The National League grew out of the first professional league, the National Association. Depending on which source (or which motive) one chooses to believe, William Hulbert, the owner of the Chicago franchise in the Association, founded the new league because the disorganized, undisciplined NA was a hotbed of rowdyism, drunkenness, and gambling, or because he had just stolen the four best players of the championship Boston club for his own use the following season and wanted to preempt any move to expel him from the NA. What matters is that the league Hulbert founded, whether from high-mindedness or necessity, has lasted to the present day and is largely responsible for baseball's having retained its integrity and popularity through its early troubled history.

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Hulbert did have the diplomacy to make Morgan Bulkeley, the owner of the Hartford team in the Association, the president. The new league consisted of four western teams (Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Louisville) and four eastern teams (Hartford, New York, Boston, and Philadelphia). The inaugural year featured such innovations as a set number of franchises limited to cities big enough to fiscally support a team (populations not less than 75,000), regular schedules arranged in advance (70 games, 10 against each team), teams that actually played all the games on those schedules, and enforceable contracts; the first pennant was won by Hulbert's Chicago White Stockings (now known as the Cubs), who were led by Hulbert's confidant and co-conspirator Al Spalding, one of the league's best pitchers (and one of players taken from Boston). The league met over the winter and elected Hulbert president (Bulkeley didn't come to the meeting). He proceeded to expel the New York Mutuals and the Philadelphia Athletics for not having honored their entire schedules when doing so would have been financially difficult; the NL played with six teams in 1877 (and a 60-game schedule). A gambling scandal involving second-place Louisville, which had looked like a pennant-bound team until it began losing in unlikely ways in the second half of the season, led to the banning for life of four players, showing the new league was serious about its integrity. The most powerful teams were Boston, Providence (which joined in 1877), and Chicago (soon managed by Cap Anson, as Spalding went into the business end of the game and started his famous sporting goods company).

Hulbert continued as a strong president until his death in 1882. The league had remained unprofitable for most of that time, and various austerity measures were adopted by the teams, most notably lower salaries and greater use of the reserve clause (first thought of by Boston owner Arthur Soden in 1879). But the nation experienced an economic boom centered in urban areas, and the effects boosted pro ball's popularity and profitability, allowing the annual schedule to be lengthened over the course of the century. The advent of a second major league in 1883, the American Association, provided a popular two-league format. Beginning in 1884, that format included loosely-organized postseason series between the two league winners, the precursor of the World Series. The NL and the AA between them crushed the fledgling Union Association, which lasted for just one year, 1884. Following that season, the short reign of A.G. Mills as NL president ended and the strong-willed Nick Young took over through 1902. As business picked up, Chicago remained a league power under Anson, and the New York Giants joined them at the top of the standings.

The NL and the AA continued to work together until the fateful 1890 season, when the Players' League revolt turned the baseball world upside down. In the 1884 "war" with the UA, relations between the NL and the AA had been strained by such NL actions as persuading the AA to expand to counter the new league (a move which was a financial disaster for the AA) and the purchase of the champion New York Mets of the AA by the NL New York Giants, who annexed much of the Mets' roster in the following year. But the NL reached new heights of ruthlessness in the Players' Revolt by persuading the AA's two best franchises, Brooklyn and Cincinnati, to move to the NL. Of the three leagues operating in 1890, the AA suffered the most, and collapsed after the 1891 season. The NL took in four AA franchises and spent the rest of the century with an unwieldy 12-team format in which most teams spent the majority of the season out of contention and post-season play was meaningless (and unprofitable).

The 1890s were dominated by Boston, led by Frank Selee and starring Hugh Duffy, Billy Hamilton, Jimmy Collins, and Kid Nichols, and the famous Baltimore Orioles, managed by Ned Hanlon and featuring John McGraw, Hughie Jennings, Willie Keeler, and Wilbert Robinson. Cleveland often finished a strong second under player-manager Patsy Tebeau, thanks to the strong arm of Cy Young. But the controversial result of the 12-team structure was the concept of syndicatism, used in 1899, wherein two teams could be owned by the same people. In a farcical pennant race, Brooklyn freely plundered sister team Baltimore's roster and won. A similar move by the St. Louis club, which picked the best players off the Cleveland roster, resulted in only a fifth-place finish, and a disastrous 20-134 last place finish for the hapless Spiders. The NL returned to the eight-team format for the 1900 season, paring down both for maximum profitability and in preparation for another baseball war.

The American League, which was the old Western League with a name change, spent the 1900 season gearing up for battle and declared war in 1901, raiding NL rosters for stars. The AL proved to be a better-organized, better-financed, and more determined foe than previous rivals, and the NL gave up the fight after two seasons. The two leagues began cooperating in 1903 as the NL acquired a new president, Harry Pulliam. The return to a two-league format allowed the resumption of postseason play with the World Series of 1903, and after a one-year hiatus due to McGraw's continuing feud with AL president Ban Johnson, the Series resumed in 1905 and has continued to the present day.

By this point baseball had come to closely resemble the current-day game. Foul balls were strikes, the pitcher threw overhand from a mound 60' 6" away from home plate, gloves were in universal use, and the franchises were all in familiar cities. The situation at the top of the league was also stable, with the Pirates, Giants, and Cubs dominating. Fred Clarke and Honus Wagner led Pittsburgh to consecutive pennants in 1901-03, and slipped in another title in 1909. John McGraw's Giants then won in 1904-05 on the strong arm of Christy Mathewson. Frank Chance's Cubs, celebrated in "Tinker to Evers to Chance," then set the major league victory record in 1906, winning 116 games in the first of three straight pennants. They won again in 1910, and then the Giants took over again for three years. The "Miracle Braves" surprised in 1914, the year the Federal League presented a new challenge. The American and National leagues outwaited the upstart, with the help of Judge Landis in the courts. But the subsequent realignment of rosters and salaries evened competition, and from 1914 through 1920 no team repeated. John McGraw had rebuilt the Giants by the beginning of the 1920s (also winning in 1917) and won four straight pennants, 1921-24. The Pirates won in 1925 and 1927, but a new era in team development was previewed by the Cardinals, who won their first pennant in 1926 and upset the Yankees in the World Series. Rather than relying exclusively on trades and purchases to build his team, GM Branch Rickey began putting together the "farm system" as we have come to know it, featuring exclusive working agreements with minor league teams. The concept was resisted at first by some minor league owners and by organized baseball; Commissioner Landis several times released minor league players from their contracts and criticized the new structure as being anti-competitive. But it worked, as the Cardinals became the next NL dynasty, and success as usual brought imitation. But the Cardinals had not only gotten there first, they also carried the concept to its broadest use, with the most far-flung organizational structure in the history of baseball. The Cardinals won additional pennants in 1928, 1930-31, and '34 and later became known as the "Gas House Gang" for the players' brash, all-out style of play. Although the stars included such untutored personalities as Dizzy Dean and Pepper Martin, they were led by the educated Frankie Frisch, the "Fordham Flash."

The Cubs, with Gabby Hartnett behind the plate, won in 1929, 1932, 1935, and 1938, while the Giants, now led by Bill Terry and featuring the slugging of Mel Ott and the screwball of Carl Hubbell, won in 1933 and 1936-37. The Reds closed out what many consider the Golden Era of baseball with consecutive flags in 1939-40. However, the AL had dominated the past two decades in the World Series and philosophically by developing the home-run-dominated game that the fans liked best. The NL tried to join in by juicing up the ball to unprecedented levels in 1930, producing a season in which the league average was .303 and Terry led with a .401 average, the last National Leaguer to hit .400. But despite such stars as Rogers Hornsby, Chuck Klein, Mel Ott, and Ernie Lombardi, it was the AL that featured the big boppers who stood out above their peers. But the balance of power would shortly begin a slow but steady shift.

