Atlantic League (1896–1900)

The Atlantic League was a minor league baseball league that operated between 1896 and 1900 in the Northeastern United States. It was the successor of the Pennsylvania State League, which had operated from 1892 to 1895. The name has subsequently been reused twice, for another short-lived league in 1914, and for a contemporary independent minor league.

Atlantic League (1896–1900)
1896 Paterson Silk Weavers with the Soby Cup
FormerlyPennsylvania State League
ClassificationClass A, Class B
SportBaseball
Founded1896
CeasedJune 1900
President
No. of teams8
CountryUnited States
Most titlesRichmond Bluebirds (2)

History

Ed Barrow was president of the Atlantic League for three of its five seasons.

League champions

SeasonChampionRecordClassLeague
size
Ref.
1896Newark Colts82–61 (.573)A6 teams[1]
1897Lancaster Maroons90–45 (.667)A8 teams[2]
1898Richmond Bluebirds77–44 (.636)B8 teams[3]
1899Richmond Bluebirds63–25 (.716)A8 teams[4]
1900Scranton Miners26–7 (.788)A8 teams[5]
In 1896, eight teams competed; at any point in time, there were six teams active.
In 1899 and 1900, there were only six teams active at season's end.

Source: [6]

Teams

Oyster Burns was player-manager of the Newark Colts in 1896.
Jake Wells was Richmond's only manager.
TeamCity18961897189818991900
Allentown PeanutsAllentown, Pennsylvania  Green tickYGreen tickYGreen tickY
ElmiraElmira, New York    Green tickY
Harrisburg PoniesHarrisburg, Pennsylvania    Green tickY12
Hartford BluebirdsHartford, ConnecticutGreen tickYGreen tickY   
Hartford Cooperatives  Green tickY  
Jersey CityJersey City, New Jersey    Green tickY
Lancaster MaroonsLancaster, PennsylvaniaGreen tickY12Green tickYGreen tickYGreen tickY 
New Haven Texas SteersNew Haven, ConnecticutGreen tickY12    
New York MetropolitansNew York, New YorkGreen tickY12    
Newark ColtsNewark, New JerseyGreen tickYGreen tickYGreen tickYGreen tickYGreen tickY
Norfolk JewelsNorfolk, Virginia Green tickYGreen tickY  
Paterson Silk WeaversPaterson, New JerseyGreen tickYGreen tickYGreen tickY  
Paterson Giants   Green tickY 
Philadelphia AthleticsPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaGreen tickY12Green tickY  Green tickY12
Reading Coal HeaversReading, Pennsylvania Green tickYGreen tickYGreen tickYGreen tickY
Richmond BluebirdsRichmond, Virginia Green tickYGreen tickYGreen tickY 
Scranton MinersScranton, Pennsylvania   Green tickYGreen tickY
Wilkes-Barre Coal BaronsWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania   Green tickYGreen tickY
Wilmington PeachesWilmington, DelawareGreen tickY    
Total league size68888

Notes:

In 1896, New Haven disbanded on July 12; Lancaster entered the league on July 13; New York was expelled on July 13 and was replaced by Philadelphia.
In 1899, Paterson disbanded on July 4, and Scranton followed on July 9.
In 1900, Philadelphia moved to Harrisburg on June 4; Newark and Jersey City disbanded on June 2; the league disbanded on June 14.

Source: [6]

Results by season

Teams denoted in italics disbanded during the season.

1896 (Class A)[6]:170

April 23–September 13

TeamWLPct.GB
Newark8261.573
Hartford7356.5661
Paterson7460.5523.5
New York / Philadelphia5769.45213
Wilmington5879.42320
Lancaster2630.464N/A
New Haven2138.356N/A
New York was 30–32 when replaced by Philadelphia
1897 (Class A)[6]:173

April 26–September 19

TeamWLPct.GB
Lancaster9045.667
Newark8952.6314
Hartford7855.58611
Richmond7159.54616.5
Norfolk6672.47825.5
Paterson6879.46328
Philadelphia4989.35543
Reading40100.28651


