USBL History Starting in 1885

[RyMACtizzle]

Welcome to the history of the United States Baseball League and the baseball universe of a fictionalized version of baseball history. Eventually the universe will grow to include in the year 2000,a 48-team USBL, a 200-team NCAA, 3 affiliated minor leagues, and 7 international leagues. Once I get into the actual USBL (in 1900), I will try to update at least the standings every 5 years or so.

Creators Note: This is my second attempt at the USBL universe. Last time, I made it as far as 1949 (using OTTP 22), and then decided to start over with OOTP 23. I keep track of my world and changes that will come on an Excel Spreadsheet that I make a new sheet every 5 years or so. It is color coded if a team changes names/locations or if it is a new team. I also use a database program I built to better display all of the history and logos and jerseys of the universe. It uses the CSV files and auto-imports them. I just have to remember to download the CSV files at the end of each season in OOTP.

Excel Link - My map of how the universe will play out. When teams relocate, leagues begin/fold/expand and so on.

League History - Shows each teams history with leagues they've been in, alternate names, park history, and season records as well as logos and jerseys.

Hopefully the links work.

[RyMACtizzle]

Chicago Kings Team Page in 1905

[RyMACtizzle]

The seeds of what would become the USBL were started with the establishment of the Eastern League of Professional Baseball in 1885 (The Eastern League) and the National Baseball League in 1890. . Another league was formed in 1891, the United Association of Baseball Clubs (the United Association) but it disappeared after 2 years. Founded in 1893, was the Cuban Association of Base Ball Clubs, an amateur outfit out of Cuba (since it is an amateur league at its start, the history of its logos and jerseys were not well known)

The sport of baseball in America really didn't begin to take off until a third major league called the Players League of American Baseball Clubs (The Players League) is founded in 1895 by the best stars of the era who wanted a bigger piece of the money. Stars like Sammy Marshall, Martin Parsons and Kit Rigdon.

The USBL was founded after the 1899 seasons on January 1st, 1900 with the season to start in April 1900. The USBL was formed with 20 teams made up of teams from the Eastern League, National Baseball League, and the Players League. Teams were expected to pay $15,000 to join the USBL. Those that couldn't formed a new league with major league aspirations called the American Baseball Federation. Some teams were not allowed to join the USBL because of the influence of Eastern League owners in forming the USBL. Despite successes in their respective leagues:

Indianapolis Baseball Club (finished in the top half of the NBL in 5 out of 7 seasons) couldn't join due to monetary reasons.

Empire State Baseball Club (2nd in the PL in 1898) couldn't join because Brooklyn area because it was decided there were too many New York City based teams in the USBL.

Atlantics Baseball Club (Finished in top two of the PL in its last 3 years) couldn't join because the the Brooklyn market was given to the Eastern League team Brooklyn Baseball Club.

[RyMACtizzle]

FOUNDING TEAMS
Philadelphia Union League
Boston Baseball Club
Brooklyn Champion Club
Grand Duke Club (New York City)


EXPANSION TEAMS
Washington Capital Club (joined in 1887)
Inner Harbor Sporting Guild (Baltimore, joined in 1888)
Central Park Base Ball Club (New York City, joined in 1888, moved to Buffalo in 1891)
Allegheny Athletic Club (Pittsburgh, joined in 1890, folded in 1891)
Buffalo Field & Sport Club (Central Park Base Ball Club relocated to Buffalo in 1891)
Military Park Sporting Club (Newark, joined in 1893 after the UA folded)
Grand River Baseball Club (Rochester, joined in 1893 after the UA folded)
Providence Baseball Club (joined in 1893, after the UA folded)



CHAMPIONS

[RyMACtizzle]

FOUNDING TEAMS
Chicago Sporting Club
Cleveland Baseball Club
Detroit Sport & Recreation Club
Louisville Baseball Club
Milwaukee Athletic Club
Minnesota Milling Company