First came World War Two. World War One had led to a shortened season in 1918, but President Roosevelt felt that baseball was good for the nation and the restrictions this time were largely travel-related. However, the rosters were weakened to a much greater extent by the length of United States involvement as players were drafted or volunteered. The years 1941-45 featured increasingly weaker teams, although certainly not at first as Branch Rickey and Larry McPhail worked their respective magic on the laughingstock Dodgers to bring the "Bums" their first pennant since 1920. The 1941 Dodgers were largely McPhail's creation, but Rickey was responsible for the future success of the franchise. Unlike many owners, he signed players regardless of their draft status (Pee Wee Reese being the best example) and once again built a formidable farm system. By the end of the war the Dodgers were poised on domination. Meanwhile, the Cardinals' system at first ensured them a steadier supply of replacements for lost regulars, as St. Louis won three straight pennants, 1942-44. The Cubs had their last gasp in 1945. The team with the longest record of success in the league would thereafter win nothing but a pair of divisional titles 40 years later.

St. Louis won again in 1946, beating the Dodgers in a three-game playoff, but that year Branch Rickey had taken the most significant step of the century when he signed Negro Leaguer Jackie Robinson to the Dodgers' minor league Montreal club, opening up a vast new source of talent. NL president Ford Frick, who reigned from 1934 to 1951, was instrumental in quashing player protests against Robinson's move to the majors in 1947. Robinson immediately led Brooklyn to a pennant. He was soon followed to Ebbets Field by Roy Campanella, Don Newcombe, and others, and the Dodgers won in 1949, 1952-53, and 1955-56, never finishing lower than third place in the other seasons. Not only the Dodgers, but the NL in general signed black ballplayers more willingly than AL clubs, and although the Yankees continued AL superiority in the World Series, the NL caught up in the All-Star game. The Giants signed Willie Mays and Monte Irvin and became instant winners, beating the Dodgers in the spectacular 1951 playoff. New York won again in 1954 in Mays's first full season after losing much of 1952-53 in the military.

Former Reds GM Warren Giles became NL president in 1951 and reigned until 1969, overseeing major changes in the league. The Boston Braves became the Milwaukee Braves in 1953, the league's first franchise shift of the 20th century but hardly the last. New York's two NL clubs moved to the West Coast after the 1957 season, when Milwaukee won the first of two straight pennants on the strength of Hank Aaron's youthful talents. And the Yankees finally lost some World Series, to Brooklyn in 1955 and to Milwaukee in 1957. The Dodgers won in 1959, finally taking a playoff series (from Milwaukee). They signaled another shift, to a more varied offense that relied less on home runs. This change was aided by a move away from the old bandbox ballparks into newer and larger stadiums. Sluggers such as the Dodgers' Gil Hodges and Duke Snider found that this hastened the ends of their careers, and soon the Dodgers' stars were pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale and speedsters Maury Wills and Willie Davis.

The two leagues expanded to undercut a proposed third circuit, Branch Rickey's Continental League. The NL added the New York Mets and the Houston Astros in 1962. The Pirates in 1960 and the Reds in 1961 won one-shot pennants, and then it was back to the Dodgers, Giants, and Cardinals. The Giants beat the Dodgers in a playoff yet again in 1962, but Los Angeles won in 1963 and 1965-66. St. Louis, led by Bob Gibson and Lou Brock, won in 1964 and administered the coup de grace to the Yankee dynasty in the World Series. They put together back-to-back titles in 1967-68, and then came something completely different.

The 1969 expansion, in which the NL and AL both became 12-team leagues, resulted in a new structure in which the leagues were divided into divisions. It prevented the problem of earlier 12-team leagues, where too many teams suffered bad attendance after being eliminated from the pennant race early on. The once-lowly Mets beat the Braves in the first League Championship Series, and the new franchises, the Montreal Expos and the San Diego Padres, both finished last in the new format. Expansion mirrored the growing popularity of the game.

The 1970s were largely dominated by the Reds and the Dodgers in the Western Division, and by the Pirates and the Phillies in the Eastern Division. The "Big Red Machine" won six division titles, with Los Angeles taking the rest of the Western crowns; Pittsburgh also won six division titles, with Philadelphia winning three and the Mets sneaking in at .509 in 1973, the lowest winning percentage ever for a division winner. The big winners based their strength on imposing offenses. The Reds featured Johnny Bench, George Foster, Tony Perez, and Pete Rose, while Pittsburgh had Willie Stargell, Dave Parker, Bill Madlock, and, at the beginning of the decade, Roberto Clemente. The Dodgers and Phillies mixed in pitching, with Philadelphia led by Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton while Los Angeles had Don Sutton, Tommy John, and the longest-lasting infield ever: Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, and Ron Cey. The Mets got by on pitching, and were eliminated from contention by the 1977 trade of Tom Seaver to the Reds. Free agency in general had less of an influence in the NL, perhaps because the Reds eschewed it.

The NL by this point had settled in as the more traditional of the two leagues, choosing not to adopt the designated hitter rule and not expanding in 1977. However, Astroturf became much more common in the NL, with seven teams installing fake grass (although San Francisco later returned to the real thing). This and more big parks increased the NL's reputation as the speed league. Manager Whitey Herzog relied on speed to make the Cardinals an oddly-dominant team in 1980s. They won the NL flag in 1982, 1985, and 1987, but finished out of contention (and usually below .500) in all other years except 1981, when they had the best record in the division but did not win either half of the strike-split season. A similar fate befell the Reds that season, their last good effort until four straight second-place finishes, 1985-88, under manager Pete Rose.

No NL team repeated, even as division titlists, in the 1980s. Houston finally won in 1980, beating the Dodgers in a playoff, but lost to the Phillies in the LCS. Philadelphia went on to finally capture its first World Championship that year, and won the pennant in 1983, but have declined ever since. Houston also won a division title in 1986 on the strong right arm of Mike Scott. The Dodgers won division titles in 1981, 1983, 1985, and 1988, winning the pennant and World Championship in 1981 and 1988. They still relied on pitching above all; the new stars were Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser. The hapless Mets were rebuilt completely and established something of a dynasty in the second half of the decade. They were World Champions in 1986, won the East in 1988, and finished second in 1984, 1985, and 1987. But stars such as Darryl Strawberry and Kevin McReynolds, and the team in general, were accused of playing below their potential. Dwight Gooden anchored their pitching staff starting in 1984, when he had one of the greatest rookie pitching seasons ever. The 1969 expansion teams finally won, the Expos in 1981 and the Padres in 1984. San Diego upset the Cubs, who won another surprising division title in 1989. And split-finger fastball guru Roger Craig led the Giants to a division titles in 1987 and 1989 despite a perpetually injured pitching staff.

