Throughout the history of

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 (A ...

, numerous franchises have moved or become defunct. Many of these franchises played in the

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 s ...

(NL) and the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

(AL), the two existing major leagues, but other franchises played in one of the eleven major leagues that ultimately went defunct. The classification of the major leagues is based on Major League Baseball's recognition of historical leagues. Major league baseball emerged in the 1870s, and four major leagues, including the NL, played at least one season of baseball in the nineteenth century. During this period, dozens of franchises were founded, but most went defunct, leaving just twelve NL franchises by the 1892 season. After four of the twelve NL franchises went defunct following the 1899 season, the American League emerged in 1901 with several newly founded franchises. The

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

(FL) challenged the primacy of the American League and the National League for two seasons, but the FL and all of its franchises went defunct after the 1915 season. Numerous

Negro league The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

s operated during the first half of the twentieth century; seven leagues that operated from 1920 to 1948 were later recognized as major leagues by Major League Baseball. Outside of the Negro leagues, no major league franchises relocated for several years after 1915, until the

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

moved to Milwaukee following the 1952 season. Several teams relocated over the next twenty years, often moving to the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. After a period of over thirty years with no relocation, the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...

became the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

in 2005.

List of defunct and relocated major league franchises since 1892

National, American, and Federal League franchises

These franchises played in the National League, the American League, or the Federal League after the 1891 season and either went defunct or relocated. Some franchises appear more than once in the table; for example, the Braves franchise appears twice because they moved to Milwaukee in 1952 and to Atlanta in 1965.

Negro major league franchises

In 2020, Major League Baseball extended major league recognition to seven

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

: * Negro National League (NNL I), 1920–1931 *

Eastern Colored League The Mutual Association of Eastern Colored Clubs, more commonly known as the Eastern Colored League (ECL), was one of the several Negro leagues, which operated during the time organized baseball was segregated. League history Founding The ECL ...

(ECL), 1923–1928 * American Negro League (ANL), 1929 *

East–West League The East–West League was an American Negro baseball league that operated during the period when professional baseball in the United States was segregated. Cum Posey organized the league in 1932, but it did not last the full year and folded in Ju ...

(EWL), 1932 * Negro Southern League (NSL), 1932 * Negro National League (NNL II), 1933–1948 *

Negro American League The Negro American League was one of the several Negro league baseball, Negro leagues created during the time organized American baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937 in baseball, 1937, and disbanded after its 1962 in basebal ...

(NAL), 1937–1948 The listed years in the table below indicate the first and last years that the franchise played in a major league as recognized by Major League Baseball; many franchises existed before or after playing in a major league. Franchises that played only as associate clubs of a major league are not included. From 1924 to 1927, and from 1942 to 1948, the top Negro leagues crowned a champion through the

Negro World Series The Negro World Series was a post-season baseball tournament that was held from 1924 to 1927 and from 1942 to 1948 between the champions of the Negro leagues, matching the mid-western winners against their east-coast counterparts. The series was ...

List of major league franchises that went defunct prior to 1892

The franchises in the following list went defunct before the 1892 season, and played in the

, the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

(AA), the

Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Prof ...

(PL), the

Union Association The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Seven of the twelve teams who were in the Association at some poi ...

(UA), or some combination of the four leagues. The NL has played continuously since 1876, the AA existed from 1882 to 1891, the UA existed for one season in 1884, and the PL operated for one season in 1890. Note that there have been many cases of multiple distinct franchises sharing the same name. In 1968–1969, the Special Records Committee, which was established by Major League Baseball, defined the major leagues as consisting of the NA, NL, AA, PL, UA, American League, and Federal League. The Special Records Committee excluded the National Association (NA), which operated from 1871 to 1875, as a major league. Some baseball writers have nonetheless argued that the NA should be considered the first major league, but NA franchises are not included below unless they later played in the National League. †Indicates a franchise that played in the National Association prior to joining the National League

