The League Alliance

The League Alliance arose as the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs’ response to the perceived threat of the International Association of Professional Base Ball Players in 1877. Having subverted the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, plucking St. Louis, Hartford, Boston, the Mutuals of New York and the Athletics of Philadelphia from its ranks and adding independent teams from Louisville and Cincinnati, Chicago president William A. Hulbert sought to extend the League’s powers to independent teams across the country, limiting the availability of players while protecting the sanctity of contracts.

Existing only nominally thereafter, the League surreptitiously allowed Washington to join the League Alliance in 1880, only to expel the club and redistribute its players. Revived as an actual championship in 1882 for independent clubs in Philadelphia and New York, cities whose teams had been expelled from the League after the 1876 season, the League Alliance attained its crowning glory by providing a format for these clubs that led to their induction into the League following Hulbert’s death.

Storm clouds were gathering even before the conclusion of the National League’s debut season. On September 16, 1876, the Mutuals of New York and the Athletics of Philadelphia played their final championship games, refusing to embark on their second tour of the West.1 On September 23 L. C. Waite, secretary of the St. Louis Red Stockings, one of the teams bypassed in the organization of the National League, issued a circular to semi-professional baseball clubs “to obtain the views and suggestions of all who are interested in the welfare of the national game” regarding the formation of a non-league association.2 Thirteen clubs had indicated their desire to join this International Association by November, when H. D. McKnight of the Allegheny (Pittsburg) club announced that his club would pay the general expenses for a meeting.3 On December 7 at the National League convention in Cleveland, the Mutuals and Athletics were expelled, reducing the League to two Eastern teams (Boston and Hartford).4 In early January the St. Louis Globe-Democrat published a call for a meeting of non-League clubs in Pittsburg on February 20.5

A week later, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat published a circular from Al Spalding, manager of the Chicago club. It proposed that independent clubs affiliate with the League to secure their player contracts by merely informing the Secretary of the League of said contracts and agreeing to play by National League rules and abiding by the decision of the League regarding disputes. Copies of the circular were reportedly sent to clubs in Milwaukee, Indianapolis and Columbus, Ohio.6 The progress of this so-called League Alliance was covered extensively by the Chicago Tribune. On February 4 it reported that Indianapolis and Milwaukee had signed the League Alliance agreement, followed in February by the Red Caps of St. Paul, the Red Stockings of Memphis, the Fairbanks of Chicago and the Chelseas of Brooklyn.7 Clubs subsequently signing the League Alliance agreement were the Crickets of Binghamton and the Stars of Syracuse, New York; Lowell, Minneapolis; the Athletics of Philadelphia, the Mutuals of Janesville, Wisconsin; and Fall River, Massachusetts.8 Much to the consternation of future researchers, National League secretary Nick Young announced in May that “league alliance games will not be computed in the official averages….”9 Nonetheless, the above thirteen clubs are those generally recognized as members of the League Alliance. In fact, these were the teams represented in “standings” first printed in the Indianapolis Sentinel in June, then the New York Clipper, and later the Chicago Tribune, which were attributed it to C. G. Yohn, secretary of the Indianapolis club.10

baseball-reference.com lists sixteen more clubs as members of the League Alliance. Of these, seven clubs were referred to as members of the League Alliance during the year: Resolute of Elizabeth, New Jersey; Auburn, New York; Alaska of New York; Standard of Wheeling, West Virginia; Ludlow of Cincinnati; and Erie and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.11 Four of the remaining remaining nines started play by May: Defiance of Philadelphia; Hornells of Hornellsville, New York; Livingston of Geneseo, New York; and Champion City of Springfield, Ohio. Subsequent ex officio members were Nolan of Albany, New York; the Reds of Evansville, Indiana; the Clippers of Winona, Wisconsin; the Haymakers of Troy, New York; and Buffalo, New York.12