Bart Giamatti became NL president in 1987 and immediately faced controversies ranging from brawls and knockdown pitches to Pete Rose pushing an umpire to redefinitions of the balk and the strike zone. Perhaps the biggest issue arose early in the season, when Dodger GM Al Campanis gave an interview on nationwide TV in which he impugned the qualifications of blacks to manage or otherwise take part in the business end of baseball. When Giamatti moved up to become Commissioner in 1989, he was replaced by Bill White, the first black to hold that high an office and also the first ex-major leaguer to be NL president. (SH)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » February 5, 1880: Worcester is voted into the National League. » April 14, 1880: The new Cincinnati ballpark on Bank Street is opened with an exhibition game between the Reds and the Washington Nationals. The park seats 3,490 and will serve professional teams in three leagues: National League in 1880, AA in 1882–83, and UA in 1884. » May 1, 1880: Opening Day in the National League. In Cincinnati, the Chicagos spoil the official opening of the new park by beating the Reds 4–3 with two runs in the bottom of the 9th. This is the first pro game ended in "sudden death," as the old rules required that the full inning be played out even if the team batting last was already ahead. » May 7, 1880: George Gore of Chicago goes 6-for-6—all singles—with five runs scored as the White Stockings trounce Cincinnati 20–7. Gore will lead the National League in batting with a .360 average. » May 27, 1880: Fred Goldsmith and Chicago shut out Buffalo on two hits. The 11–0 win extends the Whites' streak to 13 games, a new National League record. » June 17, 1880: John Montgomery Ward pitches a perfect game in Providence against Buffalo, winning 5–0. Losing P Pud Galvin makes the last out. This is the 2nd perfect game in the National League in six days. The 3rd will not be pitched until 1964, when Jim Bunning turns the trick. » June 29, 1880: Cleveland beats Boston 6–5 with Sid Gardner pitching his first league game for the season. Jim McCormick had pitched complete games in all of Cleveland's 31 previous National League games. » December 8, 1880: At the annual National League meeting, the league rejects the Nationals' bid for admission, electing Detroit instead, although there is no established club there. The Michigan city is chosen for geographic reasons, since its 1880 population (116,340) is smaller than both Washington's (147,293) and Cincinnati's (255,139), the city being replaced. » December 9, 1880: The National League reelects William Hulbert as president. » November 3, 1881: The AA elects H.D. McKnight as its president. It votes to honor the National League blacklist in the case of drunkenness but not to abide by the NL reserve clause. The new league will rely on home gate receipts, visiting teams getting just a $65 guarantee on the road, as opposed to the NL's policy of giving 15’ from each admission to the visitors. The AA will allow Sunday games, liquor sales, and 25’ tickets, all prohibited by the NL. » December 7, 1881: At the National League annual meeting the owners reject the applications of Phil Baker and Charley Jones for reinstatement. » December 8, 1881: The National League adopts a few new playing rules: the 3-foot line along 1B is adopted for the first time; runners can no longer be put out returning to their bases after foul ball not caught; the fine for pitchers hitting batters with pitches is repealed; the "block ball" rule allowing runners to take as many bases as possible on balls going into the crowd, the fielding team being able to put them out only after returning the ball to the pitcher in his box. » January 7, 1882: The National League will continue the practice of using different color patterns on uniforms for the different positions. Third basemen will wear gray and white uniforms, as the blue and white uniforms originally sought were "impossible to obtain." » February 4, 1882: National League players are now responsible for carrying their own bats and uniforms on road trips. They are also required to purchase and keep clean two complete uniforms, including the white linen ties to be worn on the field at all times. » November 22, 1882: New York owner John Day proposes a resolution to prohibit a team from signing a player who has broken the reserve clause of his contract. This resolution, eventually adopted by both the AA and National League, effectively changes the reserve clause from a device to protect owners from their own greediness to a weapon to be used against uncooperative players. » December 6, 1882: At the National League meeting, Troy and Worcester are officially replaced by New York and Philadelphia. A.G. Mills is elected president. Starting in 1883, pitchers will be charged with an error after a walk, balk, wild pitch, or HBP. Catchers will be charged with an error after a passed ball. » December 14, 1882: At its first annual convention, the AA establishes the first permanent staff of umpires in ML history. Previously, the National League and AA umpires were local men hired on game day by the home club. » February 17, 1883: At a meeting between the AA and the National League, the Tripartite Agreement (or the National Agreement) is drafted. In it the two leagues, along with the Northwestern League, agree to respect each other's contracts, ending a brief period of player raids. Also, the reserve rule is amended to allow each team to reserve 11 players, an increase of 6. The National Agreement will usher in a period of peaceful coexistence, lasting until the Players' League war of 1890. » November 22, 1883: New York owner John B. Day proposes a resolution to prohibit a team from signing a player who has broken the reserve clause in his contract. This resolution, eventually adopted by both the AA and the National League, effectively changes the reserve rule from a device designed to protect owners from their own greediness to a vindictive weapon to be used against uncooperative players. » January 10, 1884: At the annual meeting of the minor-league Northwest League, 1st-place Toledo is declared the league champion for 1883. But because Toledo has moved from the NWL to the major league AA for 1884, the NWL pennant is awarded to 2nd-place Saginaw, MI. The NWL also rescinds its prohibition of Sunday base ball and the sale of beer at its ball parks, thereby aligning itself with AA policy and against the National League policy. » November 19, 1884: National League president Abraham G. Mills resigns and is replaced by former league secretary Nick Young. » November 20, 1884: The National League agrees to allow overhand pitching, but rules that pitchers must keep both feet on the ground throughout their pitching motion in order to reduce the velocity of their pitches. They still must throw the ball at the height requested by the batter. In addition, teams are now required to supply a separate bench for each club at their park to limit inter-team fraternization. » January 3, 1885: The recently disbanded Cleveland team (National League) release their players. » January 6, 1885: Millionaire Henry V. Lucas purchases the Cleveland club and plans to fill the vacancy in the National League with his own St. Louis Maroons. » January 10, 1885: At an National League meeting, St. Louis is admitted to the League, Cleveland's registration is formally accepted, and Detroit has its request to remain in the NL granted, leaving only one opening for 1885. » November 19, 1885: At an National League meeting, it is decided that Buffalo's "Big Four" (Brouthers, Richardson, Rowe, and White) can play in Detroit next season. » December 18, 1885: The Washington Nationals are admitted to the National League, in place of Providence. The Washington club was displaced in the AA by the court's decision that the Mets' franchise could not be revoked. » January 16, 1886: Washington is admitted to the National League, bringing the membership up to seven teams. » February 9, 1886: Kansas City is admitted to the National League on a one-year trial basis. » November 6, 1886: The Sporting News publishes the official National League averages, which show King Kelly as the batting champ with a .388 average, 17 points ahead of Cap Anson. The paper previously had printed its own stats showing Anson ahead, .374 to .366. » January 18, 1887: A new Kansas City club is founded to play in the Western League. It vows to compete with the local National League team. » February 8, 1887: Mike "King" Kelly meets with Chicago owner Albert Spalding for contract talks. Kelly, who won the National League batting championship for the pennant-winning White Stockings, wants the bonus of $375 that Spalding promised for good behavior last year. Spalding refuses to give him the bonus or to rescind the additional $225 withheld from Kelly's salary as fines