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The first line is the formation of the National League (NL) in 1876, and the second is the transformation of the American League (AL) to a major league in 1901. The third line is the beginning of the expansion era in 1961.
The Houston Sports Association was formed in 1957 and bought a minor league baseball team four years later. The group was given a controlling interest in Houston's expansion team, which was named the Houston Colt .45s. It played at Colt Stadium. [12] It would only be a few years later in 1965 that the team would become the Houston Astros.
Throughout the history of Major League Baseball, numerous franchises have moved or become defunct. Many of these franchises played in the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), the two existing major leagues, but other franchises played in one of the eleven major leagues that ultimately went defunct.
The Mets have won more pennants—five—than any other expansion team in Major League Baseball history. Their two championships equal the tally of the Toronto Blue Jays, Florida Marlins and Kansas City Royals for the most titles among expansion teams. The Mets are also the only expansion team to have clinched multiple World Series ...
The history of baseball in the United States dates to the 19th century, when boys and amateur enthusiasts played a baseball-like game by their own informal rules using homemade equipment. The popularity of the sport grew and amateur men's ball clubs were formed in the 1830–1850s.
The first Major League Baseball team in Canada was the Montreal Expos who began play in 1969. In 2005, they moved to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals. The Toronto Blue Jays, who began play in 1977, became the first team outside the United States to win the World Series in 1992 and 1993.
The 1958 Major League Baseball season began to turn Major League Baseball into a nationwide league. Walter O'Malley, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers and "perhaps the most influential owner of baseball's early expansion era," [60] moved his team to Los Angeles, marking the first major league franchise on the West Coast. [61]
This reduces the possibility of the formation of a rival league, a problem that baseball dealt with in its early history. Monopoly control of the sport is essential to many aspects of player contracts, drafts and other parts of the game. Baseball's anti-trust exemption was important in the development and expansion of the league. [21]