EXPANSION TEAMS
Cincinnati Baseball Club (joined in 1892 after leaving the UA)
Indianapolis Athletic Club (joined in 1893 after the UA folded)
Toledo Sport & Social (joined in 1893 after the UA folded)
St. Louis Sports & Rec Club (joined in 1894, moved to Denver in 1895)
Denver Gold Sox (relocated from St. Louis in 1895)



CHAMPIONS

[RyMACtizzle]

FOUNDING TEAMS
Cincinnati Baseball Club (left after 1891 season to join the NBL)
Grand River Baseball Club (Rochester)
Indianapolis Athletic Club
Military Park Sporting Club (Newark)
Toledo Sport & Social


EXPANSION TEAMS
None



CHAMPIONS

[RyMACtizzle]

FOUNDING TEAMS
Bayamo Baseball Club
Camaguey Baseball Club
Ciego de Avila Baseball Club
Cienfuegos Baseball Club
Holguin Baseball Club
Las Tunas Baseball Club
Palma Soriano Baseball Club
Pinar del Rio Baseball Club



EXPANSION TEAMS
Guatanamo Baseball Club (joined in 1897)



CHAMPIONS

[RyMACtizzle]

FOUNDING TEAMS
Atlantic Baseball Club (Brooklyn)
Kansas City Baseball Club
Philadelphia Gentlemens Club
Steel City Baseball Club (Pittsburgh)
St. Louis Baseball Club
Windy City Baseball Club (Chicago)



EXPANSION TEAMS
Long Island Baseball Club (Hempstead, NY, joined in 1897)
Omaha Baseball Club (joined in 1897)
Empire State Baseball Club (New York City, joined in 1898)
New Orleans Baseball Club (joined in 1898)



CHAMPIONS

[ArquimedezPozo]

The thought you've put into this is awesome - I wish I'd thought to do CSV dumps to a DB for my own league. Looking forward to seeing how it unfolds!

[RyMACtizzle]

FOUNDING TEAMS
Eastern Baseball Conference
Baltimore Dockers (renamed from Inner Harbor Sporting Guild of the EL)
Boston Green Stockings (renamed from Boston Baseball Club of the EL)
Brooklyn Champions (renamed from Brooklyn Champion Club of the EL)
Buffalo All-Blues (renamed from Buffalo Field & Sport Club of the EL)
New York Dukes (renamed from Grand Duke Club of the EL)
New York Islanders (renamed from Long Island Baseball Club of the PL)
Philadelphia Gentlemen (renamed from Philadelphia Gentlemens Club of the PL)
Philadelphia Unions (renamed from Philadelphia Union League of the EL)
Pittsburgh Steel Miners (renamed from Steel City Baseball Club of the PL)
Washington Capitals (renamed from Washington Capital Club of the EL)


Western Baseball Conference
Chicago Kings (renamed from Windy City Baseball Club of the PL)
Chicago Mallards (renamed from Chicago Sporting Club of the NBL)
Cincinnati Lookouts (renamed from Cincinnati Baseball Club of the NBL)
Cleveland Grays (renamed from Cleveland Baseball Club of the NBL)
Detroit Buzzards (renamed from Detroit Sport & Recreation Club of the NBL)
Kansas City Mustangs (renamed from Kansas City Baseball Club of the PL)
Milwaukee Blue Stockings (renamed from Milwaukee Athletic Club of the NBL)
Minnesota Millers (renamed from the Minnesota Milling Company of the NBL)
Omaha Jacks (renamed from Omaha Baseball Club of the PL)
St. Louis Americans (renamed from St. Louis Baseball Club of the PL)


FOUNDING INFORMATION
The USBL was founded with 7 teams from the Eastern League, 6 teams from the National Baseball League, and 7 teams from the Players League. Teams joining the USBL were required to pay a $15,000 fee to the league to give it solid financial footing to start off with. Teams were also given the requirement that its formal offical team name would require a geographical location followed by a nickname. Most owners chose to name their teams with the city followed by the local nickname that the baseball club had been called.

