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 current 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.
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major league status. It is sometimes called the Junior Circuit because it claimed Major League status for the 1901 season, 25 years after the formation of the National League.
The American Association (AA) was a professional baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from 1882 to 1891. Together with the 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 prized Temple Cup (1894-1897).
The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP), or known simply as the National Association (NA), was founded in 1871 and continued through the 1875 season. It succeeded and incorporated several professional clubs from the previous National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) of 1857-1870, sometimes called "the amateur association"; in turn several of its clubs created the succeeding National League of Professional Baseball Clubs. Later shortened simply to be called the National League, it was founded 1876, the earliest one half of modern Major League Baseball (MLB) in America, with the later competing American League of Professional Base Ball Clubs in 1901, known too as the American League.
William Ambrose Hulbert was one of the founders of the National League, recognized as baseball's first major league, and was also the president of the Chicago White Stockings franchise.
The Western League of Professional Baseball Clubs, also called the Western League, was a minor league baseball league founded on February 11, 1885, and focused in the Midwestern United States.
Edgar Edward "Ned" Cuthbert was an American professional baseball outfielder.
George Washington McGinnis was a Major League Baseball pitcher whose big-league career spanned from 1882 to 1887. Nicknamed "Jumbo" for his heavy, robust frame, McGinnis is considered the first "ace" of the storied franchise that would later become known as the St. Louis Cardinals.
The 1885 St. Louis Browns season was the team's fourth season in St. Louis, Missouri, and the fourth season in the American Association. The Browns went 79–33 during the season, best in the American Association, and won their first AA pennant. In the World Series, the Browns played the National League champion Chicago White Stockings. The series ended in dispute with each club winning 3 games with 1 tie.
The 1882 St. Louis Brown Stockings season was the first professional baseball season played by the team now known as the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was founded in the earlier St. Louis Brown Stockings franchise. It played in the National Association league in 1875 and in the National League from 1876 to 1877. After a scandal over game-fixing, combined with financial problems, the St Louis Brown Stockings left the National league but continued to play as an independent team from 1878 to 1881. Chris von der Ahe, a German immigrant, purchased the team prior to the 1882 season and placed it in the new American Association league. The St. Louis Brown Stockings posted a 37 from 43 game record in their first season in the American Association league, giving them fifth place. The team played at the Grand Avenue Grounds at the corner of Grand Avenue and Dodier Street in north St. Louis.
This is a summary of the evolution of nicknames of the current professional Major League Baseball teams in the National League and subsequent rival American League, and also of selected former major and minor league teams whose nicknames were influential, long-lasting, or both. The sources of the nicknames included club names, team colors, and city symbols. The nicknames have sometimes been dubbed by the media, other times through conscious advertising marketing by the team, or sometimes a little of both.
The 1885 Chicago White Stockings season was the 14th season of the Chicago White Stockings franchise, the 10th in the National League and the 1st at the first West Side Park. The White Stockings won the National League pennant for the first time since 1882, beating the New York Giants by two games. They went on to face the St. Louis Browns in the 1885 World Series. The series ended without a champion, with both teams winning three games with one tie.
Thomas Jefferson Sullivan was a catcher in Major League Baseball. Nicknamed "Sleeper" and "Old Iron Hands", Sullivan played for the National League's Buffalo Bisons, the American Association's St. Louis Brown Stockings and Louisville Eclipse, and the Union Association's St. Louis Maroons during the 1880s. Sullivan stood at 5' 7" and weighed 175 lb.
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.
