American Association (1882–1891)

This article is about the former baseball league that existed from 1882 to 1891. For other uses, see American Association (disambiguation).

The American Association of Base Ball Clubs (AA) was a professional baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from 1882 to 1891. Together with the National League (NL), founded in 1876, the AA participated in an early version of the World Series^{[lower-alpha 1]} seven times versus the champion of the NL in an interleague championship playoff tournament. At the end of its run, several AA franchises joined the NL. After 1891, the NL existed alone, with each season's champions being awarded the Temple Cup (1894–1897).

American Association (1882–1891)

Sport	Baseball
Founded	1882
Ceased	1891
No. of teams	25 (total) 12 (at peak)
Country	United States
Last champion(s)	Boston Reds (1)
Most titles	St. Louis Browns (4)

During its existence, the AA was often simply referred to as "the Association" in the media, in contrast to the NL, which was sometimes called "the League". It was also sometimes called the "Beer and Whiskey League".

History

The 1885 St. Louis Browns of the American Association

Bid McPhee

The American Association (AA) distinguished itself in several ways from what it considered to be the puritanical National League (NL). The new league established teams in what the NL leaders pejoratively called "river cities", including Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville and St. Louis, with the inherent implication of lower morality or social standards in those cities. In contrast to the NL, the AA offered cheaper ticket prices, Sunday games and alcoholic beverages to its patrons.^[1]: p.55

On November 8, 1881, at the Gibson House in Cincinnati, it was decided that individual teams in the league-to-be would operate their own affairs and set their own admission prices,^[2] under an agreement called the "guarantee system". The NL at that time prohibited the sale of alcohol on its grounds, while the AA had no such restrictions, especially as several of its teams were backed by breweries and distilleries. The AA became known as "The Beer and Whiskey League", another pejorative term applied by NL owners, which did not seem to bother the fans of the Association's clubs.

Beginning in 1884 and continuing through 1890, the champion of the AA met the champion of the NL in an early version of the World Series. These early Series were less organized than the modern version, with as few as three games played and as many as fifteen, and the contests of 1885 and 1890 ending in disputed ties. The NL won four of these Series, while the AA won only one, in 1886 when the St. Louis Browns (now the St. Louis Cardinals) defeated the Chicago White Stockings (now the Chicago Cubs).

Further information: List of pre-World Series baseball champions

Over its lifetime, the AA was weakened by several factors. One was the tendency of some of its teams to jump to the NL. The consistently stronger NL was in better position to survive adverse conditions. Some owners of AA teams also owned a NL team.^[1]: p.58 The most significant blow to the AA was dealt by the Players' League, a third major league formed in 1890, which siphoned off talent and gate receipts. In a rare historical oddity, the Brooklyn Bridegrooms (now the Los Angeles Dodgers) won the league's championship and represented the AA in the 1889 World Series, switched to the NL during the off-season, and then repeated the same feat.

No player who spent the majority of his career in the AA is in the baseball Hall of Fame, although Bid McPhee of the Cincinnati Reds played eight of his eighteen seasons in the AA before the Reds moved to the National League. The living legacy of the old Association is the group of teams that came over to the National League to stay. The Pirates moved to the NL after the 1886 season, the Bridegrooms/Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds after the 1889 season, and the Browns/Cardinals after the American Association folded following the 1891 season. Following the reorganization and contraction of the NL from 12 teams down to 8 in 1900, half of the eight surviving teams were former members of the AA. Several of the AA's home-field venues survived into the 1960s: The ballpark used by the 1891 Washington club evolved into Griffith Stadium; the home of the St. Louis Browns, Sportsman's Park; and the city block occupied by the Reds, which evolved into Crosley Field. Other than the clubs themselves, Crosley Field was the last physical remnant of the AA—it was the home field of the Cincinnati Reds until mid-season 1970 and was razed in April 1972.

During the AA's existence, several teams defected over to the NL, and at the AA's demise in 1891 four additional clubs joined the NL. Four former AA clubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates (defected to the NL in 1887), the Cincinnati Reds (defected to the NL in 1889), the Los Angeles Dodgers (defected in 1890) and the St. Louis Cardinals (joined the NL after the AA demise in 1891), have posted more than 10,000 all-time major-league victories.^[3]

AA statistics are recognized by Major League Baseball (MLB), the AA being one of six leagues deemed "major" by the Special Baseball Records Committee of Major League Baseball in 1969.^{[4][lower-alpha 2]}