1898 (Class B)[6]:176

April 25–September 10

TeamWLPct.GB
Richmond7744.636
Lancaster8250.6210.5
Reading7256.5638.5
Paterson6570.48119
Allentown5567.45125.5
Newark5871.45026
Hartford5776.42929
Norfolk4779.37335.5
1899 (Class A)[6]:179

April 27–August 6

TeamWLPct.GB
Richmond6325.716
Wiles-Barre4937.57013
Lancaster5142.54814.5
Reading4640.53516
Allentown3747.44024
Newark4254.43825
Scranton2538.397N/A
Paterson2151.292N/A


Joe Delahanty played for Allentown in 1900 and led the Atlantic League in batting with a .469 average.[6]:181
1900 (Class A)[6]:181

April 30–June 14

TeamWLPct.GB
Scranton267.788
Wiles-Barre2413.6494
Reading1616.5009.5
Allentown1420.41212.5
Philadelphia / Harrisburg1017.37013
Elmira1119.36713.5
Newark812.400N/A
Jersey City712.368N/A
Philadelphia was 10–11 when replaced by Harrisburg

Soby Cup

The Soby Cup, made of silver, was given to the league by tobacco businessman Charles Soby of Hartford, Connecticut, in September 1896.[7] In its first season, the cup was to be awarded to the winner of a postseason series between the league's top two teams; in subsequent years, the holder of the cup would play a series against the league's top finishing team.[8]

Standings at the end of the 1896 season, which had Newark finishing first, were formally protested by the Paterson team, claiming that some of Newark's games were actually exhibitions.[9] With that protest pending, the next two teams in the standings—Paterson and Hartford—arranged to play a series for the Soby Cup.[10] Paterson won the seven-game series, four games to two.[11] The protested standings were not ruled upon until the league's annual meeting in late November; despite inconsistencies in record-keeping, Newark was declared the pennant winner.[12]

Following the 1897 season, the Soby Cup series should have been contested between Lancaster, that year's top team, and Paterson, who had won the cup in 1896.[8] However, league officials decided to have the top two teams of 1897—Lancaster and Newark—play for the cup.[8] After Lancaster and Newark could not agree to terms for a series,[13] the Soby Cup was awarded to Lancaster, the pennant winner.[14]

Prior to the 1898 season, the league abolished the postseason Soby Cup series, and returned to the cup to its donor.[15] By 1951, the cup was at the Baseball Hall of Fame,[16] where it remains as of 2019.[17]

Notable players

Future Hall of Famer Honus Wagner played for Paterson in 1896 and 1897.

Notable players in the Atlantic League (1896–1900) include:[6]

See also

References

  1. "1896 Atlantic League".
  2. "1897 Atlantic League".
  3. "1898 Atlantic League".
  4. "1899 Atlantic League".
  5. "1900 Atlantic League".
  6. Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles (2007). Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 9781932391176.
  7. "Meeting of Atlantic League in Philadelphia". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. September 12, 1896. p. 1. Retrieved July 19, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  8. "Who Plays for the Soby Cup?". Passaic Daily News. Passaic, New Jersey. September 16, 1897. p. 5. Retrieved July 19, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  9. "Paterson Makes Protest". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. September 16, 1896. p. 3. Retrieved July 19, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  10. "Atlantic League Matters". Passaic Daily News. Passaic, New Jersey. September 16, 1896. p. 5. Retrieved July 19, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  11. "Paterson Gets the Cup". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. October 5, 1896. p. 6. Retrieved July 19, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  12. "The Atlantic League". The Evening Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. November 24, 1896. p. 6. Retrieved July 19, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  13. "Base Ball Notes". The News-Journal. Lancaster, Pennsylvania. September 20, 1897. p. 1. Retrieved July 19, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  14. "Atlantic League Meeting". The News-Journal. Lancaster, Pennsylvania. September 21, 1897. p. 1. Retrieved July 19, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  15. "The Atlantic League". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. March 25, 1898. p. 2. Retrieved July 19, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  16. Fullerton Jr., Hugh (August 15, 1951). "The Missing Trophies". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. p. 20. Retrieved July 20, 2019 via newspapers.com.
  17. Manager of Reference Services (July 25, 2019), email correspondence, Cooperstown, New York: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
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