when the Civil War broke out, and the South was excluded from major league baseball competition for many years. And yet the war also popularized the game in all sections of the country, as soldiers in both armies played the game in camps and in prison compounds. William Ambrose Hubert (president of the Chicago club) and Al Spalding (a pitcher from Boston) believed that reforms were needed to protect baseball from the corruption and instability that surrounded the National Association. At a meeting in Louisville in 1876, Hubert, Spalding, and representatives of the St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Louisville baseball clubs designed a set of guidelines for the new league, named The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs. The National League contained 8 character clubs, however, between 1876 and 1900, only Chicago and Boston fielded a team each year. During the first two decades of existence, The National League withstood threats of competition from newer professional leagues. In the 1890's, The National League's dominance weakened after growing to 12 teams an unmanageable number for that period. Although Baseball remained the countries favorite sport, it was gaining a reputation for rowdiness and dirty play that didn't match the era. This prompted Byron Banford "Ban" Johnson and Charles Albert Comiskey to found a league based on strong leadership and good virtue. In the American League, games were not played on Sundays and women were encouraged to attend ball games. Johnson and Comiskey set a goal to establish a new image for the game. Recognizing that its power had declined partially by managing too many teams, The National League sold four teams to the new league in 1900. Following this transaction, National League officials still scoffed at this new league when it began play in 1901. However after luring many premiere National League Players with higher salaries and running a "kinder, gentler league," American League attendance exce...