Pennant winners of the AA

• 1882 Cincinnati Red Stockings
• 1883 Philadelphia Athletics
• 1884 New York Metropolitans (lost World Series, 3–0, to Providence NL)
• 1885 St. Louis Browns (tied World Series, 3–3–1, with Chicago NL)
• 1886 St. Louis Browns (won World Series, 4–2, over Chicago NL)
• 1887 St. Louis Browns (lost World Series, 10–5, to Detroit NL)
• 1888 St. Louis Browns (lost World Series, 6–2, to New York NL)
• 1889 Brooklyn Bridegrooms (lost World Series, 6–3, to New York NL)
• 1890 Louisville Colonels (tied World Series, 3–3–1, with Brooklyn NL)
• 1891 Boston Reds

American Association franchises

Franchise	Franchise name with all recorded nicknames
Years	Years that the franchise were active in the AA
Home-field	The home-field ballpark(s) in which the franchise played
Titles	How many league titles the franchise won in the AA
†	Franchise later joined the National League
§	Franchise transferred in from the Players' League

Franchise	Years	Home-field	Titles	Notes	Ref
Baltimore Orioles†	1882–1891	Newington Park/Oriole Park I, II, III	0		[6][7][8][9]
Cincinnati Red Stockings†	1882–1889	Bank Street Grounds/League Park I	1	This franchise currently exists as the Cincinnati Reds	[10][11][12]
Louisville Colonels†	1882–1891	Eclipse Park I	1		[13][14]
Philadelphia Athletics	1882–1890	Oakdale Park/Jefferson Street Grounds	1		[15][16][17]
Pittsburgh Alleghenys†	1882–1886	Exposition Park I, II/Recreation Park	0	This franchise currently exists as the Pittsburgh Pirates	[18][19][20]
St. Louis Brown Stockings/Browns†	1882–1891	Sportsman's Park I	4	This franchise currently exists as the St. Louis Cardinals	[21][22]
Columbus Buckeyes	1883–1884	Recreation Park I	0		[23][24]
New York Metropolitans	1883–1887	Polo Grounds I/Metropolitan Park/St. George Cricket Grounds	1		[25][26][27][28]
Brooklyn Atlantics/Grays/Bridegrooms†	1884–1889	Washington Park/Ridgewood Park II	1	This franchise currently exists as the Los Angeles Dodgers	[29][30][31]
Indianapolis Hoosiers	1884	Seventh Street Park I/Bruce Grounds	0		[32][33][34]
Richmond Virginia(n)s	1884	Allen Pasture	0		[35][36]
Toledo Blue Stockings	1884	League Park	0		[37][38]
Washington Nationals	1884	Athletic Park	0		[39][40]
Cleveland Spiders†	1887–1888	Kennard Street Park	0		[41][42]
Kansas City Cowboys	1888–1889	Association Park/Exposition Park	0		[43][44][45]
Columbus Solons	1889–1891	Recreation Park II	0		[46][47]
Brooklyn Gladiators	1890	Ridgewood Park II/Polo Grounds III	0		[31][48][49]
Rochester Broncos/Hop Bitters	1890	Culver Field I/Polo Grounds III	0		[50][51]
Syracuse Stars	1890	Star Park II	0		[52][53]
Toledo Maumees	1890	Speranza Park	0		[54][55]
Boston Reds§	1891	Congress Street Grounds	1	Transferred from the Players' League after 1890 season	[56][57]
Cincinnati Kelly's Killers	1891	East End Park	0	Also referred to as the Reds and the Porkers	[58][59]
Milwaukee Brewers	1891	Athletic Park	0	Transferred to the Western League in 1892.	[60][61]
Philadelphia Athletics§	1891	Forepaugh Park	0	Transferred from the Players' League after 1890 season	[62][63]
Washington Statesmen†	1891	Boundary Field	0		[64][65]

Timeline

1. The 1884 Washington Statesmen were replaced during the season by the Richmond Virginians.
2. For the 1891 season, the Philadelphia Athletics were replaced by the Philadelphia Quakers of the Player's League.
3. The 1891 Cincinnati Kelly's Killers folded during the season and were replaced by the Milwaukee Brewers.

• 1882 – AA forms with six teams
• 1883 – AA expands to eight teams
• 1884 – AA expands to twelve teams in response to Union Association threat
• 1885 – AA returns to eight teams
• 1887 – Allegheny ("Pittsburgh Alleghenys") leave AA to join NL
• 1889 – Cleveland Spiders leave AA to join NL
• 1890 – Cincinnati Red Stockings and Brooklyn Bridegrooms leave AA to join NL
• 1892 – Baltimore Orioles, Louisville Colonels, St. Louis Browns, and Washington Senators join National League after the folding of the AA

AA presidents

• H. D. McKnight (1882–1885)
• Wheeler C. Wyckoff (1886–1889)
• Zach Phelps (1890)
• Allen W. Thurman (1890–1891)
• Louis Kramer (1891)
• Ed Renau (1891)
• Zach Phelps (1891)