Spalding’s January circular can be viewed as a preemptive blow against the formation of a non-league baseball association. Nonetheless, the International Association of Professional Base Ball Players formed in Pittsburg on February 20. Among those attending as delegates were Lewis Meacham, baseball reporter of the Chicago Tribune, representing Fairbanks of Chicago, and A. B. Rankin, baseball writer of the New York Herald, representing Chelsea of Brooklyn, Alaska of New York, and Resolute of Elizabeth, New Jersey. None of these clubs entered for the championship, which required an additional $15 fee. Furthermore, the clubs comprising the International Association reportedly would have joined the League Alliance had Rule 8, which held that disputes be handled by the National League, been expunged.13

In March the New York Clipper noted: “There is nothing in the Spalding sub-League rules to prevent a club belonging to both Associations (the League and International), as the Chelseas of Brooklyn and Resolutes of Elizabeth do….”14 Indeed, a number of League Alliance clubs were referred to as members of the International Association during the year: Alaska of New York in March, Star of Syracuse, Cricket of Binghampton, Erie and Auburn in April, Fairbanks of Chicago in May, and Fall River, Lowell and Champion City of Springfield in June.15

Few of the League Alliance clubs toured outside their immediate area. From New York, the Stars of Syracuse, the Crickets of Binghamton, the Hornells of Hornellsville, Auburn, Buffalo and perhaps Livingston of Geneseo competed for the state championship, won by Syracuse.16 Lowell and Fall River played in the New England Association, won by Lowell.17 Minneapolis and St. Paul played more than half of their games against each other.18

Attrition began reducing the League Alliance ranks by June. The Fairbanks of Chicago were declared “about busted” in late June.19 The Memphis Reds disbanded on July 18, Evansville on July 20, and Philadelphia around July 26.20 Minneapolis and the Standards of Wheeling disbanded in mid-August, both reorganizing as cooperative nines.21 In late August, the Brooklyn Eagle declared the following League Alliance clubs had disbanded: Fairbanks, Memphis, Minneapolis, Erie, Standard, Ludlow, Detroit and Racine.22 Clubs to subsequently disband were the Mutuals of Janesville and the Champion Citys of Springfield, Ohio.23

Three clubs conducted extensive tours: the Red Stockings of Memphis, the Blues of Indianapolis, and the Stars of Syracuse. Memphis and Indianapolis began play in March, facing each other in Memphis on March 17-19.24 Memphis later toured between May 16 and June 29, winning 25 and losing 12 games.25

Indianapolis toured the South in March and the East in June and again in August and September.26 The team featured the stalwart pitching of Edward “The Only” Nolan. One source credits Nolan with playing in 108 games, 101 as pitcher.27 Another source states that he pitched seventy-six complete games, winning sixty-four, with eight ties and a remarkable thirty shut-outs.28 Overall, Indianapolis played 121 games, winning 71, losing 41 and tying 9. Against National League clubs, they were 15-25-3.29

Syracuse traveled West several times, ultimately playing 85 games on the road while compiling an overall record of 67-44-3.30 In yet another workhorse pitching performance, Syracuse’s Harry McCormick threw an astounding 898 innings, finishing 99 of 100 starts, while compiling a record of 59-39-2.31

Of the “official” League Alliance teams, only five played as many as thirty games against each other: St. Paul, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Syracuse. St. Paul and Minneapolis played principally against each other (36 games), of which St. Paul won 19.32 St. Paul won the most games against League Alliance opponents, 28, although Indianapolis posted a higher winning percentage, .676. Overall, Indianapolis and Syracuse played over one hundred games each, posting winning percentages of .634 and .604, respectively.33

Among the more prominent individuals to play for League Alliance clubs were veterans Dickey Pearce (Ludlow of Cincinnati), Ned Cuthbert and Joe Quest (both Indianapolis). Younger players to perform with League Alliance clubs included Silver Flint, Ed “The Only” Nolan and, later, Jim McCormick (Indianapolis), Larry Corcoran (Chelsea of Brooklyn, Livingston of Geneseo and Buffalo), Jack Glasscock (Standard of Wheeling, Champion City of Springfield and Buffalo) and Guy Hecker (Champion City of Springfield). John Montgomery Ward played for four different League Alliance clubs: Athletic of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Mutual of Janesville, and Buffalo.34

