This is an old revision of this page, as edited by That Guy, From That Show! (talk | contribs) at 05:24, 24 February 2006 (AWB assisted migrate {{book reference}} to {{cite book}}). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 05:24, 24 February 2006 by That Guy, From That Show! (talk | contribs) (AWB assisted migrate {{book reference}} to {{cite book}})(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Federal League was the last major attempt to establish a third major league in baseball in the United States in direct competition with and opposition to the established American and National Leagues in 1914 and 1915. There were a few attempts after this (notably the Mexican League in 1946-1947 and the proposed Continental League, but nothing as direct and serious as the Federal League.
The league started as an independent minor league in 1912 as the Columbia League, but changed its name to the Federal League at the start of the 1913 season, playing as what would now be known as an "independent" minor league, but was at that time thought of as an "outlaw" minor league. John T. Powers was president of the six-team league, but was replaced early in the season by James A. Gilmore, under whose leadership the league made the jump to major leagues. Most sources consider the Federal League to have been of major league quality.
As a major circuit, the FL consisted of 8 teams each season. Most of the teams had "official" nicknames, although the sportswriters were inclined to invent their own nicknames: "ChiFeds", "BrookFeds", etc.
After the 1915 season the owners of the American and National Leagues bought out most of the owners of the Federal League teams.
The short-lived nature of the Fed left few visible remnants. The Baltimore entry sold their facility to the Baltimore Orioles of the International League, who renamed it Oriole Park and played there for nearly 30 years before it was destroyed by fire in 1944. The Newark ballpark was also used for minor league ball for a short time. The other FL ballparks were demolished quickly, with the exception of Chicago's Weeghman Park, which became the home of the Chicago Cubs and was renamed Wrigley Field. Marc Okkonen, in his book on the Federal League, referred to Wrigley as a "silent monument" to the failed FL experiment.
The other "silent monument" to the Federal League is a famous legal decision. In 1922, the Supreme Court ruled in a suit brought by the Baltimore Federal League club, one of the teams which had not been bought out, that Major League Baseball and its constituent leagues were primarily entertainment, not conventional interstate commerce, and thus were exempt from the Sherman Antitrust Act. This exemption remains intact over 80 years later, although it has been eroded somewhat by subsequent court rulings and legislation regarding specific issues.
Federal League Champions
- 1914 Indianapolis Hoosiers (unofficial nickname)
- 1915 Chicago Whales
Federal League Teams
- Baltimore Terrapins (1914-15)
- Brooklyn Tip-Tops (1914-15)
- Buffalo Buffeds (1914) / Buffalo Blues (1915)
- Chicago Chi-Feds (1914) / Chicago Whales (1915)
- Indianapolis Hoosiers (1914) / Newark Peppers (1915)
- Kansas City Packers (1914-15)
- Pittsburgh Rebels (1914-15)
- St. Louis Terriers (1914-15)
References
- Pietrusza, David (1991). The Formation, Sometimes Absorption and Mostly Inevitable Demise of 18 Professional Baseball Organizations, 1871 to Present. Jefferson (NC): McFarland & Company. ISBN 0899505902.