The Pan-American Baseball League, est. 1880: A History

skyballer455 · 07-07-2014, 10:27 PM

In The Beginning...

David Lawrence Wixom was born on August 2, 1817. From a young age he always had an interest in sport and games in general. After graduating from Yale in 1839, he became a shipping agent in New York Harbor. In just a few years, he moved up in the business, eventually founding the Wixom & Associates Shipping Co. in 1845. At that time, he began hearing about the newfangled game of baseball. After seeing the famed game at the Elysian Fields in 1846, he became interested in forming a league of baseball teams. However, there was very little if any interest in the game at the time, and Wixom had to wait. In the intervening years, his company grew to be one of the biggest shipping companies on the New York waterfront. When the Civil War broke out, his company was instrumental in bringing supplies to the soldiers fighting in the east. To Wixom's advantage, baseball grew in popularity during the war. After the war ended, he began searching for teams to form his league.

By the end of 1870 he had 4 teams lined up to play in the Wixom Baseball League:

Erie Keystones
New York Mutuals (owned by David Wixom)
Boston Colonials
Philadelphia Minutemen

At a meeting on December 8, 1870 at the Wixom & Associates Shipping Co. headquarters, the owners of the teams decided to play a 54 game schedule beginning next May 1st. They also elected to hold a free agent draft on January 1st to assemble the teams. Moreover, the owners voted to not hold a playoff. The team with the best record at the end of the year would be the champion. They also decided to play two weeks of exhibition games prior to the start of the season. The league constitution was unanimously ratified and signed by the owners. The Wixom Baseball League began play on May 1, 1871.

Meanwhile, Paul Jackson Mullaney formed his own league around that time, also naming it after himself. Mullaney was younger than Wixom having been born on May 17, 1829. He grew up in the Chicago area. After graduating from Notre Dame University in 1851, he founded a department store in downtown Chicago. Like Wixom he became fascinated with the game of baseball and had wanted to form his own league. Mullaney served in the Civil War, playing on his unit's baseball team. After the war he moved back to Chicago and founded a baseball team, the Chicago Northsiders. The team was popular in the Chicago area, playing many local teams. Meanwhile he scouted around for teams to play in his league.

By the end of 1870 he had 4 teams ready to play the 1871 season:

Chicago Northsiders (owned by Paul Mullaney)
Akron Buckeyes
Indianapolis Pioneers
Toledo Eries

At a meeting held on November 19, 1870, the owners of the 4 teams adopted similar rules as the Wixom Baseball League, however they elected to play a 50 game schedule. Also they decided to play three weeks of exhibition games prior to the season. At a meeting held at the Chicago Grand Hotel on February 3, 1871, the league constitution was ratified by the owners and signed. The Mullaney Baseball League began play on May 1, 1871.

COMING NEXT: The Wixom & Mullaney Baseball Leagues, 1871-1879

Trebro · 07-08-2014, 01:36 AM

An intriguing start! I'll be following along. Can you tell us a bit about how you set this up?

skyballer455 · 07-08-2014, 05:30 PM

Early on, both leagues were somewhat popular in their respective regions of the country. It was not uncommon to see over 1,000 people at a game. Considering the teams played on mostly grassy fields, it was quite an accomplishment. Fans were treated to some truly competitive ball. Below are the combined records of the Wixom & Mullaney League teams from the 1871 season to the 1879 season:

Despite a strong start, Wixom's league failed to garner any real fan interest after the 1874 season. Wixom league games were lucky if they attracted 500 to a game. By the end of 1879, Wixom felt his league was a failure. After all, his team had failed to compete in his own league. Wixom began proceedings to disband the league.

Meanwhile, Mullaney's league had more success than Wixom's league. His team was a consistent contender. The games drew big crowds. His league grew to be one of the most popular in the country.

After reading about Wixom's plight in a newspaper, he wrote to Wixom asking him to meet him in Chicago.

On September 4, 1879 Mullaney and Wixom met at a gentleman's club on the north side of Chicago, Mullaney's team's namesake. Mullaney discussed forming a merger between their two leagues. The trappings of a bigger league fascinated Wixom. He felt that this would be the booster shot that his teams would need. Wixom told Mullaney that he would go back to New York to halt the disbanding procedures in his league and meet him again in October.

