The Origins of Interleague Play

While interleague play in the major leagues may have begun in 1997, interleague play in professional baseball was experimented with well before then.

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE – AMERICAN ASSOCIATION

One of the first attempts to play a series of Interleague games in the Minor Leagues was the agreement between the International League and the American Association in 1917 to add a series of games to their schedule at the end of a short season. The idea was credited to Charles Ebbets, President of the Brooklyn club and former owner of Newark. The two leagues would play their normal schedule involving only teams within their own boundaries but would end that play on August 4. Then American Association teams would travel to International League cities and play a series of 3 games with each of that circuit’s clubs. Immediately afterward the International League teams would travel westward and engage the American Association clubs a series of 3 games, with both leagues ending the season on September 22. A schedule was drawn up and season play began for both leagues. However, on May 26, at a meeting in Chicago, the American Association unanimously voted to withdraw from the agreement citing “bad weather and heavy losses” as the reason. Both the American Association and the International Leagues then added games to their own schedules to fill out the season.

References:

John Pardon tips on the occurrence of this “almost” Interleague Play and provision of schedule.

Sporting News, issue of March 22, 1917, page 3, column 1, announcing the agreement.

Sporting News, issue of March 22, 1917, page 8, schedule.

Sporting News, issue of May 31, 1917. page 2, column 6, announcing withdrawal from agreement.

Reach Guide of 1918, pages 167 and 175, relating events of an “almost” Interleague series.

 

PAN-AMERICAN ASSOCIATION

The birth of the Pan-American Association occurred on January 14, 1959 at a joint meeting of Texas League and Mexican League officials. The agreement between the two leagues was to play an interleague schedule of games for 1959. The agreement was renewed for the 1960 and 1961 seasons. It is believed that this may be the first interleague playing agreement, actually implemented, between OB leagues for games played in the regular season during the modern era. Since there have been many loosely associated leagues in baseball’s early years, it cannot be confirmed absolutely.

The first official interleague game was played May 12 at Disch Field, home of the Austin Senators of the Texas League and pitted the Nuevo Laredo Tecolotes (Owls) of the Mexican League against the Senators. There were actually two other Interleague games played the same day but the official opening was considered to be the game of Nuevo Laredo at Austin. Top officials of baseball were in attendance including Commissioner Ford Frick and George Trautman, president of the National Association. Austin won the contest, 8 to 2.

During the three years that the agreement lasted, the Texas Leaguers were able to dominate the series against their Mexican League rivals.

Below are the won and loss records of the matchups.

The 1959 season:

Texas League vs Mexican League					Mexican League vs Texas League
Team	W	L	T			Team	W	L	T
Tulsa	24	11	0			Mexico City Reds	21	15	0
Victoria	24	12	0			Monterrey	17	19	0
San Antonia	23	12	0			Poza Rica	17	19	0
Austin	21	15	0			Veracruz	11	24	0
Corpus Christi	19	17	0			Nuevo Laredo	11	25	0
Amarillo	19	17	0			Mexico City Tigers	7	28	0
TOTAL	130	84	0			TOTAL	84	130	0

In this initial year, each club in both leagues was booked for three games in the park of every team in the rival circuit. The two loops hooked up in an all-star game at Mexico City, July 12 with the Mexican stars winning, 9 to 3, before a crowd of 19,089.

In the Pan-American Series, pitting the playoff winners of each league, Austin of the Texas League won over the Mexico City Reds of the Mexican League four games to one.

The 1960 season:

Texas League vs Mexican League					Mexican League vs Texas League
Team	W	L	T			Team	W	L	T
Victoria	25	11	1			Mexico City Tigers	21	13	0
Rio Grande Valley	24	12	0			Mexico City Reds	16	20	0
San Antonio	22	13	0			Monterrey	13	22	0
Amarillo	22	14	0			Puebla	13	23	1
Austin	18	18	1			Poza Rica	12	24	0
Tulsa	17	17	0			Veracruz	10	26	1
TOTAL	128	85	2			TOTAL	85	128	2

Like the first year, each club was scheduled for three games in the park of every team in the other circuit during the regular season. The two leagues also played a Pan-Am all-star game at San Antonio, July 10. The contest which attracted a crowd of 8,061, was won by the Texas League squad, 7 to 2.

