Continental League
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The Continental League (or formally the Continental League of Professional Baseball Clubs) was a proposed third major league for baseball, announced in 1959 and scheduled to begin play in the 1961 season. Unlike predecessor competitors such as the Players League and Federal League, it sought membership within organized baseball's existing organization and acceptance within Major League Baseball. The league disbanded in August 1960 without playing a single game, but it helped to accelerate the expansion of Major League Baseball.
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[edit] New league announced
The Continental League was the idea of New York City attorney William Shea, proposed in November 1958, a year after the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers had moved to California. On July 27, 1959 the new league was formally announced, with teams in Denver, Houston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York City, and Toronto. The name of the league was said to have been the suggestion of Colorado senator Edwin C. Johnson.
Representing the team owners at the announcement were Bob Howsam (Denver), Craig F. Cullinan, Jr. (Houston), Wheelock Whitney Jr. (Minneapolis-St. Paul), Dwight F. Davis, Jr. (New York), and Jack Kent Cooke (Toronto). Owners in each city had agreed to pay $50,000 to the league and committed to a capital investment of $2.5 million, not including stadium costs. A minimum seating capacity of 35,000 was established by the league for the venues in which its teams would play.
At least three other teams were expected to be in place before play began in 1961, and the league said it had received applications from 10 cities. The three that were later selected were Atlanta, Buffalo, and Dallas/Ft. Worth. Former Dodgers president Branch Rickey was named league president.
Many observers believed the Continental League was a gambit devised by Shea when he realized he was not going to entice an existing National League franchise to relocate to New York City to fill the void created by the departure of the Giants and the Dodgers after the 1957 season. When Shea realized he was getting nowhere with his relocation efforts, he and Branch Rickey developed the Continental League, with Rickey's name adding significant credibility to the League.
[edit] Established leagues respond
The Major League Baseball commissioner's office was noncommital on the issue. At that time, however, the American League and the National League enjoyed far more autonomy than they do today, answering more to their constituent owners (who were universally hostile to the new league) than to the Commissioner's Office. They reacted to the formation of the new league by announcing plans to expand by adding two teams in each of the existing leagues. Priority would be given, it was stated, to cities that did not have Major League Baseball. Accordingly, the NL placed one of its expansion teams in Houston (the Houston Colt .45s), a CL city without an existing Major League Baseball team.
Though the AL placed one of its expansion teams (the Washington Senators) in a previously existing Major League Baseball city (Washington, DC), this was done to replace the original Senators team, which had relocated to Minneapolis-St. Paul and become the Minnesota Twins. Like Houston, the twin cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul were a CL city without an existing Major League Baseball team.
The NL then placed another expansion team in New York, offering its tenth franchise to the owners of the Continental League New York team, who immediately accepted, effectively killing any attempt to revive the proposed league. This franchise would become the New York Mets. The AL then followed by placing a second expansion team in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Angels, giving the American League its first franchise and first presence on the West Coast.
[edit] The league disbands
With Shea's mission to bring a second Major League Baseball team to New York successful, he stopped championing the Continental League's formation. The promise of expansion achieved the owners' desired effect; on August 2, 1960, the Continental League formally disbanded. At the time it was reported that four CL cities would get major league teams -- two in the American League, and New York and one other in the National League, possibly as early as the 1961 season. As it turned out, only three of those cities gained Major League Baseball franchises in the immediate aftermath of the Continental League's demise (Houston, Minneapolis-St. Paul and New York). Four more would eventually receive relocated or expansion Major League Baseball franchises as well: Atlanta in 1966, Dallas/Ft. Worth in 1972, Toronto in 1977, and Denver in 1993. Only Buffalo would, as of yet, not receive an Major League Baseball franchise, although the city does have the Buffalo Bisons, who have been a successful and much-admired AAA International League franchise.
[edit] Legacy
The legacy of the Continental League is that it hastened the expansion and growth of Major League Baseball. Although William Shea's efforts to create a third major league are not well known today, Shea Stadium, home of the New York Mets from 1964 - 2008, was named in his honor for his efforts in bringing National League baseball back to New York.
[edit] References
David Pietrusza Major Leagues: The Formation, Sometimes Absorption and Mostly Inevitable Demise of 18 Professional Baseball Organizations, 1871 to Present Jefferson (NC): McFarland & Company, 1991. ISBN 0-89950-590-2
