page_title: American League
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: American League / History
caption_attribution_description: Accession No.: 06_06_000183 Title: Teams of the American League Creator: Bobrick, M.A., Cleveland, Ohio Date: 1907 Format: photomechanical Description: Photographic montage with a portrait of American League President and Founder Ban Johnson, in center, surrounded by the individual portraits of the eight American League teams. Pictured are: New York Highlanders: Jimmy Williams, Hal Chase, Al Orth, Bill Hogg, Joe Doyle, Clark Griffith, Ira Thomas, Frank Delahanty (played for New York in 1906 and 1908 but for Cleveland in 1907), Lew Brockett, Jack Chesbro, George Moriarty, Wid Conroy, Deacon McGuire, Red Kleinow, Willie Keeler, Walter Clarkson, Kid Elberfeld, Danny Hoffman, Branch Rickey. Philadelphia Athletics: Harry Davis, Topsy Hartsel, Socks Seybold, Ossie Schreckengost, Jim Byrnes (member of 1906 team, did not play for Philadelphia in 1907, Bris Lord, Jimmy Dygert, Rube Waddell, Connie Mack, Chief Bender, Harry Armbruster (member of 1906 team, did not play for Philadelphia in 1907), Eddie Plank, Jack Coombs, Mike Powers, Danny Murphy, Monte Cross, John Knight, Burke, Rube Oldring. Detroit Tigers: Claude Rossman, Ed Seiver, Charley O'Leary, Bobby Lowe, Bill Coughlin, Ed Killian, Sam Crawford, Davy Jones, Hugh Jennings, Wild Bill Donovan, George Mullin, Germany Schaefer, Boss Schmidt, Matty McIntyre, Chris Lindsay (played for Detroit 1905-1906 but not in 1907), Fred Payne. Washington Nationals: Cy Falkenberg, Bob Ganley, Stanley, Mike Heydon, Lave Cross, Tony Smith, Charlie Jones, Joe Cantillon, Frank Kitson, Jake Stahl (Stahl played for Washington in 1906 but not in 1907), Dave Altizer, Rabbitt Nill, Casey Patten, John Warner, John Anderson, Charlie Hickman, Long Tom Hughes. Chicago White Sox: Nick Altrock, Jiggs Donahue, George Rohe, Frank Owen, Roy Patterson, Patsy Dougherty, Fielder Jones, Billy Sullivan, Ed Hahn, Frank Smith, Ed Walsh, Frank Isbell, Gus Dundon (played for Chicago from 1904-1906 but not in 1907), Doc White, Lee Tannehill, Ed McFarland, George Davis, Babe Towne (played in Chicago in 1906 but not 1907). Cleveland Naps: George Stovall, Nig Clarke, Bill Bernhard, Harry Bemis, Terry Turner, Nap Lajoie, Elmer Flick, Heinie Berger, Perring, Earle Moore, Jake Thielman, Harry Hinchman, Harry Bay, Bob Rhoads, Addie Joss, Pete O'Brien, Howard Wakefield, Bunk Congalton, Otto Hess, Bill Bradley. St. Louis Browns: Barney Pelty, George Stone, Ben Smith (played for St. Louis in 1906 but not in 1907), Jim Delahanty, Harry Niles, Fritz Buelow, Harry Howell, Jimmy McAleer, Jack O'Connor, Ollie Pickering, Jack Powell, Tubby Spencer, Tom Jones, Joe Yeager, Beany Jacobson, Ben Koehler (played for St. Louis in 1905-1906 but not in 1907), Charlie Hemphill, Roy Hartzell, Bobby Wallace, Fred Glade. Boston Americans: Jesse Tannehill, Cy Morgan (two identical portraits in array), Charlie Armbruster, Jimmie Collins, Cy Young, Chick Stahl (played for Boston from 1901-1906 but not in 1907), Lou Criger, Jack Hayden (played for Boston in 1906 but not 1907), Moose Grimshaw, Fred Parent, Joe Harris, Cy Morgan (two identical portraits in array), George Winters, Jimmy Barrett, Bill Dineen, Bucky Freeman, Hobe Ferris. BPL Collection: McGreevey Collection BPL Department: Print Subject: Baseball--History Baseball teams
context_page_description: The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League, is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball 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.