In the Pan-American Series, Tulsa of the Texas League won against the Mexico City Tigers, four games to one.

The 1961 season:

Texas League vs Mexican League					Mexican League vs Texas League
Team	W	L	T			Team	W	L	T
Amarillo	19	5	0			Veracruz	11	13	2
Tulsa	17	5	0			Monterrey	10	12	0
Ardmore	16	8	0			Puebla	7	17	0
San Antonio	15	8	1			Mexico City Tigers	7	17	0
Victoria	15	9	0			Mexico City Reds	7	17	0
Austin	12	12	1			Poza Rica	5	18	0
TOTAL	94	47	2			TOTAL	47	94	2

In the final year of the agreement, each club visited the park of every team in the rival circuit twice. The two leagues also played a pair of Pan-Am all-star games. The Mexican League won both, 8 to 3 before 13,644 fans in Mexico City , July 15, and 12 to 3 before 3,850 at San Antonio, July 30.

In the Pan-Am Series, San Antonio of the Texas League won against Veracruz of the Mexico League, four games to two.

SUMMARY:

During the regular season for the three years, the Texas league had a record against the Mexican League of 352 wins and only 216 losses, with 4 ties. A win percentage of .620. In addition the Texas League won all three Pan-Am Series with a combined record of 12 wins and 4 losses. The only consolation for the Mexican League was that they were able to win 3 of the 4 all-star games.

References:

Sporting News, issue of January 21, 1959, page 19

Sporting News, issue of May 20, 1959

Sporting News Guides of 1960, 1961 & 1962

 

MEXICAN NORTHERN LEAGUE – MEXICAN ROOKIE LEAGUE

In 1968 the Mexican Northern League played a series of Interleague games with the Mexican Rookie League. Data concerning the Interleague encounters is not easily obtained and what data does exist is somewhat perplexing. First, listed below are the final standings of the two leagues as reported by the Sporting News Guide.

Mexican Northern League					Mexican Rookie League
Team	W	L	T			Team	W	L	T
Ensenada	62	40	0			Caborca	55	40	0
Nogales	60	40	0			Empalme	43	52	0
Mexacali	56	45	1			Aqua Prieta	33	62	0
San Luis Rio Colorado	52	50	0			Cananea	30	64	0
TOTAL	230	175	1			TOTAL	161	218	0

If the Wins and Losses of the two leagues are summed, the result is 391 Wins and 393 Losses with 1 team involved in a tie. Not only is the other team involved in a tie not shown, the Wins and Losses do not balance. Perhaps, one of the leagues, or both, chose not to show in their standings a few games because of some accepted protest or other unknown anomaly. A check of the The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball shows the same 2 game imbalance in wins and losses. The results that are shown above easily leads to the conclusion that the Mexican Rookie League was not a good matchup when pitted against the Mexican Northern League. More research on these standings and the Interleague series could be more enlightening.

References:

Sporting News Guide of 1969, pages 423 and 500

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2^nd Edition, pages 501 and 503

DIXIE ASSOCIATION

Prior to the 1971 season when several Major League franchises chose to shift their Minor League affiliates to other venues it appeared as if the Southern League was destined to have only a six team league. However, Phil Piton, President of the National Association, and others were able to perform some juggling of their own by assigning one team of the eight team Texas League to the Southern League, and then proposing an interlocking schedule of games between the leagues. Thus the Dixie Association was formed. The Dixie Association was divided into three Divisions, a six team Eastern Division, a four team Central Division and a four team Western Division. Due to the distances between the Eastern and Western Divisions, these Divisions did not play an interdivisional schedule. But the Central Division was scheduled to play interdivisionally with both the East and West Divisions. This led to a very messy situation. The two leagues, the Southern League and the Texas League chose to retain their own separate averages.

Some very interesting Standings can be generated for that year, depending on how one looks at them.

The 1971 season:

First, the results of the interleague play, without regard to division.

