Events in Sport
- 1900-01-29 American League organized in Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee and Minneapolis
American League Reorganized
1900-03-16 AL meets in Chicago, Ban Johnson announces AL league will be Chicago White Stockings, Washington Senators, Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Blues, Boston Americans, Philadelphia Athletics and Baltimore Orioles
- 1900-04-26 Newly renamed American League opener in Cleveland draws 6,500 (still as a minor league, was Western League)
- 1900-11-13 Baltimore Orioles (now NY Yankees) enter baseball's American League
- 1901-04-24 First game in baseball's American League: Chicago White Stockings win against the Cleveland Blues 8-2, other games rained out
- 1901-04-25 Erve Beck hits American League's 1st home run
- 1901-05-01 Chicago White Sox outfielder Herm McFarland hits first grand slam in American League history in 19-9 win at home against Detroit; Tigers commit 12 errors
- 1901-12-03 At the MLB meeting, the Milwaukee Brewers franchise is officially dropped from the American League and replaced by the St. Louis Browns
- 1903-01-09 Baseball's National & American Leagues make peace
- 1903-01-09 Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchase the American League's Baltimore baseball franchise for $18,000 and move it to NYC (later the NY Yankees)
- 1903-03-12 New York Highlanders (Yankees) baseball franchise is approved as a member of the American League
- 1903-04-22 NY Highlanders (Yankees) first MLB game; lose 3-1 before 11,950 vs Washington Senators at American League Park
- 1903-04-23 NY Highlanders (Yankees) win their first game; beat Washington Senators, 7-2 at American League Park
American League MVP
1924-09-14 Walter Johnson selected as the American League MVP
Lou Gehrig AL MVP
1927-10-11 New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig is named American League MVP; despite hitting MLB record 60 HR's Babe Ruth as a former winner is not eligible
- 1927-10-17 Ban Johnson, in failing health, retires as AL President
- 1928-12-01 National League President John Heydler first to propose a baseball rule change calling for a 10th man, or 'designated hitter', to bat in place of the pitcher; ironically, the NL vote in favour of proposal, but the American League turn it down
- 1929-04-16 Cleveland rookie center fielder Earl Averill, becomes first American League player to hit a HR on 1st at bat; Indians beat Detroit Tigers, 5-4 at League Park
- 1934-11-03 NY Yankees 1st baseman Lou Gehrig wins American League Triple Crown after hitting .363 with 49 HRs and 165 RBI; but Detroit Tigers catcher-manager Mickey Cochrane (.320, 2 HRs, 76 RBI) is named AL MVP
- 1937-02-13 Boston Redskins receive approval from NFL to move to Washington, D.C; to share baseball's Griffith Stadium with first Washington Senators of the American League
Sports History
1938-11-02 Boston Red Sox first baseman Jimmie Foxx is voted Most Valuable Player of the American League for the third time
- 1938-12-14 Will Harridge is elected to a 10-year-term as AL president
- 1939-07-25 New York Yankees starting pitcher Atley Donald sets American League rookie record for consecutive wins; beats St. Louis Browns 5-1 for his 12th straight victory
Sports History
1942-07-07 Baseball Military All-Star team (including Bob Feller) loses to American League All Stars 5-0
Baseball Record
1942-11-03 Boston Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams wins American League Triple Crown (.356 average, 36 HRs, 137 RBI); but NY Yankees pitcher Joe Gordon is AL MVP
- 1943-09-06 Carl Scheib becomes youngest pitcher in American League history at 16years, 8 months
- 1950-06-18 Cleveland Indians score an American League record 14 runs in 1st inning; beat Philadelphia A's, 21-2 at Cleveland Stadium
- 1954-10-02 Don Liddle beats Bob Lemon 7-4 as the New York Giants complete an unlikely World Series sweep of the powerful Cleveland Indians; Cleveland season record of 111-43 sets American League mark for regular season wins
Cronin AL President
1959-01-31 Former star MLB shortstop and manager Joe Cronin signs 7 year pact to become American League President
- 1960-10-26 MLB: American League approves existing Washington Senators move to become Minnesota Twins, and two new expansion franchises - Los Angeles Angels & Washington (D.C.) Senators; 1961 season schedule grows from 154 to 162 games
Sports History
1960-11-02 New York Yankees outfielder Roger Maris beats teammate Mickey Mantle for American League MVP Award, 225-222; second-closest vote ever
- 1960-12-06 MLB American League grants American entertainer and businessman Gene Autry a franchise: Los Angeles Angels
- 1960-12-14 Washington Senators joins American League
- 1963-10-12 Final event at Polo Grounds, New York City; 14,235 attend 1st (and only) "Latino All-Star Game" - National League wins 5-2 over American League; festivities include a concert by Tito Puente [1]
Robinson AL MVP
1964-11-18 Baltimore Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson wins American League MVP
- 1967-03-01 MLB Commissioner William Eckert approves the Baseball Writers Association of America's plan to name a Cy Young Award recipient from both the National and American Leagues
- 1967-10-18 MLB American League votes to allow Kansas City Athletics to move to Oakland, California & expand league to 12 teams in 1971 with Kansas City & Seattle teams - later accelerated to 1969 due to pressure from Kansas City politicians