Timelines

Franchise and league timeline

This timeline includes all franchises (including non-defunct franchises) that played in the AL or NL after 1891; it also shows the eleven historical leagues during the period in which each is considered a major league by Major League Baseball. Only major and recent name changes are marked in blue. Franchise moves are marked in black. DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1875 till:2033 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:20 bottom:50 top:5 Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:nc value:blue # Name Change id:NL value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # National League franchises id:AL value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # American League franchises id:OL value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Other leagues PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:NL from:1876 till:2023 text:Chicago Cubs bar:2 color:NL from:1876 till:1952 text:Boston Braves bar:2 color:line from:1952 till:1953 text: bar:2 color:NL from:1953 till:1965 text:Mil. Braves bar:2 color:line from:1965 till:1966 text: bar:2 color:NL from:1966 till:2023 text:Atlanta Braves bar:3 color:OL from:1882 till:1892 text:American Association bar:4 color:OL from:1882 till:1892 text:St. Louis Cardinals bar:4 color:NL from:1892 till:2023 text: bar:5 color:OL from:1882 till:1887 text:Pittsburgh Pirates bar:5 color:NL from:1887 till:2023 text: bar:6 color:OL from:1882 till:1890 text:Cincinnati Reds bar:6 color:NL from:1890 till:1952 text: bar:6 color:nc from:1952 till:1953 text: bar:6 color:NL from:1953 till:1958 text:RL* bar:6 color:nc from:1958 till:1959 text: bar:6 color:NL from:1959 till:2023 text: Cincinnati Reds bar:7 color:OL from:1882 till:1892 text:Louisville Colonels bar:7 color:NL from:1892 till:1900 text: bar:8 color:OL from:1882 till:1892 text:Baltimore Orioles bar:8 color:NL from:1892 till:1900 text: bar:9 color:NL from:1883 till:2023 text:Philadelphia Phillies bar:10 color:NL from:1883 till:1957 text:New York Giants bar:10 color:line from:1957 till:1958 text: bar:10 color:NL from:1958 till:2023 text:San Francisco Giants bar:11 color:OL from:1884 till:1885 text:Union Association bar:12 color:OL from:1884 till:1890 text:Brooklyn Dodgers bar:12 color:NL from:1890 till:1957 text: bar:12 color:line from:1957 till:1958 text: bar:12 color:NL from:1958 till:2023 text:Los Angeles Dodgers bar:13 color:OL from:1887 till:1889 text:Cleveland Spiders bar:13 color:NL from:1889 till:1900 text: bar:14 color:OL from:1890 till:1891 text:Player's League bar:15 color:OL from:1891 till:1892 text:Washington Senators bar:15 color:NL from:1892 till:1900 text: bar:16 color:AL from:1901 till:1903 text: Baltimore Orioles bar:17 color:AL from:1900 till:1901 text:* bar:17 color:line from:1901 till:1902 text: bar:17 color:AL from:1902 till:1953 text:St. Louis Browns bar:17 color:line from:1953 till:1954 text: bar:17 color:AL from:1954 till:2023 text:Baltimore Orioles bar:18 color:AL from:1901 till:1954 text: Philadelphia Athletics bar:18 color:line from:1952 till:1953 text: bar:18 color:AL from:1953 till:1967 text: K.C. Athletics bar:18 color:line from:1967 till:1968 text: bar:18 color:AL from:1968 till:2023 text: Oakland Athletics bar:19 color:AL from:1901 till:1960 text: Washington Senators bar:19 color:line from:1960 till:1961 text: bar:19 color:AL from:1961 till:2023 text: Minnesota Twins bar:20 color:AL from:1901 till:2023 text: Boston Red Sox bar:21 color:AL from:1901 till:2023 text: Chicago White Sox bar:22 color:AL