Southern League vs Texas League					Texas League vs Southern League
Team	W	L	DIV			Team	W	L	DIV
Charlotte	16	8	E			Dallas-Ft. Worth	8	2	W
Asheville	13	12	E			San Antonio	8	2	W
Columbus	12	12	E			Albuquerque	6	4	W
Montgomery	10	12	E			Amarillo	6	4	W
Savannah	10	13	E			Shreveport	39	28	C
Birmingham	29	64	C			Arkansas	37	28	C
Jacksonville	7	16	E			Memphis	33	29	C
TOTAL	97	137				TOTAL	137	97

Looking at the interleague record between the Southern League and the Texas League, summarized by Division.

Southern League vs Texas League					Texas League vs Southern League
Division	W	L				Division	W	L
Eastern	68	73				Eastern	0	0
Central	29	64				Central	109	85
Western	0	0				Western	28	12
TOTAL	97	137				TOTAL	137	97

At first glance, it appears that the Texas League by an overwhelming margin was the much better league. But the imbalance in the schedule when viewed as a league versus league contest causes this warped view. Birmingham, who was a very poor team in the Southern League, had an atrocious record against the Texans and played some 93 games against them. Removing that record, will reveal that the other Southern League teams were only mildly inferior to the Texas League, having a record of 68–73 against them.

References:

John Pardon, Sports Writer covering the Asheville Team

Sporting News, issue of April 17, 1971, page 41

Sporting News, issue of May 1, 1971, page 36

Sporting News Guide of 1972, page 407 and page 446

 

CAROLINA LEAGUE – WESTERN CAROLINAS LEAGUE

When the Carolina League and the Western Carolinas League shrank from six teams to four teams in 1975 due to their inability to secure Major League working agreements, an interlocking schedule was worked out. Wally McKenna, Carolina League President and John Moss, Western Carolinas League President got together and worked out 1975’s unique schedule. They believed that this would be a one year agreement. The schedule for 1975 called for all eight clubs to play 12 games against each club in the other circuit, with the results to count in the regular standings. Two all-star games between the best players of both leagues were scheduled. One game would be played July 25 at the park of the first half leader of the Western Carolinas League and the other July 26 at the park of the first half leader of the Carolina League.

The two league presidents’ optimism that additional clubs would be added to each of the leagues in 1976, thereby not necessitating the agreement to be renewed, was not sustained and there was also interleague play in 1976 although it was cut back considerably.

The 1975 season:

Carolina vs Western Carolinas					Western Carolinas vs Carolina
Team	W	L	T			Team	W	L	T
Rocky Mount	38	8	0			Spartanburg	21	25	0
Winston-Salem	31	16	0			Anderson	18	26	0
Salem	27	18	0			Greenwood	16	29	0
Lynchburg	19	24	0			Charleston	11	35	0
TOTAL	115	66	0			TOTAL	66	115	0

The Carolina League was clearly the dominant league.

The 1976 season:

Carolina vs Western Carolinas					Western Carolinas vs Carolina
Team	W	L	T			Team	W	L	T
Winston-Salem	12	4	0			Spartanburg	8	8	0
Salem	10	6	0			Charleston	6	10	0
Peninsula	9	6	0			Asheville	5	10	0
Lynchburg	9	7	0			Greenwood	4	12	0
TOTAL	40	23	0			TOTAL	23	40	0

The Carolina League maintained its superiority again in 1976.

References:

Sporting News, issue of April 12, 1975, page 42

Sporting News Guide of 1976, pages 447 and 497

Sporting News Guide of 1977, pages 461 and 528

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2^nd Edition, pages 534, 539

 

AAA ALLIANCE

Harold Cooper, President of the International League and Joe Ryan, longtime American Association President had discussed the possibilities of interleague play between their two leagues many times. When Joe Ryan retired due to health reasons, it appeared that the American Association would choose Ken Grandquist, owner and president of the Iowa Cubs, as his successor. However, when the AA directors persuaded Harold Cooper to also serve as head of their league simultaneously with his duties in the IL, the interleague plan gained momentum when the Triple–A leagues met in Hollywood, Florida in the fall of 1987. The subject was discussed informally in an all night session in Cooper’s hotel room. The Pacific Coast League nixed the plan because of the vast geographic distances between their cities and those of the IL and AA. However, the AA and the IL remained a possibility. Late in the day on September 28, 1987, the AAA Alliance was formed with the AA and the IL agreeing to participate in interleague play for the 1988 season and the pact was to run for four years. Harold Cooper then served as Commissioner of the AAA Alliance.