The 1877 season and post-season were fraught with difficulties for the National League. On June 16 Cincinnati club president Josiah Keck announced that his club would not go on its upcoming Eastern tour, releasing his players on the 18th.35 Although soon reconstituted under J. Wayne Neff, the status of the club remained in doubt throughout the season, since Keck had failed to pay the League entrance fee by June 1.36

Suspicions arose about the playing of Louisville team as a result of an uncharacteristic eight-game losing streak (with one tie) beginning in mid-August that dropped the team to second place. Other suspect losses came in exhibition games against Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Lowell. In October the Louisville Courier-Journal, principally owned by club president John Haldeman, and his reporter-son John questioned the team’s play. Ultimately, on October 30, Jim Devlin, George Hall, Bill Craver and Al Nichols were expelled from the team.37

Earlier, in July, Devlin, Hall and Louisville catcher Charles “Pop” Snyder were reported to have signed with St. Louis for the 1878 season.38 Indeed Devlin, Hall and Snyder played for St. Louis in a game versus Boston on October 23 in St. Louis.39 In November the Brooklyn Eagle reported that St. Louis players Davy Force, Joe Battin, Joe Blong and Mike McGeary had been expelled from the team, although no action was taken against the players at December’s National League meeting.40

At that December meeting in Cleveland, the so-called “Louisville Four” were expelled from the League, St. Louis resigned, and Hartford was ruled to not be a member of the League. Membership of Keck’s Cincinnati club was declared forfeited and Neff’s Cincinnati club was admitted in its stead. Milwaukee and Indianapolis were unanimously admitted. Furthermore, a fee of $10 for postage and stationery was imposed on League Alliance members, a League Alliance championship was instituted, and members were granted the right to non-voting representation at League meetings. Additionally, a guarantee of $100 was imposed on non-League clubs for games played with League clubs in 1878.41

In February at the International Association meeting in Buffalo, the constitution was amended to read: “No club, a member of the Association, shall play with any club belonging to the League Alliance until the offensive rules of the guarantee are rescinded under the penalty of forfeiture.”42 Reduced to two eastern clubs, the National League, on April 1 at Buffalo, struck an agreement with certain International Association clubs, allowing them to charge twenty-five cents admission (rather than the League tariff of fifty-cents) for games played against League clubs as well as preferential scheduling after September. The clubs were Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester, New York; Lowell and Springfield, Massachusetts; and Tecumseh of London, Ontario, Canada.43

Little was heard of the League Alliance after the signing of the so-called “Buffalo Agreement”: no games reported, no standings published, no pennant awarded. The Alliance existed only nominally, for the protection of contracts.

For 1878, Milwaukee retained pitcher Sam Weaver, catcher Charlie Bennett and outfielder Abner Dalrymple from their League Alliance team, while Indianapolis retained “The Only” Nolan, catcher Silver Flint and second baseman Joe Quest from their League Alliance team. The Indianapolis and Milwaukee clubs survived only one year in the National League, posting records of 24-36 and 15-45, respectively. Nolan was suspended for a week in June and expelled in August, leaving the pitching chores largely to Jim McCormick.44 Indianapolis, $2,500 in debt, released its players in October and, in December, resigned from the League at the League meeting in Cleveland, at which Cleveland and two International Association clubs, Syracuse and Buffalo, were unanimously admitted to membership.45 Milwaukee was expelled at the end of the year for failing to pay its debts.46

Word of the League Alliance next surfaced in July 1880, when the Nationals of Washington were reported to have joined.47 The Nationals were the last survivors of the International Association, now known as the National Association since it no longer included any Canadian club. Only three teams had entered for the championship and, by July, Albany and Baltimore had disbanded.

