How the footprints of the major sports leagues evolved

Big Z Man 1990

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Jun 4, 2011
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Don't say anything at all
In the early years of the 20th century, the major population centers of Anglo-America were all located in either the Northeast US, Midwestern US, or the Quebec City-Windsor corridor in Canada.

Because of that and the fact that travel methods weren't as advanced as they are now, the major sports leagues had all their teams in these sections of North America.

Major League Baseball's only team south of the Mason-Dixon line for decades was in Washington, which was close enough to the major Northeastern cities and now identifies as Northeastern itself. Nearby Baltimore finally joined them in 1954.

Until 1955, there were no MLB teams west of St. Louis. That year, the Athletics left Philadelphia for Kansas City.

But it was the moves of the NL's two NYC teams to California that was a real game changer. Still, it wouldn't be until 1962 that MLB had a team south of Washington, the Houston Astros. Since then, several more teams have relocated or been established south of Washington, west of Texas and even in Canada.

The NFL was similarly confined to the Northeast and Midwest until 1945. Though there was a team called Los Angeles Buccaneers in the 1920s, it was a traveling team and rather, it had many players from LA. The Rams' move to LA in 1946 truly established the NFL's first presence on the West Coast. They wouldn't have a successful team south of Washington however until the Dallas Cowboys were established in 1960. Today, the NFL has 32 teams across the US.

The NBA's direct predecessor the BAA was confined to the Northeast and Midwest along with one team in Toronto for one year in its early years. After merging with the NBL, the NBA did have one team in Denver, but they folded the next season. They would be confined to the Northeast and Midwest until 1960, when the Minneapolis Lakers moved to LA. Today, the 30 teams of the NBA include 29 across the US and 1 in Eastern Canada.

The NHL began with only teams in Eastern Canada. They first expanded into the US in 1924, but until the Original 6 era ended, the NHL's American teams were confined to the Midwest and the Northeast like the other major leagues were for many years. The 1967 expansion included 2 teams in California. Today, the 31 NHL teams include 24 across the US and 7 across Canada.
 
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LadyStanley

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Sep 22, 2004
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I had a relative who owned a baseball team in California in the 1930s/1940s.

I think the OP is only telling the "major league" story. For a fuller look at how sports expanded, you need to also look at the grass roots and "minor" league history and how it dovetails with the majors.
 

KevFu

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May 22, 2009
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Phoenix from Rochester via New Orleans
I had a relative who owned a baseball team in California in the 1930s/1940s.

I think the OP is only telling the "major league" story. For a fuller look at how sports expanded, you need to also look at the grass roots and "minor" league history and how it dovetails with the majors.

Big Z and I have talked about realignment from a revisionist history standpoint for baseball.

The PCL was on the cusp of becoming a Major League when the Giants/Dodgers moved west. Had there been another league as good as a the PCL in the mid-50s, we probably would have had four major leagues.

After the Giants/Dodgers moved to California, New York wanted a replacement team, but the National League said no (because "Major League Baseball" was just a piece of paper and a handshake between AL and NL, and they didn't want to disrupt the peace with the AL). When the NL said no, New York lawyer William Shea decided to start the Continental Baseball League with cities that didn't have MLB teams but were certainly big enough: New York, Dallas, Houston, Minnesota Twin Cities, Atlanta, Toronto, Denver and Buffalo (7 of the 8 got teams, and the Jays are in Buffalo right now!).

That scared the NL into talking with the AL and they brokered a deal: Adding New York and Houston to the NL, and Los Angeles and Washington (because the Senators moved to Minnesota), so Shea abandoned the CBL plan and the Mets named their stadium after him.

Of course, if the CBL happened, you might have had the chance for four Major Leagues. But Dodgers/Giants being in NL and California at the same time hurt those chances. But it provides the blueprint on how to properly align baseball, since the Golden Age of baseball was when it was two 8-team leagues, no West, no South... Just start with:

Old AL: NYY, BOS, BAL, CLE, DET, CWS, MIN
Old NL: PHI, PIT, CIN, CHC, STL, MIL
New PCL: OAK, SF, LAD, LAA, SD, SEA, COL, ARZ

Left to assign are: TOR, KC, TB, TEX, HOU; NYM, ATL, MIA, WAS; Two of Montreal, Nashville, Portland via expansion.

Make the fourth league the South: KC, TB, TEX, HOU, ATL, MIA, WAS, NASH (with MON/NYM in NL, and TOR in AL)
Or make the fourth league the modified CBL: HOU, TEX, TB, MIA, MON, TOR, NYM, WAS (with ATL/NASH in NL and KC in AL)
 

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