The 1988 season:

American Ass’n vs International					International vs American Ass’n
Team	W	L				Team	W	L
Indianapolis	27	13				Rochester	22	17
Denver	25	14				Tidewater	21	19
Omaha	25	15				Syracuse	16	23
Louisville	24	16				Richmond	16	24
Nashville	24	16				Columbus	16	24
Iowa	23	17				Maine	16	24
Oklahoma City	20	19				Pawtucket	14	26
Buffalo	19	21				Toledo	10	30
TOTAL	187	131				TOTAL	131	187

The American Association was much more successful in the interleague matchups than was the International League.

The 1989 season:

American Ass’n vs International					International vs American Ass’n
Team	W	L				Team	W	L
Buffalo	29	12				Rochester	25	19
Omaha	26	18				Syracuse	25	19
Nashville	24	20				Richmond	24	20
Denver	24	20				Tidewater	24	20
Louisville	20	23				Columbus	22	22
Indianapolis	19	25				Toledo	21	22
Iowa	14	30				Pawtucket	21	23
Oklahoma City	14	30				Scranton-Wilkes-Barre	16	25
TOTAL	170	178				TOTAL	178	170

The International League turned the tables on the American Association from the year before and won the interleague matchups.

The 1990 season:

American Ass’n vs International					International vs American Ass’n
Team	W	L				Team	W	L
Omaha	28	16				Columbus	28	16
Nashville	25	19				Rochester	23	21
Buffalo	24	20				Scranton-Wilkes-Barre	23	21
Iowa	24	20				Richmond	21	23
Oklahoma City	22	21				Tidewater	20	24
Louisville	22	22				Pawtucket	20	24
Denver	18	26				Syracuse	18	26
Indianapolis	18	26				Toledo	17	26
TOTAL	181	170				TOTAL	170	181

The American Association had a slight advantage in interleague encounters.

During the 1990 season, there were heated discussions over the Professional Baseball Agreement (PBA) that was due to expire in early 1991. The Major Leagues wanted to cut back on subsides to their minor league affiliates. These sudsides included equipment, travel expenses, television revenue and salaries. Despite the objections of the Minor Leagues, a new PBA was adopted in Chicago during simultaneous negotiation with ongoing Winter Meetings in Los Angeles in December 1990.

The effect, especially on travel, caused some curtailment of the interleague schedule of the AAA Alliance. In 1991 the Western Division of the American Association did not schedule interleague play with the Eastern Division of the International League.

The 1991 season:

American Ass’n vs International					International vs American Ass’n
Team	W	L				Team	W	L
Iowa	11	9				Rochester	15	5
Indianapolis	20	19				Pawtucket	14	6
Denver	9	11				Columbus	25	15
Nashville	17	23				Tidewater	22	16
Omaha	7	13				Richmond	23	17
Oklahoma City	7	13				Toledo	20	20
Buffalo	15	24				Syracuse	10	10
Louisville	13	27				Scranton-Wilkes-Barre	10	10
TOTAL	99	139				TOTAL	139	99

The edge in interleague play, without any doubt, went to the International League.

On July 9, 1991 the Directors of the International League voted to end the AAA Alliance, ending four years of interleague play with the American Association after the 1991 season. The America Association Directors actually favored continuing the Alliance.

During the four years of interleague play, the American Association recorded 637 wins to the International League’s 618 wins.

References:

“The International League, A Baseball History” by Bill O’Neal pages 205, 206, 211, 214, 216

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2^nd Edition, pages 587 and 607

Sporting Newa Guide of 1989, pages 345 and 355

Sporting News Guide of 1990, pages 345 and 355

Sporting News Guide of 1991, pages 340 and 351

Sporting News Guide of 1992, pages 343 and 354

 

OTHER INSTANCES OF INTERLEAGUE PLAY IN THE MINORS

There are possibly other instances of interleague play between minor leagues. In the early years there were many games played between teams representing different leagues or associations. Whether these games were pure exhibitions or counted as games in their individual leagues is unclear. Also, there is some evidence of interleague play in the Venezuela Leagues. That area is not heavily covered by the sources usually consulted by American researchers. But the subject is still open for exploration.

 

Frank Hamilton is one of the premier researchers of minor league baseball history.