  At the end of every season, the American League champion plays in the World Series against the National League champion; two seasons did not end in playing a World Series. Through 2019, American League teams have won 66 of the 116 World Series played since 1903, with 27 of those coming from the New York Yankees alone. The New York Yankees have won 40 American League titles, the most in the league's history, followed by the Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and the Boston Red Sox.
context_section_description: Originally a minor league known as the Western League which existed 1885 to 1899, with teams in mostly Great Lakes states, the newly organized Western League later developed into a rival major league after the previous American Association (1882–1891) disbanded after ten seasons as a competitor to the older National League of Professional Baseball Clubs (usually known as the National League) which was founded in 1876. In its early history of the late 1880s, the minor Western League struggled until 1894, when Ban Johnson (1864–1931) became the president of the league. Johnson led the Western League into elevation as claiming major league status and soon became the president of the newly renamed American League of Professional Baseball Clubs (also simply called the American League) in 1901. The American League was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the former Republican Hotel by five Irishmen.  A historical marker is at the intersection of North Old World 3rd Street and West Kilbourn Avenue where the hotel once stood.
  George Herman ("Babe") Ruth (1895–1948), noted as one of the most prolific hitters in Major League Baseball history, spent the majority of his career in the American League with the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees (plus his first year with his hometown team, the Baltimore Orioles of the minor level International League). The American League has one notable difference versus the rival National League, in that in modern times since 1973 it has had the designated hitter rule. Under the rule, a team may use a batter in its lineup who is not in the field defensively, replacing the pitcher in the batting order, compared to the old rule that made it mandatory for the pitcher to bat. In the last two decades, the season schedule has allowed occasional interleague play. In 1969, the AL (and NL) were divided into East and West divisions, with a postseason playoff series for the pennant and the right to play in the World Series.
  Until the late 1970s, league umpires working behind home plate wore large, balloon-style chest protectors worn outside the shirt or coat, while their brethren in the National League wore chest protectors inside the shirt or coat. In 1977, new umpires (including Steve Palermo) had to wear the inside chest protector, although those on staff wearing the outside protector could continue to do so. Most umpires made the switch to the inside protector, led by Don Denkinger in 1975 and Jim Evans the next year, although several did not, including Bill Haller, Lou DiMuro, Russ Goetz, George Maloney, Bill Kunkel and Jerry Neudecker, who became the last full-time MLB umpire to use the outside protector in 1985.
  In 1994, the league, along with the National League, reorganized again, into three divisions (East, West, and Central) and added a third round to the playoffs in the form of the American League Division Series, with the best second-place team advancing to the playoffs as a wild-card team, in addition to the three divisional champions. In 1998, the newly franchised Tampa Bay Devil Rays joined the league, and the Arizona Diamondbacks joined the National League: i.e., each league each added a fifteenth team. An odd number of teams per league meant that at least one team in each league would have to be idle on any given day, or alternatively that odd team out would have had to play an interleague game against its counterpart in the other league. The initial plan was to have three five-team divisions per league with inter league play year-round—possibly as many as 30 interleague games per team each year.
  For various reasons, it soon seemed more practical to have an even number of teams in both leagues. The Milwaukee Brewers agreed to change leagues, moving from the AL Central to the NL Central. At the same time, the Detroit Tigers were moved from the AL East to the AL Central, making room for the Devil Rays in the East. Following the move of the Houston Astros, which had been in the NL for 51 years since beginning as an expansion team in 1962, to the American League in 2013, both leagues now consis
caption: American League President and founder Ban Johnson, in center, surrounded by the portraits of the league's eight teams in 1907.
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