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T EGreat thread. Great photo!
The AL came into existance in part because the NL dumped 4 teams after the 1899 season, shrinking the league from 12 to 8 teams. The cities were Baltimore (John McGraw's team) Cleveland Washington and Louisville. Boston Chicago and Philly were at that point logical two-team cities. And Detroit mmade sense, as well. Louisville was witched to Milwaukee. McGraw went with Baltimore into the AL. Joining McGraw was his pitching ace from the NL, Iron Joe McGinnity. The team was not as good as the team he'd had in the NL. In 1903 McGraw jumped back to the NL mid-season, taking McGinnity and Bresnahan and several other stars with him to join the New York Giants. Johnson knew he needed to compete in NYC to make it as a Big League, so the following season Baltimore was moved to NYC.