for drinking. » February 14, 1887: James B. Billings, one of the Boston (National League) club owners, agrees to pay Kelly a $2,000 salary and a $3,000 signing bonus if Boston can buy his reserve rights from Chicago. » November 17, 1887: The National League meets and officially recognizes the Brotherhood by meeting with a committee of three players, John Ward, Ned Hanlon, and Dan Brouthers. » November 18, 1887: The National League adopts a new contract that spells out reserve provisions for the first time. The NL refuses to accept the players' demand that the salary be written out on all contracts, however. » January 23, 1888: Harry Spence is hired to manage the Indianapolis (National League) team. » November 21, 1888: Cleveland is formally admitted to the National League to replace Detroit, creating a vacancy in the AA. » November 22, 1888: The National League adopts a salary classification plan that puts all players into five categories with a standard salary for each ranging from $1,500 to $2,500. The scheme is vehemently opposed by the players' Brotherhood. » December 6, 1888: The AA votes against adopting the National League's salary classification system, to the surprise of the press and the delight of the Brotherhood. » January 22, 1889: Facing over $30,000 in debts, the Indianapolis team goes bankrupt and surrenders its franchise to the National League. » February 2, 1889: A new Indianapolis group, headed by John T. Brush, is granted an National League franchise. » March 5, 1889: Both the National League and AA hold their spring meetings to adopt their schedules. The NL also hires a 5th umpire at a salary of $200 per month. The AA, to the surprise of many, does not adopt the NL's salary classification system. » September 3, 1889: Indianapolis (National League) gets a last-second reprieve in the 9th inning when the ump calls time just before Con Daily apparently makes the last out of the game. Batting again, Daily singles home two runs to cap a 6-run rally to beat Boston, 8–7. » September 11, 1889: Rain prevents every scheduled game in both ML leagues. For the season the National League will have 62 rainouts and the AA 73. » September 26, 1889: After Buck Ewing hurts his thumb, Giants sub catcher Willard Brown makes a critical throwing error as New York loses to Chicago, 4–3. New York is now tied with Boston for the National League lead. » September 27, 1889: The Philadelphia National League club releases union activists George Wood and Dan Casey. Meanwhile, the Boston club announces the purchase of the entire WA champion Omaha team for 1890. This latter deal would not actually take place. » September 30, 1889: Boston (National League) beats Cleveland 6–3 in seven innings, while New York ties Pittsburgh 3–3 in six innings. This leaves Boston trailing by .002 with a record of 80-43 compared to New York's 79-42. Each club has five games left. » November 4, 1889: After a formal meeting of reps from all National League chapters, the Brotherhood issues a "Manifesto" in which it claims that "players have been bought, sold and exchanged as though they were sheep instead of American citizens." This bold statement constitutes a declaration of war between the Brotherhood and ML officials which will soon explode. » November 11, 1889: The Joint Rules Committee of the National League and AA makes only minor changes in the playing rules, the most important of which is to allow two substitutes per team, up from one in 1889. » November 14, 1889: Disgusted by the conduct of the Association and especially the perceived dominance of St. Louis president Von der Ahe, Brooklyn president Charles Byrne and Cincinnati owner Aaron Stern withdraw from the AA and join the National League. Indianapolis and Washington refuse to resign from the league, and that organization decides to go as a 10-club circuit. » November 21, 1889: The National League issues its reply to the PL manifesto. Claiming that the League saved baseball in 1876 and that under the reserve rules players' salaries had "more than trebled," the NL denounces the Brotherhood movement as "the efforts of certain overpaid players to again control [baseball] for their own aggrandizement. . . to its ultimate dishonor and disintegration." » November 25, 1889: Jack Glasscock, claiming that his pledge to the Brotherhood does not constitute a binding contract, signs with the Indianapolis National League club, thus becoming the first "double jumper." » November 28, 1889: On Thanksgiving Day, Boston (National League) opens a California tour with a 8–3 win over San Francisco before a crowd of 7,000. » December 18, 1889: The Brotherhood meets and expels members who have signed National League contracts, including Jack Glasscock, John Clarkson, Kid Gleason, and George Miller. Among those expelled, Jake Beckley, Joe Mulvey, and Ed Delahanty would eventually jump back to the PL and be reinstated. » December 20, 1889: Papers are served on Charles Buffinton and Billy Hallman for allegedly breaking their contracts with Philadelphia (National League). This will be the first of many battles between the PL and NL. » December 31, 1889: Three players purchased from the disbanded Kansas City AA franchise by the National League are divided by lot among the bidding NL clubs. Billy Hamilton is assigned to Philadelphia, while Boston is lucky enough to get both Herman Long and Dan Stearns in the drawing. » January 28, 1890: In the first of many lawsuits filed against PL players by their former teams, the judge refuses to grant an injunction against John Ward, president of the Brotherhood. His decision, echoed frequently by other judges, states that the "want of fairness and mutuality" in the standard National League contract, specifically the clauses relating to the reserve rule, "[is] apparent." » February 17, 1890: New York National League officials fail in an effort to woo star player and Brotherhood officer Buck Ewing to rejoin the Giants. Although he has rejected an offer reported at $33,000 for three years, Ewing is later accused by some players of spying for the NL. » December 29, 1890: After the New York and Pittsburgh PL clubs combine with their National League rivals, Spalding buys out Chicago's PL backer Addison for $18,000, some of which goes to pay off unpaid salaries and reimburse players half of their investments. Spalding gets the club's grandstand, equipment, and player contracts. » January 14, 1891: The National League votes to allow the AA to place a team in Boston, despite the vehement opposition of the owners of the Boston NL club. » January 16, 1891: The National League, AA, and Western Association sign a new National Agreement calling for the creation of a 3-man Board of Control to settle disputes between clubs and leagues. » February 14, 1891: The National Board of Control "reluctantly" awards three disputed players (Lou Bierbauer, Harry Stovey, and Connie Mack) to the National League clubs that signed them despite the prior claims of the AA. Philadelphia (AA), assumed that with the disbanding of the Players League, Bierbauer would return to play with them. They call the signing of the 2B by Pittsburgh a Piratical" move, and the nickname "Pirates" will stick. » February 17, 1891: The AA meets and indignantly unseats President Thurman, then withdraws from the National Agreement. This means "war," and the AA's first move is to switch its franchise from Chicago to Cincinnati to compete with the National League in the Queen City. » November 11, 1891: The National League meets and dismisses the charges of collusion and game throwing against the eastern clubs brought by Chicago, thereby formally giving Boston the pennant. The league also plans its strategy for conquering the association by consolidating the four strongest AA clubs into a 12-team league for next year. » December 17, 1891: The American Association passes out of existence after ten years as a settlement is finally reached. Four AA clubs (St. Louis, Louisville, Washington, and Baltimore) join with the National League eight in a 12-club league formally styled "The National League and American Association of Professional Base Ball Clubs." The other four AA clubs are bought out for about $130,000. The NL will allow Sunday games for the first time but will retain its 50 cent minimum admission price. » May 21, 1892: George "Hub" Collins, 28-year-old Brooklyn OF and leadoff batter, dies of typhoid fever after a brief illness. He had led the AA in doubles in 1888 and the National League in runs in 1890. » November 17, 1892: National League magnates conclude a 4-day meeting in Chicago where they agree to shorten the 1893 schedule to 132 games and drop the double championship concept. They also pledge to continue to reduce player salaries and other team expenses. » January 12, 1893: National League owners, led by Pittsburgh's A.C. Buckenberger, form the National Cycling Association. They