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tm1681 · 07-05-2023, 04:44 PM

BASEBALL MOVES TOWARD THE 20TH CENTURY

The end of the All-Ireland Championship Series, won by the Kerry Green & Gold on September 24th, marked the end of competition for the Nineteenth Century. While it was true that the new Cuban National Series was due to start about six weeks later, their first champion wouldn’t be crowned until the early months of 1900 and thus Kerry’s Game Four triumph in Dublin was the last word on the grand book of baseball for the 1800s.

For the sport itself, what began as a confederation of 48 amateur clubs in the Northeastern United States playing a three-month schedule in 1857 had morphed into comparatively big business. There were now four professional leagues, multiple semi-professional leagues, and a couple of international leagues that came into existence thanks to the efforts of civilians and former players. The two main professional leagues, the APBL and MWBA, now had their own governing body to set mutual standards for the highest level of the sport in the United States, while semi-pro circuits had their own organization so that players didn’t have to learn new rules and regulations if they moved from one region to another.

AMERICAN BASEBALL ASSOCIATION (ABA) MEMBER LEAGUES

American Professional Baseball League (APBL) – Northeastern United States; 16 teams

Colonial Conference: Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Mass. Bay, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rochester, Washington
Metropolitan Conference: Brooklyn, Excelsior, Jersey City, Knickerbockers, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Phi. Tigers

Midwestern Baseball Association (MWBA) – Midwestern United States; 16 teams

Eastern League: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis, Louisville, Milwaukee, Toledo
Western League: Chicago, Lake Michigan, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Missouri, Omaha, St. Louis, St. Paul

APBL Reserve League (APBL-R) – 16 APBL Reserve teams (AA Equivalent)
MWBA Reserve League (MWBL-R) – 16 MWBL Reserve teams (AA Equivalent)

INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL LEAGUES

Southeastern & Atlantic League (SEAL) – Southeastern United States; 8 teams

Atlanta, Charleston, Evansville, Memphis, Nashville, Old Dominion, Richmond, Savannah

Canadian Baseball League (CBL) – Ontario & Quebec (Canada); 8 teams

Danforth, Hamilton, London, Ottawa, Quebec City, Riverside, Ville Marie, Ville Ray

NATIONAL BASEBALL ORGANIZATION (NBBO) MEMBER LEAGUES

New York Metropolitan League (NYL) – New York City & Brooklyn; 16 teams

Brooklyn: Atlantic, Bedford, Continental, Eckford, Empire, Marathon, Nassau, Star
New York City: Baltic, Gotham, Harlem, Metropolitan, Mutual, Morrisania, Orangemen, Yonkers

Northeastern League of Baseball Clubs (NEL) – Northeastern United States; 20 teams

New York: Albany, Auburn, Binghamton, Elmira, Frontier, Niagara Falls, Schenectady, Syracuse, Troy, Utica
Northeast: Camden, Delaware, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Olympic, Phi. Patriots, Reading, Scranton, Trenton, Wilkes-Barre

New England Baseball Association (NEBA) – New England; 16 teams

Massachusetts: Bunker Hill, Cantabrigians, Fall River, Lowell, Salem, Sons of the Ocean, Springfield, Worcester
New England: Bridgeport, Brass City, Hartford, New Hampshire, Pawtucket, Portland, Quinnipiac, Vermont

Great Lakes Baseball Conference (GLBC) – Great Lakes Border States; 10 teams

Cook County, Dayton, Duluth, Erie, Ft. Wayne, Grand Rapids, Peoria, Rockford, Saginaw, Youngstown

Baseball League of the American Prairie (PL) – Midwestern United States; 10 teams

Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque, Kansas, Lincoln, Sioux City, Southern Miss. St. Joseph, Wichita

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUES

All-Ireland Baseball Championship (AIBC) – Ireland

Connacht: Cavan, Galway, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo, Westmeath
Leinster: Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Wexford, Wicklow
Munster: Clare, Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford
Ulster: Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Monaghan, Tyrone

Cuban National Series (CNS) – Cuba; 8 teams

Camaguey, Havana, Holguin, La Habana, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Santa Clara, Santiago

