Yesterday, I talked about how some of the teams in the National Association, the first Major League (according to some), were from very small cities, cities which were in some cases smaller even than modern-day stadium capacities. Well, once the National League started in 1876, there never again would be super-small cities (like Keokuk- apologies to Keokuk) hosting MLB teams. Sure, there were cities that today would seem unlikely to host MLB teams- Troy, New York, for example. But they were big cities for their time: Troy was the 29th largest city in America in 1880, and it was very close to Albany, which was the 21st largest city. That there were teams at one point or another in Louisville, Rochester, Providence and other such cities are similar cases: back then, they were amongst the larger cities in America.

But, there have been some example, mainly because of one organization: the Union Association. Formed in 1884, the Union Association was, briefly, the third major league, to go alongside the National League and American Association. It was unique in that it didn’t have a reserve clause… and because it probably wasn’t a major league, even though it usually is counted as such. You see, the league’s founder, one Henry Lucas, showed much favoritism to his hometown St. Louis team, leading it to essentially be a Major League team in a Minor League. It went 94-19 during the 1884 season. Four teams folded and were replaced by minor league clubs. For example… (jump)

Continue reading →