TEAM NAME INFORMATION
Baltimore Dockers (named for the workers in the Inner Harbor where the team played)
Boston Green Stockings (named for the green leggings the team wore)
Brooklyn Champions (named for Brooklyn Champion Club, as they were often just called the Champions)
Buffalo All-Blues (named for the all navy blue uniforms the team wore)
New York Dukes (named from Grand Duke Club, as they were often just called the Dukes)
New York Islanders (named to for the team's location on Long Island)
Philadelphia Gentlemen (named from Philadelphia Gentlemens Club, as they were often just called the Gentlemen or Gents)
Philadelphia Unions (renamed from Philadelphia Union League, as they were often just called the Unions)
Pittsburgh Steel Miners (named to incorporate its founding club the Steel City Baseball Club and the many steel miner workers in the area)
Washington Capitals (named from the Washington Capital Club, as they were often just called the Capitals)

Chicago Kings (named by their owner because he had said his team "would be the Kings of the city" in a slight to the rival NBL Chicago Sporting Club team)
Chicago Mallards (named as a nod to the origins of the club as Chicago Sporting Club, which was founded as a hunting club before eventually sponsoring a baseball club)
Cincinnati Lookouts (named for the parks that the team played in Lookout Park, there were actually two different ballparks with the Lookout Park name)
Cleveland Grays (named for the owner of the team, Hiram Gray)
Detroit Buzzards (named for the owner of the team, Rutherford "Ole Buzzard" Hicks, who got the nickname for his business dealings where he would buying struggling/dying businesses for pennies on the dollar, "much like a buzzard picking a carcass," one newspaper once said about him. After he would prop the business up financially, he would then sell the business for a large profit)
Kansas City Mustangs (named for the wild horses that once roamed the western part of the state)
Milwaukee Blue Stockings (named for the blue leggings the team wore)
Minnesota Millers (named for Minnesota Milling Company, as they were often just called the Millers)
Omaha Jacks (named for Omaha's location as the start of the eastern side of the first tanscontinental railroad. A railroad jack is a very heavy-duty ratchet type of jack used to raise rail cars.)
St. Louis Americans (named because the owner, Wilson Perry, thought the nickname would make the centrally-located team, more popular to fans throughout the United States)

[RyMACtizzle]

FOUNDING TEAMS
Bayamo Fighters (renamed from Bayano Baseball Club)
Camaguey Lions (renamed from Camaguey Baseball Club)
Cienfuegos Devils (renamed from Cienfuegos Baseball Club)
Habana Metros
Matanzas Tigers (renamed from from Matanzas Baseball Club)
Oriente Scorpions (renamed from Palma Soriano Baseball Club)
Pinar del Rio Captains (renamed from Pinar del Rio Baseball Club)
Santa Clara Pirates

[RyMACtizzle]

FOUNDING TEAMS
Brooklyn Atlantics (renamed from Atlantic Baseball Club of the PL)
Denver Gold Sox (joined from the NBL)
Indianapolis Athletics (renamed from Indianapolis Athletic Club of the NBL)
Newark Cannons (renamed from Military Park Sporting Club of the EL)
New Orleans Pelicans (renamed from New Orleans Baseball Club of the PL)
New York Empires (renamed from Empire State Baseball Club of the PL)
Providence Grays (renamed from Providence Baseball Club of the EL)
Rochester North Stars (renamed from Grand River Baseball Club of the EL)
Texas Colt 45's (relocated from Louisville Baseball Club of the NBL)
Toledo Patriots (renamed from Toledo Sport & Social of the NBL)

[RyMACtizzle]

League Notes

1900
Chicago Kings won the Western Baseball Conference in a one-game playoff over Omaha Jacks. Chicago finished the season 102-49, while Omaha finished 101-50. Kansas City Mustangs finished 3rd in the conference with a record of 98-52. New York Islanders won the American Cup 4-1 over the Kings.

Cincinnati Lookouts move in to a new ballpark, Lookout Park, replacing the previous park also known as Lookout Park. Cleveland Grays move in to Grays Park, named after the team's owner, Hiram Gray. Milwaukee Blue Sox move across town to Mann's Field. St. Louis Americans move in to American Park.


