New York joins the club

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - Here's an "I didn't know that" story. The American League did not have a team in New York when it was founded in 1901. It wasn't until this date in 1903 that the team that eventually became the Yankees made New York home.

Here's how it evolved. The National League had been in business for a quarter century when Ban Johnson decided to turn a minor league (the Western League) into a major league (the American League). The National League wasn't crazy about the competition, but grudgingly tried to work things out. When the American League was established as a major league in 1901 the National League New York Giants didn't want the upstart league to have a team in the Big Apple. For two years it got its way. Instead of putting a team in New York the American League put a team in Baltimore for its inaugural 1901 season and called it the Orioles.

On January 9, 1903 the Orioles was sold to New Yorkers Frank Farrell and Bill Devery who moved the franchise to Manhattan. The team was called the Highlanders because they played in one of the highest spots in upper Manhattan. The team didn't become known as the Yankees until 1913.

Today's Baltimore Orioles are a different franchise all together though also one of the league's originals. It started out as the Milwaukee Brewers (no connection to the current Brewers), but moved to Missouri after one season and became the St. Louis Browns. The Browns left St. Louis for Maryland in 1954 and changed its name to the Orioles. Got it?

Contributing sources:
The New York Times, January 10, 1903
Baseball-Almanac

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