from:1901 till:2021 text: Cleveland Indians bar:22 color:nc from:2021 till:2022 text: bar:22 color:AL from:2022 till:2023 text: Cle. Guardians bar:23 color:AL from:1901 till:2023 text: Detroit Tigers bar:24 color:AL from:1903 till:2023 text: New York Yankees bar:25 color:OL from:1914 till:1916 text: Federal League bar:26 color:OL from:1920 till:1932 text: Negro National League I bar:27 color:OL from:1923 till:1929 text: Eastern Colored League bar:28 color:OL from:1929 till:1930 text: American Negro League bar:29 color:OL from:1932 till:1933 text: East–West League bar:30 color:OL from:1932 till:1933 text: Negro Southern League bar:31 color:OL from:1933 till:1949 text: Negro National League II bar:32 color:OL from:1937 till:1949 text: Negro American League bar:33 color:AL from:1961 till:1971 text:W. Senators bar:33 color:line from:1971 till:1972 text: bar:33 color:AL from:1972 till:2023 text: Texas Rangers bar:34 color:AL from:1961 till:1964 text:L.A. bar:34 color:nc from:1964 till:1965 text: bar:34 color:AL from:1965 till:1996 text: California Angels bar:34 color:nc from:1996 till:1997 text: bar:34 color:AL from:1997 till:2004 text:Anaheim bar:34 color:nc from:2004 till:2005 text: bar:34 color:AL from:2005 till:2014 text: L.A.A.A* bar:34 color:nc from:2014 till:2015 text: bar:34 color:AL from:2015 till:2023 text: Los Angeles Angels bar:35 color:NL from:1962 till:2023 text: New York Mets bar:36 color:NL from:1962 till:1964 text:* bar:36 color:nc from:1964 till:1965 text: bar:36 color:NL from:1965 till:2013 text: Houston Astros bar:36 color:AL from:2013 till:2023 text: bar:37 color:NL from:1969 till:2004 text: Montreal Expos bar:37 color:line from:2004 till:2005 text: bar:37 color:NL from:2005 till:2023 text: Washington Nationals bar:38 color:NL from:1969 till:2023 text: San Diego Padres bar:39 color:AL from:1968 till:1969 text: * bar:39 color:line from:1969 till:1970 text: bar:39 color:AL from:1970 till:1998 text: Milwaukee Brewers bar:39 color:NL from:1998 till:2023 text: bar:40 color:AL from:1969 till:2023 text: Kansas City Royals bar:41 color:AL from:1977 till:2023 text: Toronto Blue Jays bar:42 color:AL from:1977 till:2023 text: Seattle Mariners bar:43 color:NL from:1993 till:2010 text: Florida Marlins bar:43 color:nc from:2010 till:2011 text: bar:43 color:NL from:2011 till:2023 text: Miami Marlins bar:44 color:NL from:1993 till:2023 text: Colorado Rockies bar:45 color:NL from:1998 till:2023 text: Arizona Diamondbacks bar:46 color:AL from:1998 till:2023 text: Tampa Bay Rays* ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1875 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Major League Baseball leagues and franchises" * From 1954 through 1959, during the Cold War, the Cincinnati Reds changed their name to the Redlegs for 5 seasons due to the connection between communism and the color red. * The Baltimore Orioles were inaugurated in 1901 as the Milwaukee Brewers and finished in dead last. They quickly moved to Saint Louis as the Browns and eventually relocated in Baltimore. * The Houston Astros were briefly named the Colt .45s for their inaugural three seasons. * L.A.A.A stands for Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The name caused controversy between the two cities and lead to the 2015 name change. * The Milwaukee Brewers played their 1969 inaugural season in Seattle as the Pilots but moved to Milwaukee six days before the 1970 season opener. * Tampa Bay started as the Devil Rays in 1998 and changed their name in 2009 to the Rays, dropping the “Devil” from the original name.