hope to build bicycle tracks in at least eight of the 12 NL parks. » May 7, 1894: Baltimore (National League) routs the Washington Senators 17–0 for Baltimore's only shutout of the season. Tony Mullane is the winner over Al Maul, the 2nd time Al has been on the short end of a lopsided mauling (August 29, 1890). » June 24, 1894: The Chicago Colts score five runs in the top of the 9th to take the lead over Baltimore, but the National League leaders respond with three runs in the bottom of the inning to claim an 11–10 win. » November 16, 1894: Managers Al Buckenberger (Pittsburgh) and William Barnie (Louisville) and Louisville star Fred Pfeffer are expelled from the National League for planning with officials of the proposed American Association (previously called the National Association). The two managers are reinstated before the end of the year, but Pfeffer must wait until the end of February 1895 before he is welcomed back into the fold. » February 27, 1895: Responding to the complaints of senior citizens like Cap Anson, the National League restricts the size of gloves for all fielders, save catchers and 1B, to 10 ounces, with a maximum circumference of 14 inches around the palm -- in other words, less than 4 1/2 inches across. The NL also rescinds the rule forbidding "intentional discoloring" of the ball, thus allowing players to dirty the baseball to their satisfaction. » May 10, 1895: During the course of a 14–4 win over St. Louis, Philadelphia slugger Sam Thompson becomes the 3rd man in National League history to hit 100 home runs in a career. » January 18, 1896: John Ward, who has not played or managed for the last two seasons, objects to being reserved by New York. At the National League meeting in February his appeal is upheld, and Ward is a free agent. » February 1, 1896: National League umpires oppose the proposed rule giving them the authority to eject "obstreperous players." They claim that the imposition of fines is a more effective form of discipline. » February 24, 1896: The National League adopts changes in the National Agreement. The minor leagues are divided into six classifications based on population, and new draft fees are instituted. » May 9, 1896: Washington defeats Pittsburgh 14–9 in a beanball battle. Senators pitcher Win Mercer hits three Pittsburgh batters while Pirate "Pink" Hawley plunks three Washington batters in a disastrous 11-run 7th inning, tying a mark he set on July 4, 1894. Hawley retires in 1900 after only nine seasons with a still-standing National League record of 195 hit batters. All told, eight batters are plunked in the contest, an NL-record five by Hawley. The five Washington batters hit by pitches ties the NL mark and won't be matched till July 2, 1969. » May 27, 1896: Cleveland takes advantage of Jouett Meekin's 13 walks and three wild pitches to beat the New York Giants 11–5. However, the Spiders fall to 2nd in the National League race behind Cincinnati, which whips Washington 10–6. » May 29, 1896: Baltimore leaps past Cincinnati in the National League race with a 4–1 defeat of the Reds. » May 10, 1897: Nap Lajoie slugs two home runs and a double to lead Philadelphia (National League) to a 13–1 rout of St. Louis. Lajoie continues the hit streak he started on May 8th and will not go hitless until May 31st, a string of twenty games. » November 13, 1897: At the National League meetings, President Young announces that the Temple Cup Series has been discontinued, and that there will be two umpires per game next year. » January 8, 1898: National League president Nick Young says he will have the more experienced umpires such as Tom Lynch, Bob Emslie, and Hank O'Day stay behind the plate when he institutes the new 2-umpire system. Previously, the single umpire would move behind the pitcher only with men on base. » January 10, 1899: Tim Hurst, former National League umpire and St. Louis manager, referees the Tom Sharkey knockout of Kid McCoy in 10 rounds at the Lenox Athletic Club in New York. » January 25, 1899: Chicago veteran Bill Dahlen is traded to Baltimore (National League) for Gene DeMontreville. Like many Baltimore players, Dahlen will end up in Brooklyn when the season starts. » November 18, 1899: Ban Johnson, president of the new American League, contemplates exchanging players of equal ability with the National League and EL with a view to giving the public new attractions. » November 25, 1899: Sporting Life reports that President Freedman of the Giants wants to reduce the National League to eight clubs and purify the game by eliminating "certain parties who have been unduly prominent in the sport for cheap notoriety and the money there is in it." » January 12, 1900: John McGraw threatens that if the National League drops Baltimore, which is controlled by the owners of the Brooklyn Superbas, he will form an American League team. Two weeks later the NL Circuit Committee recommends buying out Baltimore, Washington, Cleveland, and Louisville and going to an 8-team league. McGraw then organizes a Baltimore club in the AL. » February 3, 1900: Rival forces fight for control of the Union Park ball grounds in Baltimore. John McGraw's men camp around a fire at 3B. Ned Hanlon, his former manager in Baltimore in the 1890s, now manager of Brooklyn and still president of the Baltimore club in the National League, has forces camped around 1B. » February 15, 1900: Unable to get backers in Philadelphia, John McGraw withdraws Baltimore from American League, ending prospects for the league as a rival to the National League. Two weeks later McGraw will sign to manage Baltimore (NL). » March 8, 1900: At the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York, the National League meets and votes to go with eight teams. They pay the Baltimore owners $30,000 for their franchise, with Charles Ebbets and Ned Hanlon reserving the right to sell the players. Cleveland, Louisville, and Washington receive $10,000 each, and Louisville owner Barney Dreyfuss sends most of his players to his Pittsburgh team. The circuit will remain the same for 53 years, until the Boston Braves move to Milwaukee in 1953. » March 9, 1900: The National League votes the following rule changes: a single umpire will work a game, reverting back after an experiment with 2; a balk rule allows only a base runner to advance, not the batter; a change in the shape of home plate to 5-sided to eliminate the corners of the old one-foot by one-foot plate. There had been arguments with pitchers who wanted strikes called when balls went over the corners. With no corners to kick about, owners figure there will be no further arguments over strike calls. » March 16, 1900: At an American League meeting in Chicago Ban Johnson announces that an AL team will be placed in the Windy City, ensuring the stability of the league. Other franchises are in Kansas City, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo. In an agreement with Chicago National League officials, the AL club will be situated on the south side of the city and will be permitted to use the nickname "White Stockings," formerly used by the NL team. However, the White Stockings will not be able to use the word "Chicago" in their official name. » July 15, 1900: Billie Barnie, veteran manager in the AA and the National League, dies at the age of 47. He last managed Brooklyn, in 1898. » July 29, 1900: With all the National League teams in the East, and no Sunday games allowed, 100 players gather in New York City. Their demands are: release of players who are not going to be used rather than farming them out, and players to share in the purchase price when they are sold. Says veteran Hughie Jennings, "We are not out to fight the owners, but to resolve injustices in the contracts." » August 25, 1900: Criticism of administration in the National League continues. The Sporting News offers the new American League some editorial encouragement: "An organization opposed to the National League will be welcome because it will mean the elevation of the game if it is successful." » November 14, 1900: The National League rejects the American League as an equal, declaring it an outlaw league outside of the National Agreement, thus inaugurating a state of war. This follows the AL's announcement two days ago tht it has made arrangements to go into Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Two weeks later the AA makes it a 3-way battle. » November 19, 1900: At an American League meeting at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Chicago, Ban Johnson says the AL chose not to renew the National Agreement with the National League, but sees no need for friction between the two. » November 21, 1900: Given a 10-year contract to control the Baltimore franchise, John McGraw says he intends to be in baseball a long time, and wants to lease grounds in Baltimore where he can stay. He'll be in baseball 32 more years, but