Notes

1. The modern version of the World Series began in 1903.
2. The other five leagues recognized as major in 1969 were the National League, American League, Union Association (1884), Players' League (1890), and Federal League (1914–1915). In late 2020, several leagues within Negro league baseball were also recognized.^[5]

References

General

• Nemec, David (2004). The Beer and Whisky League : The Illustrated History of the American Association—Baseball's Renegade Major League. Guilford: The Lyons Press. ISBN 1-59228-188-5.
• Pietrusza, David (1991). The Formation, Sometimes Absorption and Mostly Inevitable Demise of 18 Professional Baseball Organizations, 1871 to Present. Jefferson (NC): McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-89950-590-2.

Specific

1. Shipley, Robert E. (Summer 1995). "Not Bad for A Beer League" (PDF). The National Pastime. 15. Cleveland, Ohio: Society for American Baseball Research. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2012.
2. The Encyclopedia of Louisville, John E. Kleber
3. "MLB Teams and Baseball Encyclopedia - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
4. "Major League Baseball finally elevates the Negro Leagues to "Major League" officially recognizing their statistical records". artvoice.com. December 16, 2020. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
5. "MLB officially designates the Negro Leagues as 'Major League'". MLB.com (Press release). Major League Baseball. December 16, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
6. "Baltimore Orioles (1882-1899) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
7. "Newington Park in Baltimore, MD". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
8. "Oriole Park I in Baltimore, MD". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
9. "Oriole Park II in Baltimore, MD". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
10. "Cincinnati Reds (1882-2008) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
11. "Bank Street Grounds in Cincinnati, OH". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
12. "League Park I in Cincinnati, OH". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
13. "Louisville Colonels (1882-1899) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
14. "Eclipse Park I in Louisville, KY". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
15. "Philadelphia Athletics (1882-1890) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
16. "Oakdale Park in Philadelphia, PA". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
17. "Jefferson Street Grounds in Philadelphia, PA". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
18. "Pittsburgh Pirates (1882-2008) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
19. "Exposition Park I in Pittsburgh, PA". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
20. "Recreation Park in Pittsburgh, PA". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
21. "St. Louis Cardinals (1882-1890) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
22. "Sportsman's Park I in St. Louis, MO". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
23. "Columbus Buckeyes (1883-1884) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
24. "Recreation Park I in Columbus, OH". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
25. "New York Metropolitans (1883-1887) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
26. "Polo Grounds I (Southeast Diamond) in New York, NY". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
27. "Metropolitan Park in New York". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
28. "St. George Cricket Grounds in St. George, NY". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
29. "Los Angeles Dodgers (1882-2008) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
30. "Washington Park I in Brooklyn, NY". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
31. "Ridgewood Park II in New York, NY". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
32. "Indianapolis Blues (1884) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
33. "Seventh Street Park I in Indianapolis, IN". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
34. "Bruce Grounds in Indianapolis, IN". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
35. "Richmond Virginias (1884) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
36. "Allens Pasture in Richmond, VA". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
37. "Toledo Blue Stockings (1884) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
38. "League Park in Toledo, OH". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
39. "Washington Nationals (1884) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
40. "Athletic Park in Washington, DC". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
41. "Cleveland Spiders (1887-1899) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
42. "League Park II in Cleveland, OH". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
43. "Kansas City Cowboys (1888-1899) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
44. "Association Park in Kansas City, MO". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
45. "Exposition Park in Kansas City, MO". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
46. "Columbus Solons (1889-1891) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
47. "Recreation Park II in Columbus, OH". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
48. "Brooklyn Gladiators (1890) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
49. "Polo Grounds III in New York". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
50. "Rochester Hop Bitters (1890) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
51. "Culver Field I in Rochester, NY". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
52. "Syracuse Stars (1890) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
53. "Star Park II in Syracuse, NY". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
54. "Toledo Maumees (1890) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
55. "Speranza Park in Toledo, OH". Retrosheet, Inc.
56. "Boston Reds (1890-1891) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
57. "Congress Street Grounds in Boston, MA". Retrosheet, Inc.
58. "Cincinnati Kelly's Killers (1891) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
59. "East End Park in Cincinnati, OH". Retrosheet, Inc.
60. "Milwaukee Brewers (1891) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
61. "Athletic Park in Milwaukee, WI". Retrosheet, Inc.
62. "Philadelphia Athletics (1890-1891) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
63. "Forepaugh Park in Philadelphia, PA". Retrosheet, Inc.
64. "Milwaukee Brewers (1891) franchise index". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
65. "Boundary Field in Washington, DC". Retrosheet, Inc.

External links

• "American Association Remembered", MLB.com