was real, the reputation of both teams nosedived. The news spread from Massillon to Canton, then to Akron and Cleveland, then to Columbus and Pittsburgh, and everywhere. The Ohio League itself remained strong and had a more even playing field in the years afterward. When the Great War came, the Ohio League suspended operations to allow it's players to fight in the trenches of Europe. Players uninterested in soldering migrated to the New York Pro Baseball League (NYPBL). By the end of the war the two baseball leagues were on similar footing in terms of talent, prestige, and attendance numbers.

In 1919, the sport experienced a large surge in popularity. With more money being thrown around, the owners and managers of teams in both states expressed a desire for a more formal organization with the ability to set rules in stone, create formal schedules, and be given the power to regulate itself to ensure fair play. During the offseason leading up to the 1920 season, the Ohio League and the New York Pro Baseball League agreed to a merger that would also include several midwestern teams from Indiana and Illinois. The merger created the American Professional Baseball Association (APBL), which would rename itself the National Baseball League after it's first two seasons.

07-10-2015, 12:23 AM	#1
bagelman Bat Boy Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 3	National Baseball League When the world's first baseball game was played in 1869 between ivy league colleges, nobody would know what in less than a century this sport would become more popular than ever imagined. At the time though it was considered to be a promising sport, but was erroneously thought too slow paced and mathematical to be popular with the masses. Although football remained more popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States, many colleges during the last 30 years of the century fielded teams of baseball players and competed against one another. Rules were sometimes inconsistent, a few leagues considered the pitcher to be on the same team as the batter and not the defense, while others made the pitcher play for the same "team" as the umpires, having him pitch for or against batters of both teams. By the dawn of the new century, these rules had been ironed out, placing the pitcher firmly on the team playing on the field against the batters, and each team having a rotation of pitchers to face the batters, including relief pitchers that would take over in the late game if the starting pitchers was injured or tired. The rules of the game were essentially in their modern form at this time, although some minor changes and restrictions would be added down the line. The first professional baseball team was an unnamed team somewhere in the Allegheny Valley region of western Pennsylvania, but was forced to disband by it's parent league, which was amateur only. The first professional baseball league was also formed in the state of Pennsylvania. Formed by only three teams and operating for only a single season, this league included many football players and two out of three of it's teams were owned by football teams. The Philadelphia Athletics and Phillies were owned by football teams of the same name, while the Pittsburgh Stars were rumored to be owned or otherwise supported by the Pittsburgh Pirates. With a record of 20 wins and 9 losses, the Athletics claimed the title of league champion. The Stars contested this claim on the grounds that they won more games while barnstorming independent teams in the Allegheny valley and in other locations in the state. The league commissioner, seeking more money from Major League Football, declared this argument invalid. However, the league did not have enough funds to continue for a second season and folded. The popularity of the sport declined for a time in the state, with football fans declaring it a fad. After the failure of the first league, baseball found new life to the west in Ohio. The Ohio League was a more informal association of baseball teams, and was one of the two precursors to the NBL. In 1905, the two most powerful teams in the Ohio League were the Canton Bulldogs and Massillon Tigers, and they were fierce rivals. Fans came from far and wide, as far west as Chicago and as far east as Buffalo, to see them play against each other. That year's championship was decided between the two teams in the second of a two game series. The Tigers won the game by using special bats, possibly partially made of a metallic material. While this would be a severe violation of modern NBL regulations, at the time complaints coming from Canton were seen as sore losers whining. Canton would get another shot in 1906. During the end of the season, the two intra-county rivals were once again tied, and set to play a three game set against each other. Sadly, there would be no result to this series other than disaster. A Massillon newspaper uncovered a plot by professional gamblers to fix the result of the first two games to force a third deciding game. The gamblers would collect huge profits by betting everything on the team they know would win, and the teams would collect the most gate by forcing a winner take all game, which would attract the most fans and the highest proportion of fans outside Stark County. While there was no hard evidence that the plot was real, the reputation of both teams nosedived. The news spread from Massillon to Canton, then to Akron and Cleveland, then to Columbus and Pittsburgh, and everywhere. The Ohio League itself remained strong and had a more even playing field in the years afterward. When the Great War came, the Ohio League suspended operations to allow it's players to fight in the trenches of Europe. Players uninterested in soldering migrated to the New York Pro Baseball League (NYPBL). By the end of the war the two baseball leagues were on similar footing in terms of talent, prestige, and attendance numbers. In 1919, the sport experienced a large surge in popularity. With more money being thrown around, the owners and managers of teams in both states expressed a desire for a more formal organization with the ability to set rules in stone, create formal schedules, and be given the power to regulate itself to ensure fair play. During the offseason leading up to the 1920 season, the Ohio League and the New York Pro Baseball League agreed to a merger that would also include several midwestern teams from Indiana and Illinois. The merger created the American Professional Baseball Association (APBL), which would rename itself the National Baseball League after it's first two seasons.