1901
New York Islanders won the Eastern Baseball Conference by 8 games with a record of 100-50. In the Western Baseball Conference, Omaha Jacks won by 13 games with a record of 104-46. Omaha defeated the Islanders 4-3 in the American Cup.

1902
Another battle in to the last week for the Western Baseball Conference as Minnesota Millers won the pennant with a record of 103-47. Omaha Jacks finished 2 games back at 101-49, and Kansas City Mustangs finished 5 games back with a record of 98-52. New York Islanders defeated the Millers 4-2 in the American Cup.

Chicago Mallards move in to a new ballpark, named Sportsmans Park, after the founding history of the club as Chicago Sporting Club. Detroit Buzzards, move in to brand new Hicks Field, built by team owner Benjamin "Ole Buzzard" Hicks.


1903
Omaha wins a record 110 games to win the Western Baseball Conference by 3 games over Kansas City Mustangs, who finished 107-43. In the Eastern Baseball Conference, Philadelphia Stars finished 86-64 and one game ahead of rival Pittsburgh Steel Miners. Their cross-town rival, the Philadelphia Gentlemen finished 49 games behind with a record of 37-113, the most losses in a season for the decade. Omaha won the American Cup 4-2 over the Stars.

New York Dukes move in to General H.A. Wood Park, a new sporting grounds named to honor the War of 1890 hero. Philadelphia Unions changed their name to the Philadelphia Stars, which they became known as because of the blue star on their uniform.


1904
Omaha Jacks dominate the Western Baseball Conference by winning the pennant by 13 games with a record of 103-47. In the Eastern Baseball Conference, Pittsburgh Steel Miners (85-65) hold on to win the pennant by 1 game over Philadelphia Stars (84-66). Cleveland Grays snap their 3-year, 100-plus loss seasons by going 62-88. Omaha won their second straight American Cup, by winning 4 games to 2 over the Steel Miners.

Washington Capitals move in to their new ballpark which over looks the Potomac River, Navy Yard Park.


1905
After winning two straight American Cups (and three out of the last four), owner Benjamin Wheeler moves the Omaha Jacks to San Francisco. The team is renamed the San Francisco Redwoods. The reason is never given of why he moved the team, but it has been strongly suggested that organized crime had something to do with. The move shows up on the field as the franchise fails to win at least 100 games for the first time. The Redwoods also finish second to a rising Detroit team who wins the Western Baseball Conference pennant with a record of 99-51. Pittsburgh Steel Miners win the Eastern Baseball Conference by going 95-65. Detroit wins their first American Cup, 4-1, over the Steel Miners.


1906
The league structure changes after the move of the Omaha Jacks to San Francisco the previous year. Citing travelling costs, the conferences are broken two divisions each and renamed the Atlantic Baseball Conference (ABC) and the Pacific Baseball Conference (PBC). In the ABC, Boston (85-65) won the Eastern Division and the Buffalo Blues (95-65) won the Western Division by 2 games of Philadelphia Stars. Boston would win the ABC pennant 3-0 over Buffalo. In the PBC, Detroit Buzzards (96-54) dominated the Eastern Division, winning by 20 games. San Francisco Redwoods (88-62) won the Western Division by 2 games over St. Louis Americans. San Francisco swept Detroit 3-0 to win the PBC pennant. Boston Green Sox would go on to sweep the Redwoods 4-0 to win their first American Cup.

Boston Green Stockings are renamed the Boston Green Sox. They also move in to Three Rails Park, near the conjunction of three major railroad lines. Brooklyn Champions, citing a lack of actual success (much less championships), change their name to the Brooklyn Braves and hope that a move across town to the 3-year old Brooklyn Municipal Park helps their fortunes. It doesn't. The Braves will finish the decade with six straight losing seasons. Buffalo All Blues shorten their name to the Buffalo Blues. Milwaukee Blue Stockings change their name to Milwaukee Blue Sox. Philadelphia Gentlemen shorten their name to the Philadelphia Gents.