Neither of them could know that this was the start of something big.

COMING NEXT: A League Is Born

skyballer455 · 07-09-2014, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by panelpatter

Can you tell us a bit about how you set this up?

I simply created the two leagues as major leagues and had them run independently of each other for 9 years.

skyballer455 · 07-11-2014, 12:06 PM

As promised, David Wixom met Paul Mullaney in Chicago on October 4. At the Chicago Grand Hotel, they discussed the terms of the merger. The following terms were agreed upon:

1) Both leagues were to be disbanded immediately

2) Teams from both leagues would play in the newly formed league

3) All players would be declared free agents once the merge was completed

4) A free agent draft would occur on January 1, 1880 to place the free agents on teams

5) Two minor leagues would be aquired to place the remaining free agents

6) Wixom & Mullaney would become co-commisioners, and

7) Finally, the new league would be named The Pan-American Baseball League

After the meeting, Paul Mullaney wrote up a constitution to be ratified by the team owners on October 31. Notices of the upcoming merger were sent to all 8 teams.
Teams were given the option to either pull out or join the new league. Three teams decided to leave the league and join independent leagues:

Erie Keystones
Philadelphia Minutemen
Akron Buckeyes

While more teams were sought out, owners of the 5 remaining teams met on October 31, 1879 to ratify the league constitution. It was ratified unanimously by all in attendence and signed.

Meanwhile, three teams joined the new league to replace the ones that left:

Milwaukee Blue Stockings
Pittsburgh Greyhounds
Detroit Flags

Owners of the three teams all ratified the constitution, thereby joining the league.

At a meeting on December 1, 1879, the 8 owners adopted similar rules as the former leagues. The owners voted to play a 84 game schedule beginning April 1, 1880. Free Agency would be open to all players with four or more years of service in the league. Those players, once their contracts expired, would be free to negotiate with any team they chose. Also, trading was disallowed for the time being. It was also decided that new players would enter the league through a draft mid-season and signed to a minor league team. An additional draft would be held to acquire players from the lowest minor league.

The Toledo Eries moved to Cleveland by approval of the league and became the Cleveland Eries. The Chicago Northsiders also voted to change their name to the Chicago Green Stockings.

Thus the Pan-American Baseball League was born.

skyballer455 · 07-13-2014, 03:46 PM

Welcome to the Pan-American Baseball League, my first ever baseball universe! I hope to keep this dynasty going for some time.

I hope for this dynasty to be a re imagining of the history of modern baseball as we know it today. Since I have very little experience with tweaking the settings, I will be using the default league totals modifiers, financials etc. during the course of this dynasty.

In this dynasty there will be the main league, with the eight teams mentioned in previous posts, and two minor leagues. Starting out, the two minor leagues are the Ohio Baseball Association and the Michigan State Baseball League. In the next post I will be posting the opening day rosters of the eight major league teams along with the rosters of their OBA affiliates. Because the MSBA teams will hardly ever be mentioned in the dynasty report, the teams, along with their PABL affiliate, are listed below:

Bay City Nationals - Indianapolis
Detroit Republicans - Cleveland
Flint Americans - Pittsburgh
Grand Rapids Carvers - New York
Lansing Senators - Boston
Port Huron Internationals - Milwaukee
Saginaw Indians - Detroit
Traverse City Cherries - Chicago

The league will hold two drafts, the first will be the main amateur draft mid-season, and the second will be the draft of the players from the MSBA. This will be called the MSBA Draft.

To start out, we will follow aging pitcher Jerry Geltman as he tries to manage the Cleveland Eries to victory.

Special thanks to Questdog for helping me get this dynasty going.

COMING NEXT: Opening Day Rosters

Habsfan18 · 07-13-2014, 04:36 PM

In the 3rd post..that would be a fantastic OOTP skin for historical leagues. Is it possible to do that?

