FOR 
TODAY IN BASEBALL WE GO BACK TO APRIL 13, 1914. THE LOCATION: BALTIMORE, MARYLAND. An insurgent third major league, the Federal League (FL), began play on this date in 1914. The Baltimore Terrapins defeated the Buffalo Blues 3 to 2 before 27,140 fans.
The Federal League put teams in eight cities, including four where the National or American leagues already had teams. It lured a handful of players from the established leagues, including marquee names Joe Tinker and Three Finger Brown, by waving wads of cash at them. Shoeless Joe Jackson was reportedly offered four times his salary to jump to the new League. The National and American Leagues reacted by throwing more money at the likes of Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker and Walter Johnson to keep them where they were.
The Federal League didn’t appear to be a fly-by-night operation. All eight teams had new stadiums. Attendance was comparable to the NL and AL.
The FL was also trying to beat the established major leagues in court on several fronts. It sued the American and National Leagues in Federal Court for being unfair monopolies. The judge who presided over that lawsuit was Kenesaw Landis. He later became MLB’s first commissioner.
The parties eventually settled that case out of court. As part of the agreement, a number of Federal League players and teams were absorbed into the National or American League, but not all. The owners of the Baltimore franchise weren’t happy with the settlement and sued. This case went all the way to the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Major League Baseball saying it was exempt from antitrust laws, a ruling which for the most part remains in effect today.
As part of the agreement in the original lawsuit, the owner of the Federal League’s Chicago Whales, Charles Weeghman, was allowed to buy the National League’s Chicago Cubs. The ballpark he built for the Whales became the Cubs’ home. That same ballpark is known today as Wrigley Field. So, the Federal League did not survive, Wrigley Field did.
Contributing Sources:
Chicago Tribune, Baltimore, Maryland, April 14, 1914
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