not in Baltimore. Nick Young says the National League wishes success to the American League, but does not consider it a major league. » December 10, 1900: At the National League meetings at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York, rumors fly. Ban Johnson says the American League has signed a lease on a park in Detroit. The Players Protective Association says its members will not sign with the NL. » December 11, 1900: A rumor that the PPA leaders have gone to Philadelphia to meet with Ban Johnson causes National League owners to "have something closely resembling a fit," says the New York Times. Players later admit the meeting took place. » December 12, 1900: The National League considers going back to 12 teams to counter American League moves into some cities. They invite Ban Johnson to come to the NL meeting, but change their mind about compromise and leave the AL head outside the meeting room. The NL awards the AL's Minnesota and Kansas City territories to the new Western League, even before the AL officially abandons them. The NL agrees to hear the players in a public meeting, but rejects all their demands. » December 14, 1900: Suffering from a drop in attendance in 1900, National League owners vote to cut costs with a 16-player limit after May 1. The PPA claims the move is aimed at pressuring players into signing by shrinking the number of jobs. » February 8, 1901: News leaks out that Napoleon Lajoie, the Phillies star 2B and leading National League hitter, has jumped to the new Philadelphia American League club, along with pitchers Chick Fraser and Bill Bernhard. » February 26, 1901: National League officials meet with Charles "Chief" Zimmer, Pittsburgh catcher and the president of the PPA, and agree to contract concessions granted by the American League for NL players who will agree not to sign with AL clubs. Zimmer promises suspensions for PPA jumpers to the AL. » March 2, 1901: Jimmy Collins, Connie Mack's choice for the all-time best third baseman, leaves the Boston National League club to manage the American League's new Boston Somersets. The Beaneaters also lose OF Hugh Duffy, who will manage Milwaukee (AL), and C Billy Sullivan, who signs with the Chicago White Stockings. More than half the AL rosters—a total of 185—will be filled by NL players. » December 14, 1901: Suffering from too much infighting and no leadership, four National League clubs elect A.G. Spalding as president. Two days later, a court voids the election and enjoins him from serving, and he will eventually quit. » January 4, 1902: Bill Dinneen, winner of 36 games for the Beaneaters (National League) in the past two years, signs with the rival Boston Somersets (American League), for whom he will win 20 or more for the next three years. » February 20, 1902: Nick Young remains as National League president when A.G. Spalding bows out of the battle, but the league will have no effective leadership until 1903. » July 8, 1902: John McGraw, accused by Ban Johnson of trying to wreck the Baltimore and Washington clubs, negotiates his release from the Orioles and officially signs to manage the Giants at $11,000 a year, although he'd already secretly signed a contract several days earlier brought to Baltimore by Giants secretary Fred M. Knowles. McGraw says, "I wish to state that I shall not tamper with any of the Baltimore club's players." But conspiring with National League owners Brush and Andrew Freedman, McGraw swings the sale of the Orioles their way, enabling them to release Orioles Dan McGann, Roger Bresnahan, Joe McGinnity, and Jack Cronin for signing by the Giants. Joe Kelley and Cy Seymour go to Brush's Cincinnati Reds. » July 22, 1902: Jack Pfiester beats Doc Scanlan to give Chicago (National League) a 6–3 win over Brooklyn. » December 9, 1902: The American League announces purchase of grounds for a stadium in NY, and the next day the National League declares its readiness to make peace. » December 12, 1902: Harry Pulliam is elected president of the National League. » January 10, 1903: At Cincinnati peace talks, the National League proposes a consolidated 12-team league, which the American League rejects. An agreement is reached to coexist peacefully if the AL promises to stay out of Pittsburgh. In the awarding of disputed contracts, the most hotly contested case is that of Sam Crawford, Reds OF who batted .333 and led the NL with 23 triples in 1902. The future Hall of Famer, signed for 1903 by both Detroit and the Reds, is awarded to the Tigers, having signed with them first. He will lead the AL in triples this year with 25. » April 21, 1903: At Brooklyn's home opener at Washington Park, Mrs. Charles Ebbets throws out the first ball and then Henry Schmidt and the Giants' Christy Mathewson keep the ball low as a National League-record 43 total chances are taken by two clubs. The Superbas have 23 assists, including eight by Schmidt in his ML debut; the Giants have 21. Catcher Jack Warner drives home the winning run for a 2–1 New York victory. The total chance record will be tied by the Giants and Reds May 15, 1909. » April 22, 1903: At Washington, before 11,950, the New York Highlanders play their first game, losing 3–1. Washington elects to bat first, but the New Yorkers score in the bottom of the opening inning to take a 1–0 lead. Each starter gives up six hits with Jack Chesbro, the National League's top winner last year (28-6) taking the loss. Al Orth, in his second season with Washington, is the winner. » December 12, 1903: Continuing efforts to build a winner in New York, John McGraw acquires 34-year-old SS Bill Dahlen from Brooklyn in exchange for pitcher Jack Cronin and iron-fingered SS Charlie Babb. McGraw says this is the trade that makes the Giants into winners. In 1904, Dahlen will top the National League with 80 RBI. When he retires in 1911, he will have fielded more chances than any other SS. » December 18, 1903: At the league meeting, Ban Johnson is reelected American League president and given a raise to $10,000. Also, the AL votes to allow coaches at 3B and 1B at all times: till now, only one coach was permitted except if there were two or more base runners. The AL also institutes the "foul strike" rule, used by the National League since 1901: a foul will be counted as a strike unless there are already two strikes. » July 5, 1904: At Philadelphia's Huntington Park, the Giants 18-game winning streak ends when the Phillies prevail 6–5 in 10 innings. Rookie Bob Hall's bloop single off reliever Dummy Taylor scores Red Dooin. The Giants record is now 53–18, effectively ending the National League race. By September 1, they will lead the Cubs by 15 games. » July 27, 1904: John McGraw and John T. Brush say they have no intention of playing a post-season series with the American League champions. "The Giants will not play a post season series with the American League champions. Ban Johnson has not been on the level with me personally, and the American League management has been crooked more than once." says McGraw. "When we clinch the National League pennant, we'll be champions of the only real major league," Ban Johnson fires back, "No thoughtful patron of baseball can weigh seriously the wild vaporings of this discredited player who was canned from the American League." As the New York Highlanders battle for the AL pennant, local pressure mounts, but Brush, still angry over the inter-league peace treaty, and McGraw, who despises Ban Johnson, are adamant. » August 31, 1904: In a rowdy 3–2, 11-inning Giants win in Cincinnati, ump Charley Zimmer tosses McGann and Dahlen for arguing a safe call for the Reds. The high point comes in the 6th when New York catcher Frank Bowerman slugs a fan, a music teacher named Albert Hartzell, who has been heckling him. Police escort the catcher from the field. Bowerman will be released from custody tomorrow when the fan drops the charges. The Giants win the 2nd game as well, 4–1, in seven innings, with the game shortened to allow the Giants to catch a train for New York. The Giants leave Cincinnati with a 15-game lead over Chicago in the National League. » December 14, 1904: The Phillies send RHP Chick Fraser and 3B Harry Wolverton to Boston (National League) for RHP Togie Pittinger. » August 8, 1905: Pittsburgh C Dave Brain, who hit three triples in a game for St. Louis against Pittsburgh on May 29th, repeats the performance for Pittsburgh against Boston, this time in a 10-inning game. He is the only National League player to perform the feat twice in one season. » December 15, 1905: After losing a record 29 games this year, veteran righthander Vic Willis is traded by 7th-place Boston National League to Pittsburgh for three players: Del Howard, infielder Dave Brain, and Vive Lindaman. Willis will rebound with four straight 20-win seasons. » December 16, 1905: The Cubs trade OF Jack McCarthy and Billy Maloney, 3B Doc Casey, and