| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1912 |
| First season | 1912 |
| Ceased | 1912 |
| CEO | William Abbott Witmann |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country | United States |
| Last champion(s) | Pittsburgh Filipinos (1912) but only partial season |
The United States Baseball League was a short-lived prospective third major professional baseball league that was established in New York City in 1912 and lasted only one partial season.
In March 1912, organizers of the proposed league – described by members of the sports establishment as an "outlaw league" – met in New York's Hotel Imperial. [1] The U.S. Baseball League subsequently organized teams in Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, New York, Reading, Pennsylvania; Richmond, Virginia; and Washington, D.C. [2] The league president was William Witmann. [3]
Sports historian Rudolf K. Haerle observed that the U.S. Baseball League "stressed the inherent 'good' of baseball for all individuals and communities, and indicated that it wished to conduct its business in the accepted capitalist style–free competition in the marketplace". [2] Despite these lofty ambitions, the league quickly incurred the scorn and hostility of the baseball establishment. [2] Additionally burdened with weak leadership, limited financing, poor attendance, and a lack of skillful players, the U.S. Baseball League "folded after about one month of action". [2]
Many sports historians view the U.S. Baseball League as "a major precursor to the Federal League of 1914–1915". [2] The Federal League, which was the last independent major league, was financed by magnates including oil "baron" Harry F. Sinclair. [4]
The league's regular season began May 1, 1912 and ended June 5. [2] The Richmond Times Dispatch released the intended 126-game USL schedule, to have run from April 8 through September 22. [5]
| Team | Win | Loss | Pct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Filipinos | 19 | 7 | .731 |
| Richmond Rebels | 15 | 11 | .577 |
| Reading (no name) | 12 | 9 | .571 |
| Cincinnati Cams | 12 | 10 | .545 |
| Washington Senators | 6 | 7 | .462 |
| Chicago Green Sox | 10 | 12 | .455 |
| Cleveland Forest City | 8 | 13 | .381 |
| New York Knickerbockers | 2 | 15 | .118 |
The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the established National and American Leagues, from 1914 to 1915.
The Pittsburgh Rebels were a baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1913 to 1915. The team was a member of the short-lived Federal League. The team was originally called the Pittsburgh Stogies after an earlier Pittsburgh team that played in the Union Association in 1884, but became known as the Rebels by the end of the 1914 season. The team played all of its home games at Exposition Park, located on Pittsburgh's Northside. The Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League left the stadium for Forbes Field in 1909. After the Rebels left Exposition Park in 1915, the field was demolished and its property became part of the adjacent rail yards.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1939 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1959 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1957 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1955 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1954 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1951 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1947 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1950 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1948 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1938 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1912 throughout the world.
The 1943 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 20 to October 11, 1943. The St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees were the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. In a rematch of the prior year's postseason, the Yankees then defeated the Cardinals in the World Series, four games to one.
The following is a timeline of franchise evolution in Major League Baseball. The histories of franchises in the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NA), Union Association (UA), and American Association (AA) before they joined the National League (NL) are also included. In 1900 the minor league Western League renamed itself the American League (AL). All of the 1899 Western League teams were a part of the transformation with the Saint Paul Apostles moving to Chicago and to play as the White Stockings. In 1901 the AL declared itself a Major League. For its inaugural major league season the AL dropped its teams in Indianapolis, Buffalo and Minneapolis and replaced them with franchises in Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore and the Kansas City Blues moved to Washington to play as the Senators.
The Pittsburgh Filipinos were a minor league baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team began play in 1912 in the United States Baseball League. The team played all of its home games at Exposition Park, located on Pittsburgh's Northside. The Filipinos were named in honor of their manager, Deacon Phillippe, a former pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates and a member of their 1901, 1902, 1903 and 1909 National League pennant winning teams as well as their 1909 World Series championship team.
The Richmond Rebels were one of eight teams in the United States Baseball League, and were based in Richmond, Virginia. The league collapsed within two months of its creation from May 1 to June 24, 1912. The Rebels were managed by Alfred Newman and owned by Ernest Landgraf.
The Cincinnati Pippins, also known as the Cincinnati Cams, were a franchise in the United States Baseball League based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was owned by New York attorney John J. Ryan. The team and the league lasted just over a month, from May 1 to June 5, 1912. The highest number of games played by any of the eight-team league was 26. The USBL originally planned to have a 126-game season.
The Cleveland Green Sox were a baseball club based in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1913, the "Green Sox" became charter members of the Federal League. The Cleveland Green Sox were managed by Baseball Hall of Fame member Cy Young and played the 1913 season before the franchise was folded in a territorial battle. Finishing in second place, the 1913 Green Sox hosted Federal League home games at Luna Park.