- 1967-12-01 Pacific Northwest Sports, Inc. is awarded one of the 2 American League baseball expansion franchises; new team named the Seattle Pilots
- 1968-10-15 MLB American League expansion draft: Kansas City Royals pick Baltimore Orioles pitcher Roger Nelson & Seattle Pilots pick California Angels infielder Don Mincher 1st as they choose 30 players each
- 1973-01-11 American League adopts designated hitter rule
- 1973-10-23 Yankee GM & President Lee MacPhail named AL president
- 1973-12-18 Yanks sign Dick Williams as manager, overturned later by AL Pres
- 1974-01-01 Lee MacPhail takes over as AL president, succeeding Joe Cronin
Sports History
1974-06-11 Mel Stottlemyre sets an American League record by making his 272nd consecutive start without pitching a game in relief
Fred Lynn
1975-11-26 Boston Red Sox center fielder Fred Lynn becomes the first rookie ever to be named American League MVP
- 1981-11-03 Milwaukee Brewers future Baseball Hall of Fame reliever Rollie Fingers (6-3 record, 28 saves and 1.04 ERA) wins American League Cy Young Award, with 22 of 28 possible 1st-place votes
Baseball Record
1982-11-03 Pitcher Pete Vuckovich becomes Milwaukee Brewers' second consecutive American League Cy Young Award winner; edges Jim Palmer of the Baltimore Orioles; Vuckovich, 18-6 with 105 strikeouts and 3.34 ERA
Baseball Record
1987-11-03 Oakland A's first baseman Mark McGwire wins American League Rookie of the Year with 49 home runs, 118 RBI; second to win AL award unanimously; first Carlton Fisk 1972
- 1997-11-03 Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra becomes 6th player to be unanimous choice for American League Rookie of the Year; leads AL in hits (209), triples (11), multi-hit games (68); also sets AL rookie-record with 30-game hitting streak
- 1998-03-31 Milwaukee becomes first team since the inception of the American League in 1901 to switch MLB leagues; Brewers lose first NL game, 2-1 to the Braves in Atlanta
Baseball Record
2001-04-02 New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens becomes American League all-time strikeout leader, recording his 3,509th K in a 7-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals; Walter Johnson previous record 3,508 Ks
- 2019-08-12 Baltimore Orioles concede 7 home runs in doubleheader defeats against NY Yankees to break the American League single season HRs allowed record with 248 and counting
Birthdays in Sport
Ban Johnson (1864-1931)
1864-01-06 American Baseball HOF executive (founder, President American League), born in Norwalk, Connecticut
- 1878-02-12 Clarence "Pants" Rowland, American baseball manager (World Series 1917; Chicago White Sox 1915-18) and MLB umpire (American League 1923-27), born in Platteville, Wisconsin (d. 1969)
- 1883-10-16 Will Harridge, American Baseball HOF executive (President American League 1931-59), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1971)
- 1884-02-10 Billy Evans, American Baseball HOF umpire (American League 1906-27; at age 22, youngest umpire in MLB history), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1956)
Joe Cronin (1906-1984)
1906-10-12 American Baseball HOF shortstop (7 x MLB All Star), manger (Boston RS, Washington Senators) and executive (AL President 1959-73), born in San Francisco, California
- 1924-10-25 Bobby Brown, American baseball third baseman (NY Yankees; World Series 1947, 49–51) and executive (president American League 1984-94), born in Seattle, Washington (d. 2021)
- 1931-05-26 Jim Frey, American MLB manager (Kansas City Royals, American League C'ship 1980; Chicago Cubs), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2020)
- 1932-06-04 John McNamara, American MLB manager (American League Manager of the Year 1986; Boston Red Sox), born in Sacramento, California (d. 2020)
- 1937-06-28 Ron Luciano, American baseball umpire in the American League (1969-79), born in Endicott, New York (d. 1995)
- 1939-05-25 Gene A. Budig, American baseball executive (last American League [AL] president 1994-99), born in McCook, Nebraska (d. 2020)
Deaths in Sport
Ban Johnson (1864-1931)
1931-03-28 American Baseball HOF executive (founder, President American League), dies after a long illness at 67
- 1956-01-23 Billy Evans, American Baseball HOF umpire (American League 1906-27; at age 22, youngest umpire in MLB history), dies from a stroke at 71
- 1969-05-17 Clarence "Pants" Rowland, American baseball manager (World Series 1917; Chicago White Sox 1915-18) and MLB umpire (American League 1923-27), dies at 91
- 1971-04-09 Will Harridge, American Baseball HOF executive (President American League 1931-59), dies at 87
Joe Cronin (1906-1984)
1984-09-07 American Baseball HOF shortstop (7 x MLB All Star), manger (Boston RS, Washington Senators) and executive (AL President 1959-73), dies at 77
- 1995-01-18 Ron Luciano, American baseball umpire in the American League (1969-79), dies at 57
- 2020-04-12 Jim Frey, American MLB manager (Kansas City Royals, American League C'ship 1980; Chicago Cubs), dies at 88
- 2020-07-28 John McNamara, American MLB manager (American League Manager of the Year 1986; Boston Red Sox), dies at 88
- 2020-09-08 Gene A. Budig, American baseball executive (last American League [AL] president 1994-99), dies from liver disease at 81
- 2021-03-25 Bobby Brown, American baseball third baseman (NY Yankees; World Series 1947, 49–51) and executive (president American League 1984-94), dies at 96