September 18, 1899: Scott Joplin Copyrights "Maple Leaf Rag"

September 18, 1899: Scott Joplin copyrights his composition "Maple Leaf Rag." It becomes the model for subsequent "ragtime" compositions, gives him the nickname "The King of Ragtime" and a steady income for the rest of his life, and stands as a precursor to jazz music, and thus also to rock and roll.

In spite of Canada's use of the maple leaf as a symbol, the song has nothing to do with the country. Instead, it was named after the Maple Leaf Club, a prominent social and dance hall for African Americans located in Sedalia, Missouri, where Joplin lived when he published the piece in 1899. He was then 30 years old, and a native of Texarkana, Texas. Today, Sedalia is the home of the Missouri State Fair, and hosts the annual Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival.

Today, Joplin is best known for his 1902 composition "The Entertainer," although its use as the theme for the 1973 film The Sting has led to the film's title being incorrectly cited as the song's title.

Sadly, he fell victim to neurosyphilis, and had to be committed in 1916. He died the following year, only 48 years old, having tried to get operas he'd composed published and staged. His opera Treemonisha would finally be staged in 1972.

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September 18, 1899 was a Monday. These games were played in the National League that day:

* The New York Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals were not scheduled.

* The Brooklyn Superbas and the Chicago Orphans played to a 10-10 tie at Washington Park in Brooklyn, before the game was called due to darkness. The Superbas were managed by Ned Hanlon, and named for a circus troupe called Hanlon's Superbas. They won the Pennant relatively early, ending up doing so by 8 games, so there was no need to make this game up. In 1911, they became the Dodgers.

"Orphans"? The Chicago team, long known as the White Stockings, were led by 1st baseman and manager Adrian Constantine Anson. He was known as Cap, short for Captain. By 1890, the number of young players on the team, certainly youthful in comparison to Anson, led to them being called the Chicago Colts, and Anson gaining the new nickname "Pop." Anson retired after the 1897 season, and, the team began to be called the Orphans, because "they missed their Pop." They became the Chicago Cubs in 1903.

* A doubleheader was split at the South End Grounds in Boston. The Pittsburgh Pirates won the opener, 7-5. The Boston Beaneaters won the nightcap, 11-4. The Beaneaters became the Braves in 1912.

* The Louisville Colonels beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-1 at National League Park in Philadelphia, later to be renamed Baker Bowl.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2 at Oriole Park in Baltimore.

* A doubleheader was split at Boundary Field in Washington. The Cleveland Spiders won the 1st game, 5-4. The Washington Senators won the 2nd game, 8-5.

That opener was the last game the Spiders ever won. In fact, due to reasons to stupid to explain here, they had been so weakened, it was the only one of the last 41 games they won. It broke a 24-game losing streak, still the longest in the history of what would eventually be named "Major League Baseball." (The longest since is 23, by the 1961 Phillies.) They finished 20-134 (most losses ever, far beyond the 1962 New York Mets with 120), with a "winning" percentage of .130 (lowest ever, far below the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics with .235), and 84 games behind Brooklyn (most ever, easily outpacing the 1906 Braves' 66 1/2 back).

The Spiders were 1 of 4 teams contracted out of existence after this season. The others were the Orioles (despite their having won 3 Pennants and just missed 2 others in the 1890s), the Senators and the Colonels.

That gave the American League a chance in 1901, and most of their teams took on names that had been used in the National League at some point: Baltimore Orioles (two separate teams, one of which quickly folded and replaced by a separate franchise, the New York Yankees), Boston Red Stockings (Red Sox), Chicago White Stockings (White Sox), Cleveland Blues (a previous name for the Spiders, later became the Bronchos, the Naps, the Indians, and now the Guardians), Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Athletics and Washington Senators. The only AL team that never had a name used by an NL team was the Detroit Tigers.