The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP) of 1871–1875, the NL is sometimes called the Senior Circuit, in contrast to MLB's other league, the American League, which was founded 25 years later and is called the "Junior Circuit". Both leagues currently have 15 teams.
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 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).
Exposition Park was the name given to three historic stadiums, located in what is today Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The fields were used mainly for professional baseball and American football from c. 1879 to c. 1915. The ballparks were initially located on the north side of the Allegheny River in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. The city was annexed into Pittsburgh in 1907, which became the city's North Side, located across from Pittsburgh's downtown area. Due to flooding from the nearby river, the three stadiums' exact locations varied somewhat. The final version of the ballpark was between the eventual sites of Three Rivers Stadium and PNC Park.
Robison Field is the best-known of several names given to a former Major League Baseball park in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the home of the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League from April 27, 1893 until June 6, 1920.
South End Grounds refers to any one of three baseball parks on one site in Boston, Massachusetts. They were home to the franchise that eventually became known as the Boston Braves, first in the National Association and later in the National League, from 1871 to 1914.
The Philadelphia Athletics were a professional baseball team, one of six charter members of the American Association, a 19th-century major league, which began play in 1882 as a rival to the National League. The other teams were the Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Red Stockings, Eclipse of Louisville, Pittsburgh Alleghenys, and St. Louis Brown Stockings. The team took its name from a previous team, which played in the National Association from 1871 through 1875 and in the National League in 1876.
Congress Street Grounds is a former baseball ground located in Boston, Massachusetts. The ballpark, as the name implies, was along Congress Street, near the intersection of Thompson Place, and not far from the Fort Point Channel on South Boston Flats, a newly filled in piece of land on Boston Harbor. The ground was home to the Boston Reds, that played in the Players' League in 1890 and the American Association in 1891.
The Bank Street Grounds is a former baseball park located in Cincinnati. The park was home to three major league baseball teams. The National League Cincinnati Stars club in 1880, the current Cincinnati Reds franchise from 1882 to 1883 and the Cincinnati Outlaw Reds of the Union Association in 1884. It succeeded the Avenue Grounds as the home site for professional ball in the Queen City.
The Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia was a prominent National Association, and later National League, professional baseball team that played in the second half of the 19th century.
Kelly's Killers were a Major League baseball team that played in Cincinnati, Ohio during the 1891 baseball season. The team played in the American Association, which was a major league from 1882 to 1891.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1889 throughout the world.
The 1892 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The National League expanded to 12 teams in 1892, and it was announced that the season would be split into two halves, with the winners of each half meeting in a "World's Championship Series". The Reds finished with a combined record of 82–68, fifth-best in the National League, finishing in fourth place in the first half and in eighth place in the second half.
The 1891 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. Shortly before the start of the baseball season, owner Al Johnson sold the club to John T. Brush. The team finished in a tie for last place in the National League with the Pittsburgh Pirates with a record of 56–81, 30.5 games behind the Boston Beaneaters.
The Boston Reds were a Major League Baseball franchise that played in the Players' League (PL) in 1890, and one season in the American Association (AA) in 1891. In both seasons, the Reds were their league's champion, making them the second team to win back-to-back championships in two different leagues. The first franchise to accomplish this feat was the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, who won the AA championship in 1889 and the National League (NL) championship in 1890. The Reds played their home games at the Congress Street Grounds.
East End Park was a former major league baseball park located in the East End neighborhood of Cincinnati in the United States. The ballpark, which is also known to baseball historians as Pendleton Park, was home to the Cincinnati Reds of the American Association during the 1891 baseball season. The club was led by the flamboyant star, Mike "King" Kelly.
The New York Giants were a Major League Baseball team in the National League that began play in the 1883 season as the New York Gothams and were renamed in 1885. They continued as the New York Giants until the team moved to San Francisco, California after the 1957 season, where the team continues its history as the San Francisco Giants. The team moved west at the same time as its longtime rival, the Brooklyn Dodgers, also in the National League, moved to Los Angeles in southern California as the Los Angeles Dodgers continuing the National League, same-state rivalry.
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays, next year in 1884 becoming a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, California, where it continues its history as the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team moved west at the same time as its longtime rival, the New York Giants, moved to San Francisco in northern California as the San Francisco Giants.
The 1890 World Series was an end-of-the-year baseball playoff series between the National League champion Brooklyn Bridegrooms and the American Association champion Louisville Colonels.
The St. Louis Cardinals, a professional baseball franchise based in St. Louis, Missouri, compete in the National League (NL) of Major League Baseball (MLB). As the game of baseball garnered interest in the United States in the 19th century, professional baseball in St. Louis became rooted chiefly in one disestablished Major League club – named the Brown Stockings, the same as the Cardinals' earliest name – which is loosely connected, but does not fall within the scope of, today's Cardinals. The Brown Stockings became St. Louis' first fully professional baseball club when they gained accession in the National Association (NA) in 1875. However, the NA folded after that season. That winter, with five other former NA teams, St. Louis established a new, eight-team league called the National League (NL) and began play the next season. Despite early success, Brown Stocking players were found to be connected to game fixing scandals, which forced bankruptcy and the club's expulsion from the NL. This scandal also abrogated their professional status but some members maintained play as a semi-professional team, primarily operated by outfielder Ned Cuthbert, until 1881.