In October the National League held a special meeting in Rochester, where the principal order of business was the expulsion of the Cincinnati club for failing to pledge to vote for an amendment to the constitution that would prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages on club grounds and the use of such grounds for Sunday baseball. Several days later the managers of the Nationals met with National League president Hulbert in Washington regarding entry into the League.48

At the regular December meeting of the National League in New York, the Nationals’ applicaton for admission to the League was rejected “on the ground that the geographical position of Washington was not convenient enough to admit of visitation by other league clubs.” Also a special provision was added to the constitution recognizing League Alliance clubs as honorary members of the League and, once again, providing for a League Alliance championship trophy.49

In an interview conducted on December 19 by a representative of the Washington Post, Michael Scanlon, long associated with Washington baseball, revealed his view of the League’s machinations:

“(T)here was a special meeting of the League held in Rochester the early part of last October. It was at this time that the National club was divided up among the different League clubs.” According to Scanlon, the place and time of the December meeting was changed without notification to the Nationals’ representatives. They nonetheless were present at the meeting when it opened, only to discover that the Nationals’ application had been rejected unanimously and the Detroit club admitted in its stead. Mr. Scanlon continued:

“The next question was how to evade the protection which, under League Alliance rules, was due to the Nationals, and get the players who had signed with them. This was accomplished by a resolution to expel the National club from the Alliance. The man who did that dirty piece of work was Evans, of the Cleveland club. The pretext was that we owed them a for a game that was never played here.”50

Mr. Scanlon’s accusation was likely true. Six of the club’s 1880 regulars played for other National League teams in 1881: George Derby and Joe Gerhardt with Detroit, Jack Lynch and John Morrissey with Buffalo, Pop Snyder with Boston and Bill McClellan with Providence. In fact, the Clipper stated that Derby had signed with Detroit on the very day the club was admitted to the National League.51 Formal notice of the Nationals’ expulsion was served to members of the League Alliance in April 1881.52

That same month the Eastern Championship Association was formed in New York by, among others, the Nationals of Washington, represented by William Warren White; the Atlantics of Brooklyn, represented by Billy Barnie, and the Metropolitans of New York, represented by James Mutrie.53 Subsequent entries included the Athletics of Philadelphia and Albany. The Metropolitans, organized in September 1880 by Mutrie and tobacconist John B. Day, inaugurated professional baseball in Manhattan on September 29.54 By February 1881 the club was reported to be a member of the League Alliance.55

During 1881 Barnie was reported seeking membership for the Atlantics in the League Alliance, though League territorial rules prohibited it.56 Albany was said to have joined the League Alliance in August, while the Athletics were reported to have joined in October.57

Much to the chagrin of the National League, a rival league, the American Association of Base Ball Clubs, formed in Cincinnati on November 2, 1881. The upstarts would charge only twenty-five cents admission (compared to the League’s fifty cents), allow the sale of alcohol in the ballparks, and play baseball on Sundays. Among those attending were Billy Barnie, Charlie Fulmer (representing the Athletics) and Horace B. Phillips (representing Al Reach’s Philadelphias). The Metropolitans’ Jim Mutrie and Walter Appleton were present but did not attend the meetings. Barnie’s Atlantics and Fulmer’s Athletics were admitted to membership. Fulmer’s Athletics promptly resigned from League Alliance.58

Mutrie and Appleton immediately left for Chicago to report to William Hulbert, president of both the Chicago club and the National League. They repudiated the new association and vowed to continue as a member of the League Alliance.59

At the National League’s December meeting in Chicago, numerous additions were made to the constitution that affected the League Alliance. Any club could join by signing the agreement and paying $25. The League and League Alliance would vote on prospective member clubs, with two votes sufficient to reject admission. Only one club could join from any city. At annual meetings two delegates from each League Alliance club would have the right to be present and take part in discussions. No game could be played against a non-League club in any city in which a League Alliance club was located. A provision was enacted to provide for a League Alliance championship.60 John B. Day of the Metropolitans took part in discussions and a letter from Al Reach of the Philadelphias was presented.61 The Secretary of the League was authorized to send a dispatch to the Philadelphia club recognizing it as a member of the League Alliance.62