Pre-1900 city timeline

This timeline shows the history of major league franchises (including non-defunct franchises) before 1900. Multiple bars for a city indicates that the city hosted multiple major league franchises at the same time; for example, Philadelphia at times hosted two or three franchises concurrently. Gaps in the bars indicate a change in franchises; for example, there were three franchises known as the Kansas City Cowboys. Franchise moves are not tracked by this timeline. DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1876 till:1900 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:NL value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # National League id:AA value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # American Association id:UA value:rgb(0.78,0.391,0.654) # Union Association id:PL value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Player's League PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:NL from:1876 till:1900 text:Boston Braves bar:2 color:UA from:1884 till:1885 text:Boston Reds bar:2 color:PL from:1890 till:1891 text:Boston Reds bar:2 color:AA from:1891 till:1892 text: bar:3 color:NL from:1876 till:1900 text:Chicago Cubs bar:4 color:PL from:1890 till:1891 text:Chicago Pirates bar:5 color:NL from:1876 till:1880 text:Cincinnati Reds bar:5 color:AA from:1882 till:1890 text:Cincinnati Reds bar:5 color:NL from:1890 till:1900 text: bar:6 color:UA from:1884 till:1885 text:Cincinnati Outlaw Reds bar:6 color:AA from:1891 till:1892 text:Cincinnati Kelly's Killers bar:7 color:NL from:1876 till:1877 text:New York Mutuals bar:7 color:NL from:1883 till:1900 text:New York Giants bar:8 color:AA from:1883 till:1888 text:New York Metropolitans bar:8 color:PL from:1890 till:1891 text:New York Giants bar:9 color:NL from:1876 till:1877 text:Philadelphia Athletics bar:9 color:NL from:1883 till:1900 text:Philadelphia Phillies bar:10 color:AA from:1882 till:1891 text:Philadelphia Athletics bar:11 color:UA from:1884 till:1885 text:Philadelphia Keystones bar:11 color:PL from:1890 till:1891 text:Philadelphia Athletics bar:11 color:AA from:1891 till:1892 text: bar:12 color:NL from:1876 till:1878 text:St. Louis Brown Stockings bar:12 color:AA from:1882 till:1892 text:St. Louis Cardinals bar:12 color:NL from:1892 till:1900 text: bar:13 color:UA from:1884 till:1885 text:St. Louis Maroons bar:13 color:NL from:1885 till:1887 text: bar:14 color:NL from:1876 till:1878 text:Louisville Grays bar:14 color:AA from:1882 till:1892 text:Louisville Colonels bar:14 color:NL from:1892 till:1900 text: bar:15 color:NL from:1876 till:1877 text:Hartford Dark Blues bar:16 color:NL from:1877 till:1878 text:Brooklyn Hartfords bar:16 color:AA from:1884 till:1890 text:Brooklyn Dodgers bar:16 color:NL from:1890 till:1900 text: bar:17 color:AA from:1890 till:1891 text:Brooklyn Gladiators bar:18 color:PL from:1890 till:1891 text:Brooklyn Ward's Wonders bar:19 color:NL from:1878 till:1879 text:Indianapolis Blues bar:19 color:AA from:1884 till:1885 text:Indianapolis Hoosiers bar:19 color:NL from:1887 till:1890 text: bar:20 color:NL from:1878 till:1879 text:Milwaukee Grays bar:20 color:UA from:1884 till:1885 text:Milwaukee Brewers bar:20 color:AA from:1891 till:1892 text:Milwaukee Brewers bar:21 color:NL from:1878 till:1886 text:Providence Grays bar:22 color:NL from:1879 till:1885 text:Cleveland Blues bar:22 color:AA from:1887 till:1889 text:Cleveland Spiders bar:22 color:NL from:1889 till:1900 text: bar:23 color:PL from:1890 till:1891 text:Cleveland Infants bar:24 color:NL from:1879 till:1886 text:Buffalo Bisons bar:24 color:PL from:1890 till:1891 text:Buffalo Bisons bar:25 color:NL from:1879 till:1880 text:Syracuse Stars bar:25 color:AA from:1890 till:1891 text:Syracuse Stars bar:26 color:NL from:1879 till:1883 text:Troy Trojans bar:27 color:NL from:1880 till:1883 text:Worcester Worcesters bar:28 color:NL from:1881 till:1889 text:Detroit Wolverines bar:29 color:AA from:1882 till:1887 text:Pittsburgh Pirates bar:29 color:NL from:1887 till:1900 text: bar:30 color:UA from:1884 till:1885 text:Pittsburgh Stogies bar:30 color:PL from:1890 till:1891 text:Pittsburgh Burghers bar:31 color:AA from:1882 till:1892 text:Baltimore Orioles bar:31 color:NL from:1892 till:1900 text: bar:32 color:UA from:1884 till:1885 text:Baltimore Monumentals bar:33 color:AA from:1883 till:1885 text:Columbus Buckeyes bar:33 color:AA from:1889 till:1892 text:Columbus Solons bar:34 color:UA from:1884 till:1885 text:Washington Nationals bar:34 color:NL from:1886 till:1890 text: bar:34 color:AA from:1891 till:1892 text:Washington Senators bar:34 color:NL from:1892 till:1900 text: bar:35 color:AA from:1884 till:1885 text:Washington Statesmen bar:36 color:UA from:1884 till:1885 text:Kansas City Cowboys bar:36 color:NL from:1886 till:1887 text: bar:36 color:AA from:1888 till:1890 text:Kansas City Cowboys bar:37 color:UA from:1884 till:1885 text:Toledo Blue Stockings bar:37 color:AA from:1890 till:1891 text:Toledo Maumees bar:38 color:UA from:1884 till:1885 text:Altoona Mountain Citys bar:39 color:AA from:1884 till:1885 text:Richmond Virginians bar:40 color:UA from:1884 till:1885 text:St. Paul Saints bar:41 color:AA from:1884 till:1885 text:Wilmington Quicksteps bar:42 color:AA from:1890 till:1891 text:Rochester Broncos ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1876 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Pre-1900 Major League Baseball franchises"

Notes

References

{{MLB