pitcher Buttons Briggs to Brooklyn for Jimmy Sheckard, who will take over LF for the National League champions of the next three years. » January 25, 1906: The Reds trade SS Al Bridwell to Boston (National League) for OF Jim Delahanty. » December 11, 1906: Harry Pulliam is reelected president of the National League at a salary of $10,000. » December 26, 1906: National League umpire Hank O'Day suggests that the batter's box be outlined with white rubber strips rather than chalk, making it impossible for hitters to obliterate the lines with their spikes. » July 15, 1908: The Pirates tie the Braves in the 9th and win in the 10th, 3–2, when Fred Clarke is hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The Bucs take the National League lead by a half-game. » July 21, 1908: According to a Chicago newspaper contest, the Giants' Mike Donlin, the National League's leading hitter, is baseball's most popular player. Turkey Mike tops Honus Wagner by a wide margin and will be awarded a trophy cup. Donlin was involved in a car accident on the 18th when the car he was riding in on Michigan Avenue, collided with another vehicle driven by Chicago Mayor Busse. » October 1, 1908: Ed Reulbach shuts out the Reds for a 6–0 Cubs win, and Reulbach's 4th straight shutout, tying a mark set by Three Finger Brown earlier in the year. Big Ed will complete 44 consecutive scoreless innings, an National League record until Carl Hubbell's 46 in 1933, and the four straight shutouts will not be tied until another Cub, Bill Lee, does it in 1938. » October 3, 1908: At a hearing on the September 23rd incident, Pulliam does not call Merkle or any other players as witnesses, saying he was at the game and saw the events himself. He affirms his earlier decision. Two days later, National League directors meet in Cincinnati and order the game replayed on October 8th. » October 5, 1908: Boston's King Brady makes his only AL appearance a good one, shutting out the Highlanders. 4–0. King had fashioned 1–1 records for both the Phillies and Pirates in the National League, and will go back to the NL with Boston over the winter. » October 6, 1908: Detroit OF Sam Crawford leads the American League with seven home runs. Having led the National League with 16 in 1901, he becomes the first player to lead both leagues in that department. The Cardinals have scored 372 runs, the lowest season's total ever. » February 17, 1909: The National League deprives umpires of the power to fine players and decrees that relief pitchers must retire at least one batter before being relieved. » February 18, 1909: National League president Harry Pulliam, in ill health, is granted a leave of absence. The league secretary, John Heydler, assumes his duties. The NL abolishes Ladies Days, and sets a 25-player limit from May 15 to August 20. » June 22, 1909: The National League postpones its games for today because of the funeral of George Dovey, co-owner of the Boston Nationals with his brother John. Pittsburgh owner Barney Dreyfuss is one of the honorary pall bearers for the funeral in Philadelphia. » July 5, 1909: The Giants sweep the Phillies, winning 3–0 and 3–2 in 15 innings. The nitecap is the longest game in the National League this year. Bugs Raymond wins the marathon, relieving Christy Mathewson with the score 2–2 in the 9th. » July 7, 1909: In the Giants 3–1 win over the Phils, New York collects six straight walks in 6th. This is a a major-league record since tied in National League, but will be broken in the American League next month. » July 22, 1909: Brooklyn ace Nap Rucker strikes out 16 Cardinals in a 1–0 win. Rucker will fan 201 batters this year, just four behind Orval Overall, the National League leader. » July 29, 1909: National League president Harry Pulliam, despondent over his inability to handle the problems and controversies of the league, dies after shooting himself in his room at the New York Athletic Club yesterday. Pulliam had been suffering from a nervous breakdown. » February 1, 1910: Chicago (National League) acquires OF Ginger Beaumont from the Boston Braves for OF Fred Liese. » February 15, 1910: Both major leagues adopt resolutions banning syndicate baseball, which allowed owners to have financial interests in more than one team. The National League votes for a 154-game schedule to open on April 12th, which the American League has already adopted. Other rules: umpires must announce all team changes to spectators; batting orders must be delivered to the umpire at home plate before the game; a batter is out if he crosses the plate from one batter's box to the other while the pitcher is in position to pitch; a base runner is out if he passes another runner before the latter has been put out. » October 12, 1910: With the AL season ending a week earlier than the NL, the champion A's tune up with a 5-game series against an AL all-star team, which includes Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Doc White, Ed Walsh, and Walter Johnson. The A's drop four out of five to the all-stars, but Connie Mack will later state, "Those games, more than anything else, put the Athletics in a condition to outclass the National League champions." » December 17, 1910: John Harris sells the Boston National League team to a syndicate headed by William Hepburn Russell, a New York lawyer and city official, for $100,000. The team will be nicknamed the Rustlers after their new owner. » February 14, 1911: At the National League's annual meeting, the Giants and Phils get an okay for new home uniforms: white flannel with a fine stripe, an innovation that predates the famed Yankee pinstripes by four years. Reach introduces a cork centered ball and the number of .300 hitters will jump from eight in 1910 to 27 in 1911 in the American League. The ERA will go from from 2.53 to 3.34. » May 13, 1911: At Hilltop Park, Fred Merkle has six RBIs in one inning—on a double and a Fred Merkle inside-the-park home run—as the Giants tee off on three St. Louis pitchers for 13 runs in the first inning, including seven before an out is recorded. Merkle adds a 3-run double in the inning and then scores the last run on the front end of a successful double steal. The spree ties a first inning major-league record enjoyed by the Boston Beaneaters against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1900, and it remains a Giants club record through the 20th century. John McGraw decides to save starter Christy Mathewson for another day and lifts him after one inning, but the official scorer credits Matty with the win. McGraw wants to give Marquard some experience in pitching without pressure and brings in Rube to finish. He works the last eight innings and strikes out 14, setting a 20th century National League record, and a since broken ML record, for strikeouts by a reliever: Walter Johnson will K 15 batters in 1913 and Randy Johnson will match it in 2001, while Denny McLain will rack up 14 in 1965. The Giants roll, 19–5, pinning the loss on Harry Sallee. » May 22, 1911: Boston (National League) hurler Cliff Curtis sets a ML mark by losing his 23rd consecutive game. The streak began on June 13, 1910. » May 30, 1911: New York takes the National League lead, winning two from Brooklyn. Giants C Art Wilson makes the first nine putouts in the morning game as four Superbas fan, three foul out, and two are thrown out at home trying to score on base hits. The Giants win, 4–1, before 8,000. Before a turnaway crowd of 25,000 in the nitecap, Bugs Raymond gives up just a single in five innings before leaving with acute stomach pain "just southwest of the fourth rib" (NY Times) caused by eating a strawberry sundae between games. Red Ames allows two hits the rest of the way as the Giants whip the Dodgers Nap Rucker, 3–0. » September 7, 1911: The Cubs' Frank Schulte hits his 21st home run and brings in RBI No. 121 as the Cubs sweep the Reds, 3–0 and 4–2; he will lead the National League in both home runs and ribbies. He is the first player to have more than 20 doubles, triples, and home runs in one season. In the American League, Frank Baker's nine home runs will be tops. Ty Cobb hits eight home runs but leads in BA, RBI, hits, doubles, triples, total bases, and stolen bases. » December 13, 1911: At the National League meetings at the Waldorf-Astoria, The Sporting Life reports that "For the first time in history a woman sat in at a major league meeting. Mrs. H.H. Britton, owner of the St. Louis Cardinals, remained throughout the entire session of the National League on the second day. Mrs. Britton took no voice in the meeting. She allowed President Steininger to do all the voting." » December 14, 1911: Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss proposes that each team in the World Series be required to turn over one-fourth of its share of the gate to the league, to be divided among the other teams. Until now, 10 percent of the gross has gone to