1907
Most divisional races were over by August, but the PBC Western Division came down to a one-game playoff with San Francisco Redwoods (91-60) defeating the Kansas City Mustangs (90-61). The Redwoods would go on to lose to Detroit Buzzards (87-63) 3-1 in the PBC Championship Series. In the ABC Championship Series, Boston Green Sox (93-57) would defeat the Buffalo Blues (99-51) 3 games to 1. Boston would beat Detroit in 7 games, 4-3, to win their second straight American Cup.

Baltimore Dockers change their name to the Baltimore Crabbers, named after the state's blue crab industry. They moved closer to the Inner Harbor area with a new ballpark named Crabber's Wharf Park after the team's new nickname. Minnesota Millers move in to Allred Field before the season.
Philadelphia Stars change their name to the Philadelphia Federals.

1908
All but one division comes down the the last weekend of the season. Boston Green Sox (86-64) run away with the ABC Eastern Division by 10 games. But in the ABC Western Division, Buffalo Blues (98-53) win a one-game playoff over Pittsburgh Steel Miners (97-54). In the PBC, Detroit Buzzards (89-61) won the Eastern Division by 2 games over the Chicago Mallards (87-63). Milwaukee Blue Sox (83-67) would win the Western Division by 1 game over Kansas City Mustangs (82-68). Both Conference Championship games would go the full five games. Buffalo would defeat Boston 3-2, and Detroit would defeat Milwaukee 3-2. The Buzzards would go to win the American Cup over Buffalo, 4-2.

1909
The New York Islanders (94-56) would defeat Pittsburgh Steel Miners (93-57) in five games to win the ABC pennant. San Francisco Redwoods (93-57) would beat the defending champion Detroit Buzzards (95-55) in the PBC Championship, 3-1. The Redwoods would go on to win their fourth American Cup as a franchise by defeating the Islanders 4 games to 1. Kansas City Mustangs would never have a losing record during the decade and finish with 89 or more wins six times, including a 107-win season. They would also never finish higher than second in any season during the decade.

[RyMACtizzle]

[RyMACtizzle]

[Lucky_Will]

Originally Posted by RyMACtizzle

Creators Note: … I also use a database program I built to better display all of the history and logos and jerseys of the universe. It uses the CSV files and auto-imports them. I just have to remember to download the CSV files at the end of each season in OOTP.

The database files look sharp! I like that format and the quick overview you have going. Are you using a program that you wrote or a database that you created in Access or something? I would love to adapt that to my current fictional setup.

[RyMACtizzle]

I use Filemaker Pro (ver 18?) as my database program. I've been using it since around 2008 or so, for most of my projects I do.

I've been working on this world/setup off-and-on for about 10 years. You can see most of the USBL teams logos and uniforms are not as good-looking as my later teams. For the first couple of versions of OOTP I had, I just just used what was available in game. Then eventually that led to these forums and finding logos, uniforms, and hats from the users on here. I use Photoshop to edit some of the names and stuff to fit my team. Eventually, I started making more of my own uniforms and adjusting logos based on team names I wanted, not what was just available on here.

[Lucky_Will]

Originally Posted by RyMACtizzle

I use Filemaker Pro (ver 18?) as my database program. I've been using it since around 2008 or so, for most of my projects I do.

The database layout looks great, like they're out of one of those big coffee table books on baseball history or whatever. I wish I had the talent to make something similar, I imagine you could do some of it in Access but I don't have time for that.

I also like your setup. The chaotic nature of early baseball leagues and associations is really hard to capture. Nice work so far!

[RyMACtizzle]

FOUNDING TEAMS
Birmingham Saints
Bristol Greys
Chelsea Flames
LIverpool Cormorants
Manchester Lions
Middlesex Royals
Sheffield Giants
Whitechapel Bulls

[RyMACtizzle]

FOUNDING TEAMS
Calgary Bows
Edmonton Explorers
Hamilton Bears
Manitoba Buffaloes (Winnipeg)
Montreal Saints
Ottawa Governors
Quebec Capitales
Toronto Northmen
Vancouver Cougars
Windsor Royals