07-07-2014, 10:27 PM	#1
skyballer455 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 701	The Pan-American Baseball League, est. 1880: A History In The Beginning... David Lawrence Wixom was born on August 2, 1817. From a young age he always had an interest in sport and games in general. After graduating from Yale in 1839, he became a shipping agent in New York Harbor. In just a few years, he moved up in the business, eventually founding the Wixom & Associates Shipping Co. in 1845. At that time, he began hearing about the newfangled game of baseball. After seeing the famed game at the Elysian Fields in 1846, he became interested in forming a league of baseball teams. However, there was very little if any interest in the game at the time, and Wixom had to wait. In the intervening years, his company grew to be one of the biggest shipping companies on the New York waterfront. When the Civil War broke out, his company was instrumental in bringing supplies to the soldiers fighting in the east. To Wixom's advantage, baseball grew in popularity during the war. After the war ended, he began searching for teams to form his league. By the end of 1870 he had 4 teams lined up to play in the Wixom Baseball League: Erie Keystones New York Mutuals (owned by David Wixom) Boston Colonials Philadelphia Minutemen At a meeting on December 8, 1870 at the Wixom & Associates Shipping Co. headquarters, the owners of the teams decided to play a 54 game schedule beginning next May 1st. They also elected to hold a free agent draft on January 1st to assemble the teams. Moreover, the owners voted to not hold a playoff. The team with the best record at the end of the year would be the champion. They also decided to play two weeks of exhibition games prior to the start of the season. The league constitution was unanimously ratified and signed by the owners. The Wixom Baseball League began play on May 1, 1871. Meanwhile, Paul Jackson Mullaney formed his own league around that time, also naming it after himself. Mullaney was younger than Wixom having been born on May 17, 1829. He grew up in the Chicago area. After graduating from Notre Dame University in 1851, he founded a department store in downtown Chicago. Like Wixom he became fascinated with the game of baseball and had wanted to form his own league. Mullaney served in the Civil War, playing on his unit's baseball team. After the war he moved back to Chicago and founded a baseball team, the Chicago Northsiders. The team was popular in the Chicago area, playing many local teams. Meanwhile he scouted around for teams to play in his league. By the end of 1870 he had 4 teams ready to play the 1871 season: Chicago Northsiders (owned by Paul Mullaney) Akron Buckeyes Indianapolis Pioneers Toledo Eries At a meeting held on November 19, 1870, the owners of the 4 teams adopted similar rules as the Wixom Baseball League, however they elected to play a 50 game schedule. Also they decided to play three weeks of exhibition games prior to the season. At a meeting held at the Chicago Grand Hotel on February 3, 1871, the league constitution was ratified by the owners and signed. The Mullaney Baseball League began play on May 1, 1871. COMING NEXT: The Wixom & Mullaney Baseball Leagues, 1871-1879 Last edited by skyballer455; 07-07-2014 at 10:38 PM.

07-08-2014, 05:30 PM	#3
skyballer455 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 701	The Wixom & Mullaney Baseball Leagues: 1871 - 1879 Early on, both leagues were somewhat popular in their respective regions of the country. It was not uncommon to see over 1,000 people at a game. Considering the teams played on mostly grassy fields, it was quite an accomplishment. Fans were treated to some truly competitive ball. Below are the combined records of the Wixom & Mullaney League teams from the 1871 season to the 1879 season: Despite a strong start, Wixom's league failed to garner any real fan interest after the 1874 season. Wixom league games were lucky if they attracted 500 to a game. By the end of 1879, Wixom felt his league was a failure. After all, his team had failed to compete in his own league. Wixom began proceedings to disband the league. Meanwhile, Mullaney's league had more success than Wixom's league. His team was a consistent contender. The games drew big crowds. His league grew to be one of the most popular in the country. After reading about Wixom's plight in a newspaper, he wrote to Wixom asking him to meet him in Chicago. On September 4, 1879 Mullaney and Wixom met at a gentleman's club on the north side of Chicago, Mullaney's team's namesake. Mullaney discussed forming a merger between their two leagues. The trappings of a bigger league fascinated Wixom. He felt that this would be the booster shot that his teams would need. Wixom told Mullaney that he would go back to New York to halt the disbanding procedures in his league and meet him again in October. Neither of them could know that this was the start of something big. COMING NEXT: A League Is Born Last edited by skyballer455; 07-08-2014 at 10:14 PM.

