January 10, 1903: The American League and the National League Make Peace

January 10, 1903: After 2 years of "war," baseball's American League and National League make "peace" with each other.

All that Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson, founder and President of the AL, wanted was for the NL to recognize his League as "major."  Had they done so when his League began play in 1901, he was willing to play by the same rules as the NL, and to respect its teams' contracts. But the NL wasn't willing to give up their monopoly on the concept.

So the AL raided NL teams, pulling away such stars as Cy Young, Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, Willie Keeler, Ed Delahanty, Elmer Flick and Sam Crawford. After 2 years of their players threatening to "jump" to the AL, and then doing so if their salary demands were not met, the NL surrendered.

The AL was magnanimous in victory. They agreed to accept all NL contracts still in place as binding, and to abide by the reserve clause. They established a National Commission, consisting of each League's President and a neutral third party.

They accepted the NL's 140-game schedule as a model for their own. Each League had 8 teams, and played 20 games against each of the other 7 teams in their League. The next season, both agreed to make it 22 games against each of the other 7 teams, for a total of 154. This would remain in place in the AL until 1960, and in the NL until 1961. In each case, in the following season, there was an expansion from 8 teams to 10, and a 162-game schedule, 18 games against each of the other 9 teams.

The AL adopted a rule that the NL had in 1901: Foul balls are to count as strikes, unless there are already 2 strikes. The pitcher's mound was limited to 15 inches, which would also remain until 1968, after which it was dropped to 10 inches. And, as the NL had in 1900, the AL adopted the pentagonal, "house-shaped" home plate.

And the Leagues agreed to let their respective Champions play each other in a best-5-out-of-9-games World Series, for the overall championship of the sport. The Boston Americans, forerunners of the Red Sox, beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5 games to 3.

And so, for the next 50 seasons, the 2 Leagues would, effectively, be 1, with the same teams, listed here with the names they would have for most of that time, in alphabetical order:

* American League: Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Athletics, St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators.

* National League: Boston Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, New York Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals.

*

January 10, 1903 was a Saturday. Baseball and football were out of season. Professional basketball and professional hockey barely existed. But there were scores in English soccer. Among them: Woolwich Arsenal, the Kent-based team that would one day become North London-based Arsenal, traveled to Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, and played Burslem Port Vale (eventually just Port Vale) to a 1-1 draw at the Athletic Ground.