07-05-2023, 04:44 PM	#72
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,747	BASEBALL MOVES TOWARD THE 20TH CENTURY The end of the All-Ireland Championship Series, won by the Kerry Green & Gold on September 24th, marked the end of competition for the Nineteenth Century. While it was true that the new Cuban National Series was due to start about six weeks later, their first champion wouldn’t be crowned until the early months of 1900 and thus Kerry’s Game Four triumph in Dublin was the last word on the grand book of baseball for the 1800s. For the sport itself, what began as a confederation of 48 amateur clubs in the Northeastern United States playing a three-month schedule in 1857 had morphed into comparatively big business. There were now four professional leagues, multiple semi-professional leagues, and a couple of international leagues that came into existence thanks to the efforts of civilians and former players. The two main professional leagues, the APBL and MWBA, now had their own governing body to set mutual standards for the highest level of the sport in the United States, while semi-pro circuits had their own organization so that players didn’t have to learn new rules and regulations if they moved from one region to another. AMERICAN BASEBALL ASSOCIATION (ABA) MEMBER LEAGUES American Professional Baseball League (APBL) – Northeastern United States; 16 teams Colonial Conference: Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Mass. Bay, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rochester, Washington Metropolitan Conference: Brooklyn, Excelsior, Jersey City, Knickerbockers, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Phi. Tigers Midwestern Baseball Association (MWBA) – Midwestern United States; 16 teams Eastern League: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis, Louisville, Milwaukee, Toledo Western League: Chicago, Lake Michigan, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Missouri, Omaha, St. Louis, St. Paul APBL Reserve League (APBL-R) – 16 APBL Reserve teams (AA Equivalent) MWBA Reserve League (MWBL-R) – 16 MWBL Reserve teams (AA Equivalent) INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL LEAGUES Southeastern & Atlantic League (SEAL) – Southeastern United States; 8 teams Atlanta, Charleston, Evansville, Memphis, Nashville, Old Dominion, Richmond, Savannah Canadian Baseball League (CBL) – Ontario & Quebec (Canada); 8 teams Danforth, Hamilton, London, Ottawa, Quebec City, Riverside, Ville Marie, Ville Ray NATIONAL BASEBALL ORGANIZATION (NBBO) MEMBER LEAGUES New York Metropolitan League (NYL) – New York City & Brooklyn; 16 teams Brooklyn: Atlantic, Bedford, Continental, Eckford, Empire, Marathon, Nassau, Star New York City: Baltic, Gotham, Harlem, Metropolitan, Mutual, Morrisania, Orangemen, Yonkers Northeastern League of Baseball Clubs (NEL) – Northeastern United States; 20 teams New York: Albany, Auburn, Binghamton, Elmira, Frontier, Niagara Falls, Schenectady, Syracuse, Troy, Utica Northeast: Camden, Delaware, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Olympic, Phi. Patriots, Reading, Scranton, Trenton, Wilkes-Barre New England Baseball Association (NEBA) – New England; 16 teams Massachusetts: Bunker Hill, Cantabrigians, Fall River, Lowell, Salem, Sons of the Ocean, Springfield, Worcester New England: Bridgeport, Brass City, Hartford, New Hampshire, Pawtucket, Portland, Quinnipiac, Vermont Great Lakes Baseball Conference (GLBC) – Great Lakes Border States; 10 teams Cook County, Dayton, Duluth, Erie, Ft. Wayne, Grand Rapids, Peoria, Rockford, Saginaw, Youngstown Baseball League of the American Prairie (PL) – Midwestern United States; 10 teams Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque, Kansas, Lincoln, Sioux City, Southern Miss. St. Joseph, Wichita INTERNATIONAL LEAGUES All-Ireland Baseball Championship (AIBC) – Ireland Connacht: Cavan, Galway, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo, Westmeath Leinster: Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Wexford, Wicklow Munster: Clare, Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford Ulster: Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Monaghan, Tyrone Cuban National Series (CNS) – Cuba; 8 teams Camaguey, Havana, Holguin, La Habana, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Santa Clara, Santiago Last edited by tm1681; 08-04-2023 at 08:59 PM.