07-11-2014, 12:06 PM	#5
skyballer455 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 701	A League Is Born As promised, David Wixom met Paul Mullaney in Chicago on October 4. At the Chicago Grand Hotel, they discussed the terms of the merger. The following terms were agreed upon: 1) Both leagues were to be disbanded immediately 2) Teams from both leagues would play in the newly formed league 3) All players would be declared free agents once the merge was completed 4) A free agent draft would occur on January 1, 1880 to place the free agents on teams 5) Two minor leagues would be aquired to place the remaining free agents 6) Wixom & Mullaney would become co-commisioners, and 7) Finally, the new league would be named The Pan-American Baseball League After the meeting, Paul Mullaney wrote up a constitution to be ratified by the team owners on October 31. Notices of the upcoming merger were sent to all 8 teams. Teams were given the option to either pull out or join the new league. Three teams decided to leave the league and join independent leagues: Erie Keystones Philadelphia Minutemen Akron Buckeyes While more teams were sought out, owners of the 5 remaining teams met on October 31, 1879 to ratify the league constitution. It was ratified unanimously by all in attendence and signed. Meanwhile, three teams joined the new league to replace the ones that left: Milwaukee Blue Stockings Pittsburgh Greyhounds Detroit Flags Owners of the three teams all ratified the constitution, thereby joining the league. At a meeting on December 1, 1879, the 8 owners adopted similar rules as the former leagues. The owners voted to play a 84 game schedule beginning April 1, 1880. Free Agency would be open to all players with four or more years of service in the league. Those players, once their contracts expired, would be free to negotiate with any team they chose. Also, trading was disallowed for the time being. It was also decided that new players would enter the league through a draft mid-season and signed to a minor league team. An additional draft would be held to acquire players from the lowest minor league. The Toledo Eries moved to Cleveland by approval of the league and became the Cleveland Eries. The Chicago Northsiders also voted to change their name to the Chicago Green Stockings. Thus the Pan-American Baseball League was born. Last edited by skyballer455; 07-13-2014 at 03:48 PM.

07-13-2014, 03:46 PM	#6
skyballer455 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 701	Welcome! Welcome to the Pan-American Baseball League, my first ever baseball universe! I hope to keep this dynasty going for some time. I hope for this dynasty to be a re imagining of the history of modern baseball as we know it today. Since I have very little experience with tweaking the settings, I will be using the default league totals modifiers, financials etc. during the course of this dynasty. In this dynasty there will be the main league, with the eight teams mentioned in previous posts, and two minor leagues. Starting out, the two minor leagues are the Ohio Baseball Association and the Michigan State Baseball League. In the next post I will be posting the opening day rosters of the eight major league teams along with the rosters of their OBA affiliates. Because the MSBA teams will hardly ever be mentioned in the dynasty report, the teams, along with their PABL affiliate, are listed below: Bay City Nationals - Indianapolis Detroit Republicans - Cleveland Flint Americans - Pittsburgh Grand Rapids Carvers - New York Lansing Senators - Boston Port Huron Internationals - Milwaukee Saginaw Indians - Detroit Traverse City Cherries - Chicago The league will hold two drafts, the first will be the main amateur draft mid-season, and the second will be the draft of the players from the MSBA. This will be called the MSBA Draft. To start out, we will follow aging pitcher Jerry Geltman as he tries to manage the Cleveland Eries to victory. Special thanks to Questdog for helping me get this dynasty going. COMING NEXT: Opening Day Rosters

07-13-2014, 04:36 PM	#7
Habsfan18 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Canada Posts: 2,238	In the 3rd post..that would be a fantastic OOTP skin for historical leagues. Is it possible to do that? Last edited by Habsfan18; 07-13-2014 at 04:37 PM.

07-08-2014, 01:36 AM	#2
Trebro All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 753 Blog Entries: 1	An intriguing start! I'll be following along. Can you tell us a bit about how you set this up?