American Association (19th century)
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The American Association was a professional baseball league from 1882 to 1891. Together with the National League, the American Association participated in an early version of the World Series for most of their 10-year coexistence.
The NL won most of those encounters. The only victory for the AA came in 1886 when the Browns defeated the Chicago White Stockings.
Over that decade, 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 also put it in better position to survive adverse conditions. The most significant blow to the AA was dealt by the Players' League, a third major league in 1890, which siphened off talent and gate receipts.
In a unique historical oddity, Brooklyn played in the World Series with the AA in 1889, and with the NL in 1890. That final Series ended in a draw, left unresolved due to growing animosity between the leagues.
The living legacy of the old Association is the teams that came over to the National League to stay, the teams now known as the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals.
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Pennant winners of the AA
- 1882 Cincinnati Red Stockings
- 1883 Philadelphia Athletics
- 1884 New York Metropolitans
- 1885 St. Louis Brown Stockings
- 1886 St. Louis Brown Stockings
- 1887 St. Louis Brown Stockings
- 1888 St. Louis Brown Stockings
- 1889 Brooklyn Bridegrooms
- 1890 Louisville Colonels
- 1891 Boston Reds
American Association franchises
- Baltimore Orioles (1882-1891)
- Cincinnati Red Stockings (1882-1889)
- Eclipse of Louisville (1882-1883)
- Louisville Colonels (1883-1891)
- Philadelphia Athletics (1882-1891)
- Pittsburgh Alleghenys (1882-1887)
- St. Louis Brown Stockings (Browns) (1882-1891)
- Columbus Colts (1883) / Columbus Senators (1884)
- New York Metropolitans (1883-1887)
- Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1884-1889)
- Indianapolis Blues (1884)
- Richmond Virginias (1884)
- Toledo Blue Stockings (1884)
- Washington Statesmen (1884)
- Cleveland Spiders (1887-1888)
- Kansas City Cowboys (1888-1889)
- Columbus Colts/ Columbus Salons (1890-1891)
- Brooklyn Gladiators (1890)
- Rochester Hop Bitters (1890)
- Syracuse Stars (1890)
- Toledo Maumees (1890)
- Boston Reds (1891)
- Cincinnati Porkers (1891)
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Washington Senators (1891)
Timeline
- 1887-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
- Louis Kramer 1891
- Ed Renau 1891
- Zach Phelps 1891