During the infancy of Major League Baseball, there was constant turnover and there was little clarification over what was a Major League was. The Major Leagues we know of nowadays were nothing then like they are now back then. Yes, the National League can be traced back to as early as 1876, but the NL was not considered better than any other league. Among other MLs that existed were the International League, American Association and the Players League- with several other MLs coming and going over the years. There is still dispute over whether the International League, which exists today as a AAA league was ever a Major League. It was a merger of the Eastern League (created in 1884), New York State League (created in 1885) and the Ontario League (also created in 1885). In fact, when the American League was started in time for the 1901 season, there was no proof that the league would last. The Federal League would exist for the 1914 and 1915 seasons and as late as the 1950s, there was talk of the Pacific Coast League and American Association possible becoming Major Leagues. Major League Baseball has had a lot of competition within itself to become as strong as it is, as the National League and American Leagues have not had competition since.
1890 saw the creation of the Players League, a league that included the first ever players' union. As existed long after, the players felt that the more established National League had an unfair player/ management relationship. Hall of Famer John Montgomery Ward led the Brotherhood of Professional Base-Ball Players, which was considered the first known organized professional sports union. Ward was the President of the League, which was unprecedented since Ward was still an active player. A number of the top National League players jumped from the National League to join the Players League, including Dan Brouthers, King Kelly, Old Hoss Radbourn, Ward, Tim Keefe, Buck Ewing, Charlie Comiskey, Ned Hanlon, Pud Galvin, Ed Delahanty, Pasty Tebeau, Dummy Hoy and Deacon White. The league consisted of 8 teams- Buffalo Bisons, Cleveland Infants, Pittsburgh Burghers, Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago Pirates, New York Giants, Brooklyn Ward's Wonders (named after Ward) and Boston Reds- who won the league's championship.
The Cleveland Infants had a pitcher by the name of Bill Gleason (no relation to Kid Gleason- at least no proof of any relation). He was born in 1868 and was 22 years old when he made his MLB debut during the 1890 season. While it is unknown according to baseball reference whether he was a right or left handed pitcher, it really didn't matter as his debut was likely a day Gleason would like to forget. He pitched 4 innings, giving up 16 runs, 12 earned, giving up 16 hits and 6 walks. He would take the loss in what would be his only big league game. The day was April 24th and there is no record of Gleason pitching in even a minor league game other than that date. Just over three years later, on December 2, 1893, 121 years ago, Gleason died at age 25 with the cause of death unknown.
1890 saw the creation of the Players League, a league that included the first ever players' union. As existed long after, the players felt that the more established National League had an unfair player/ management relationship. Hall of Famer John Montgomery Ward led the Brotherhood of Professional Base-Ball Players, which was considered the first known organized professional sports union. Ward was the President of the League, which was unprecedented since Ward was still an active player. A number of the top National League players jumped from the National League to join the Players League, including Dan Brouthers, King Kelly, Old Hoss Radbourn, Ward, Tim Keefe, Buck Ewing, Charlie Comiskey, Ned Hanlon, Pud Galvin, Ed Delahanty, Pasty Tebeau, Dummy Hoy and Deacon White. The league consisted of 8 teams- Buffalo Bisons, Cleveland Infants, Pittsburgh Burghers, Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago Pirates, New York Giants, Brooklyn Ward's Wonders (named after Ward) and Boston Reds- who won the league's championship.
The Cleveland Infants had a pitcher by the name of Bill Gleason (no relation to Kid Gleason- at least no proof of any relation). He was born in 1868 and was 22 years old when he made his MLB debut during the 1890 season. While it is unknown according to baseball reference whether he was a right or left handed pitcher, it really didn't matter as his debut was likely a day Gleason would like to forget. He pitched 4 innings, giving up 16 runs, 12 earned, giving up 16 hits and 6 walks. He would take the loss in what would be his only big league game. The day was April 24th and there is no record of Gleason pitching in even a minor league game other than that date. Just over three years later, on December 2, 1893, 121 years ago, Gleason died at age 25 with the cause of death unknown.
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