the National Commission, 60 percent to the players, and the rest to the two pennant-winning clubs. The National League will pass the resolution and send it to the American League. It marks the beginning of changes that ultimately give players of the first four clubs a percentage of the World Series money. » September 26, 1912: The Giants clinch the National League flag with a sweep of the Braves, winning 8–3 and 4–0. Christy Mathewson coasts to his 23rd win in the opener and Al Demaree, recently called up from Mobile where he was 25–10, shuts out the Braves on seven hits in the nitecap. Demaree strikes out nine in his first major-league start. » November 9, 1912: Frank Chance is sold to the Cincinnati Reds by the Cubs; when all National League clubs waive claims to him in December, the Reds free him to manage the Yankees. » December 9, 1913: John K. Tener, one-time pitcher and congressman, now governor of Pennsylvania, is elected National League president for four years. John Heydler is elected secretary. » July 14, 1914: The Cubs pound Giants reliever Christy Mathewson for six runs in six innings, but New York does worse damage to Larry Cheney and Jimmy Lavender, and wins 12–8. Bob Bescher has a home run, the 1,000th Giant home run. New York leads the National League by four 1/2 games. » September 2, 1914: The National League lead seesaws. Beaten by Brooklyn 6–2 while the Braves win twice, the Giants drop out of first place for the first time since May 30. Tomorrow they sweep two from Brooklyn and retake the top spot. » September 23, 1914: After losing Game One to Boston, 3–2, the last-place Reds come back in game two to break the longest losing streak in the club's history (and 3rd longest in the National League and tying the 20th C. mark of the 1906 Bston Nationals) at 19 straight. Charles "King" Lear wins his only game of the year and pitches his only shutout ever, 3–0. The Reds wait till the 9th to score their three runs. » November 1, 1914: Connie Mack begins cleaning house, asks waivers on Jack Coombs, Eddie Plank, and Chief Bender. Colby Jack goes to Brooklyn (National League). Plank and Bender escape Mack's maneuvering by jumping tfo the Federal League. Although all have some life left in their soupbones, they are near their careers' end, and departure is more sentimental than serious. Mack's excuse: retrenchment. Despite the pennant, Philadelphia fans did not support the A's and the club lost $50,000. » December 8, 1914: The National League votes to hold the 1915 player limit to 21 per team. They also create the disabled list (DL) which allows a player to be kept out of play for 10 days and another players substituted for him. » December 26, 1914: The Phillies trade their star and captain Sherry Magee to the Braves for cash and two players to be named later. The two turn out to be Possum Whited and INF Oscar Dugey. Magee led the National League in hits, doubles, RBIs, and slugging percentage, while hitting .314. On the first day of spring training, 1915, in Macon, Georgia, Magee will step in a hole while shagging flies and break his collarbone. He'll hit just .280 with two homers. » January 4, 1915: Hans Lobert, "fastest man" in the National League, is traded by the Phils to the Giants for righthander Al Demaree, infielder Milt Stock, and C Bert Adams. The speedster will injure his knee in a preseason game at West Point. » July 17, 1915: The Cubs end Grover Cleveland Alexander's 9-game win streak 4–0. Chicago and Philadelphia are deadlocked for the National League lead. In the American League, the White Sox spend their last day on top. The Tigers will challenge Boston down the stretch. » July 19, 1915: The Nationals come out running, stealing a major-league record eight bases (tied in the National League in 1919) against the Cleveland Indians in the first inning. Sore-armed catcher Steve O'Neill is the victim of three SBs by Danny Moeller including 2B, 3B and home, two each by Clyde Milan and Ed Ainsmith, and one by George McBride in the 11–4 Washington win. Walter Johnson (15-8) allows just two hits in six innings before taking the afternoon off. Reliever Nick Altrock gives up the Cleveland scores. » August 17, 1915: Lefty Rube Benton pitches a 3–2 win for Pittsburgh over Chicago, but both the Cubs and Giants protest the win, claiming Rube belongs to New York. A week later, National League directors agree with them, upholding his purchase by the Giants from the Reds. » December 22, 1915: Organized baseball and the Federal League sign a peace treaty at Cincinnati, ending their 2-year war. Feds agree to go out of existence, but the ML pay an enormous price: $600,000 for distribution to FL owners; amalgamation of two Fed franchises, one each into National League and American League; recognition of Fed players' eligibility, and agreement to bid for them in a Fed-controlled auction. Baltimore, hoping to get the Cardinals, balks, but conferees, eager for settlement, defer its claims—a decision they will repent at leisure. » January 5, 1916: The National League, happy to be rid of fractious Cubs owner Charles W. Murphy, allows Charles H. Weeghman, owner of a restaurant chain and president of the Federal League Chicago Whales, to buy the Cubs for $500,000. By putting up $50,000, William Wrigley, Jr. becomes a minority stock holder. Whales manager Joe Tinker succeeds Roger Bresnahan, and the Cubs will play in the FL's newly built park on the North Side, soon to become Wrigley Field. » January 8, 1916: The Giants pick up Jesse Barnes, last year's National League leader in losses (21), along with Larry Doyle from the Boston Braves. Boston receives veteran Buck Herzog. Barnes will go 6–1 this year and then win a league high 25 games in 1917. » February 8, 1916: The National League votes down a proposal by Charlie Ebbets of Brooklyn to limit the number of 25-cent seats clubs can sell to 2,000. Boston has 10,000 such seats; St. Louis, 9,000, Philadelphia, 6,500, and Cincinnati, 4,000. » February 9, 1916: The National League votes down a proposal by the Giants, Braves, and Cubs to increase club player limit from 21 to 22. (The Reds want a decrease to 20.) » February 13, 1917: Tim Murnane, 64, 1B on the original Boston National League team of 1876 and later a leading Boston baseball writer, dies in Boston. » January 4, 1918: The Cubs acquire Braves crossfiring ace Lefty Tyler, sending vets Larry Doyle, Art Wilson and $15,000 to Boston (National League). Tyler will win 19 games for the Cubs this year. » December 10, 1918: National League secretary John Heydler is formally elected president of the league. He had been acting president since John Tener stepped down last August. » February 5, 1919: Charges brought in 1918 by Reds owner Garry Herrmann and manager Christy Mathewson against Hal Chase for betting against his team and throwing games in collusion with gamblers are dismissed by National League president John Heydler. Heydler decides Chase's sometimes indifferent play was due to "carelessness." Two weeks later John McGraw trades 1B Walter Holke and C Bill Rariden to the Reds for Chase, but the Giants will also have their problems with him. In September, McGraw will send Chase and Heinie Zimmerman home without explanation; during the investigation of the Black Sox scandal in 1920, McGraw will testify that the dismissal was because both players had thrown games and tried to enlist Fred Toney and Benny Kauff in their scheme. » December 10, 1919: The National League votes to ban the spitball's use by all new pitchers. The ban will be formally worked out by the Rules Committee in February. » February 9, 1920: The Joint Rules Committee bans all foreign substances or other alterations to the ball by pitchers, including saliva, resin, talcum powder, paraffin, and the shine and emery ball. A pitcher caught cheating will be suspended for 10 days. The American League allows each club to name just two pitchers who will be allowed to use the pitch for one more season. The National League allows each club to name all its spitball pitchers. No pitchers other than those designated will be permitted to use it, and none at all after 1920. Other rules changes: the adoption of writer Fred Lieb's proposal that a game-winning home run with men on base be counted as a home run even if its run is not needed to win the game. Also, the intentional walk is banned, and everything that happens in a protested game will go in the records. » February 10, 1920: At a joint meeting in Chicago, all bleacher prices are raised to 50 cents, pavilion to 75 cents, and grandstand to $1.00. Clubs may set aside bleacher space for kids under 14 at 15 and 25 cents if they wish. The May 15th–August 30th player limits are raised from 21 to 25. The American League prohibits player transfers after July 1st; the National League, after August 20th. » February 12, 1920: In a defeat for American League president Johnson,