The American Association and National League both met in March 1882. The American Association convention was held in Philadelphia. Incensed by the signings of the Athletics’ Dasher Troy by Detroit and Cincinnati’s Sam Wise by Boston, the organization amended its constitution to provide for the admission of players “unjustly expelled from other organizations, but excluding those properly expelled.” Furthermore, the constitution was amended to provide for an American Alliance, similar to the League Alliance. Additionally, Billy Barnie resigned the Atlantic team’s membership in the organization.63 John B. Day and Al Reach were delegates to the National League meeting held in Rochester.64

In April the Philadelphia Inquirer had begun referring to the Philadelphias as the “Phillies.”65 The “Phillies” and Metropolitans first met for the League Alliance championship on May 8.66 The Metropolitans’ season proved a spectacular success, the Philadelphias’ less so. Seldom playing outside New York, the Metropolitans played 162 games, won 101, lost 57, with three being drawn and one a benefit game. Against League clubs, the Metropolitans won 29 games, lost 42, with three being drawn. They won the League Alliance championship over the Philadelphias, winning 14, losing 6, with one being drawn. Of the twelve games played between the Metropolitans and Philadephias outside the League Alliance championship, each club won six games.67 The “Phillies” played 144 games, winning 72 and losing 64, with six being drawn. The club played 65 games against League clubs, wining 16, losing 44, with five being drawn.68

The National League was shocked by the astounding success of the American Association in 1882. Virtually equal in overall attendance, the six American Association cities encompassed a total population more than 500,000 greater than the eight National League cities. All six Association clubs drew 36,000 or more fans, topped by St. Louis (who outdrew Chicago), while four League clubs (Cleveland, Buffalo, Troy and Worcester) drew 30,000 or less.69

Meeting in Philadelphia in late September, the National League was said to have accepted the resignations of tail-enders Troy and Worcester, the reason given that “the patronage in these cities was not large enough to give visiting clubs a share of gate money sufficient to play their expenses, and that New York and Philadelphia were anxious to be admitted.” The Worcester representative stated that a resolution, offered by William G. Thompson of Detroit, had been adopted six votes to two declaring that Troy and Worcester be not represented in the League next year. A director of Troy claimed that a resolution had been adopted expelling the club after December 2.70

Meeting in Columbus, Ohio, in late October, the American Association agreed that member clubs would not play any games against League or League Alliance clubs and that expelled or blacklisted players of the League, other than Craver, Devlin, Hall and Nichols, would be eligible to play with Association clubs.71

The National League met at Providence, Rhode Island, in early December, with delegates of the League Alliance clubs of Philadelphia and New York present. Troy and Worcester resigned and were made honorary members. The League Alliance was abolished.72 The Philadelphia and New York clubs were admitted into the League. A committee comprised of League President A. G. Mills, John B. Day and Arthur Soden of Boston was appointed to confer with representatives of the recently-formed Northwestern League “or any other League of ball clubs” regarding contracts and suspended players.73

Thus was set in motion a series of conferences with representatives of the National League, American Association and Northwestern League that led to the establishment of the Tripartite Agreement, later called the National Agreement, that has governed “Organized Baseball” ever since. The three leagues first met in New York on February 17, 1883. The representatives were Mills, Day and Soden of the National League; Billy Barnie, Lew Simmons of the Philadelphia Athletics, and O. P. Caylor of Cincinnati for the American Association; and Elias Matter of the Northwestern League. Players who had signed more than one contract were assigned to specific clubs and the reserve was extended to eleven players, virtually an entire roster.74

According to the New York Clipper, the National Agreement of Professional Base Ball Clubs, Leagues and Associations was ratified by the signatures of the respective presidents as follows: The National League on November 22, 1883; the American Association on December 13, 1883; the Northwestern League on January 10, 1884; and the new Eastern League on February 19, 1884.75

The League Alliance had served its purpose. In 1877 it provide a structure for independent clubs that afforded protection of their contracts, exposed baseball to a wider national audience, and enabled National League clubs to play potentially profitable games on off-days while assessing outside clubs and their players for possible recruitment into the League. In 1882 it provided a championship format for independent teams from the nation’s two most populous cities that led to their induction into the National League.

 

Notes