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Ban Johnson
Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson (January 5, 1864 – March 28, 1931) was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League (AL). Johnson developed the AL—a descendant of the minor league Western League—into a "clean" alternative to the National League, which had become notorious for its rough-and-tumble atmosphere.
Western League (1885–1899)The Western League was the name of several minor league baseball leagues that operated between 1885 and 1899. These leagues were focused mainly in the Midwestern United States. The 1893 incarnation of the league hired Ban Johnson as president in 1894. In 1899, Johnson renamed it the American League and declared that it was now a major league, intending to compete against the older National League of 1876, which was centered in the American Northeast states.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.