The International Association for Professional Base Ball Players, commonly known as the International Association, was the name for two separate Canadian-American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

leagues that first operated during 1877–1878 (plus an additional two seasons under a different name) and later operated during 1888–1890.

International Association of 1877–1878

The Association's by-laws and constitution required member teams to pay $10 to join the league (plus an additional $15 to compete for the championship) and fan admission was set at 25 cents. Visiting teams were guaranteed $75, plus half of the gate receipts when they exceeded that amount ($75). Pitcher

Candy Cummings William Arthur "Candy" Cummings (October 18, 1848 – May 17, 1924) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a pitcher in the National Association and National League. Cummings is widely credited with inventing the curveball. ...

was the first president of the International Association, while also a player for the Lynn Live Oaks of Massachusetts in 1877. Jimmy Williams of Columbus served as the league's first Secretary.

1877 season

In 1877, the International Association featured teams based in: *

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

(

London Tecumsehs The historic London Tecumsehs were a professional men's baseball team in London, Ontario, Canada, that were first formed in 1868 — a merger of the Forest City Base Ball Club and the London Base Ball Club — which, according to George Railton's ...

) *

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

(

Pittsburgh Allegheny The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

) *

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

(The Rochesters) *

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

(The Manchesters) *

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

( Columbus Buckeyes) *

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Well ...

, Ontario, Canada ( Guelph Maple Leafs) *

Lynn Lynn may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lynn (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Lynn (surname) * The Lynns, a 1990s American country music duo consisting of twin sisters Peggy and Patsy Lynn * Lynn ( ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

(Lynn Live Oaks)

Final standings

Final standings of the 1877 season: *

14-4-2* *

13-6-0 *Rochester (The Rochesters), NY 10-8-0 *Manchester (The Manchesters), NH 9-10-0 * Columbus Buckeyes 9-11-2 * Guelph Maple Leafs 4-12-0 * Lynn (Massachusetts) Live Oaks 1-9-0 * disbanded Fred Goldsmith, London's star pitcher, had a 14–4 record in 193

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning ...

with three shutouts, during International Association play in 1877.

1878 season

In 1878, the league lost two teams - Guelph and Columbus - however, it added the

Binghamton Crickets Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluenc ...

, Hornellsville Hornells and Syracuse Stars. The cities of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, Hartford, Connecticut,

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, It is one of two traditional county seat, seats of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,5 ...

, New Bedford, Massachusetts,

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

, Springfield, Massachusetts and

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 census, making it the second- most populous city in New England after ...

also had representatives. Buffalo finished in first place. Bud Fowler, the first known

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

player in organized baseball, pitched for the Lynn club in 1878.

Transformation and hiatus

The

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

, winners of the 1878 pennant, and the Syracuse Stars seriously hurt the International Association's chances at major league status when they joined the rival

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

for the 1879 season. At the same time, the

dropped out of the league, causing it to be renamed the National Base Ball Association entering the 1879 season. Under that name, it played through the 1880 season before dissolving. The league did not operate from 1881 to 1887.

International Association of 1888–1890

In 1888,

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Patsy Donovan of the London Tecumsehs led the league in batting with a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average i ...

of either .359 (according to the Donovan family web site) or .398 (according to the London Tecumsehs' official scorer C. J. Moorehead in a 1903 copy of ''The London Advertiser''), had 201 hits, scored 103 runs and stole 80 bases. His second season with the Tecumsehs was less successful due to a leg injury. Donovan went on to an outstanding career in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

, even playing a significant role in scouting

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

Teams

The following teams played in the second incarnation of the league, which existed from 1888 until 1890: *

Albany Governors Albany, derived from the Gaelic for Scotland, most commonly refers to: * Albany, New York, the capital of the State of New York and largest city of this name * Albany, Western Australia, port city in the Great Southern Albany may also refer t ...

(1890) *

(1888–1890) *

Detroit Wolverines The Detroit Wolverines were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team that played in the National League from 1881 to 1888 in the city of Detroit, Michigan. In total, they won 426 games and lost 437, taking their lone pennant (and winning the pre ...

(1889–1890) * Hamilton Mountaineers (1888, 1890) *

Hamilton Hams Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilton ...

(1889) * London Tecumsehs (1888–1890) *

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

(1890) * Grand Rapids Shamrocks (1890) * Rochester Jingoes (1888–1889) * Saginaw-Bay City Hyphens (1890) * Syracuse Stars (1888–1889) *

Toledo Black Pirates Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Orur ...

(1889) *

Toronto Canucks The Toronto Maple Leafs were a high-level minor league baseball club located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which played from 1896 to 1967. While the Maple Leafs had working agreements with numerous Major League Baseball clubs after the introdu ...

(1888–1890) * Troy Trojans (1888) In 1888, Syracuse finished in first place. Detroit finished in first place in 1889 and 1890.

Legacy

Some baseball historians consider the International Association the first

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

; others point out that the league was conceived as a rival to the

, now thought of as the sole major league of the era. Statistics of players who competed in the International Association and other early non-major leagues, such as the

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League ...

, are grouped as "Other" by the Baseball-Reference.com reference site. The

Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for five seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, and 1886–1887. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by the ...

of 1883–1884 is regarded as the first true minor league.

Sources

* ''The Northern Game: Baseball the Canadian Way'' by Bob Elliott (Sport Classic, 2005). * ''Heritage Baseball: City of London'' a souvenir program from July 23, 2005, celebrating the history of Labatt Park and London, Ontario's 150th anniversary as an incorporated city. * ''Boys of Summer: Knute, Boot, Milky and Buck'' by Don Maudsley (SCENE magazine, London, Ontario, June 15, 2000). * ''The magic continues at London's Field of Dreams'' by Barry Wells (SCENE magazine, London, Ontario, June 15, 2000). * ''Canada's Baseball Capital Celebrates 143rd Year'' by William Humber (page 36 of the ''London Majors Baseball Club, 1998 Souvenir Program''). * ''Diamonds of the North: A Concise History of Baseball in Canada'' by William Humber (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, 1995). * ''The Beaver, Exploring Canada's History'', ''Baseball's Canadian Roots: Abner Who?'' by Mark Kearney (October–November 1994). * The 1948 London Majors: A Great Canadian Team'' by Dan Mendham (unpublished academic paper, UWO, December 7, 1992). * ''Diamond Rituals: Baseball in Canadian Culture'' by Robert K. Barney, (Meckler Books, 1989). * ''Journal of Sport History'', ''A Critical Examination of a Source in Early Ontario Baseball: The Reminiscence of Adam E. Ford'' by UWO Professor Robert K. Barney and Nancy Bouchier (Vol. 15, No. 1, Spring 1988). * ''Who's Who in Canadian Sport'' by Bob Ferguson, (Summerhill Press Ltd., 1985). * ''Cheering for the Home Team: The Story of Baseball in Canada'' by William Humber, (The Boston Mills Press, 1983). * ''Old Time Baseball and the London Tecumsehs of the late 1870s'' by Les Bronson, a recorded (and later transcribed) talk given to the London & Middlesex Historical Society on February 15, 1972. Available in the London Room of the London Public Library, Main Branch. * ''Bill Stern's Favorite Baseball Stories'' by Bill Stern, (Blue Ribbon Books, Garden City, New York, 1949).

References

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