The Atlantic League was a minor league baseball league that operated between 1896 and 1900 in the Northeastern United States. It was the successor of the Pennsylvania State League, which had operated from 1892 to 1895. The name has subsequently been reused twice, for another short-lived league in 1914, and for a contemporary independent minor league.
History
League champions Season Champion Record Class Leaguesize Ref. 1896 Newark Colts 82–61 (.573) A 6 teams 1897 Lancaster Maroons 90–45 (.667) A 8 teams 1898 Richmond Bluebirds 77–44 (.636) B 8 teams 1899 Richmond Bluebirds 63–25 (.716) A 8 teams 1900 Scranton Miners 26–7 (.788) A 8 teams In 1896, eight teams competed; at any point in time, there were six teams active. In 1899 and 1900, there were only six teams active at season's end. Source:
Teams
Team City 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 Allentown Peanuts Allentown, Pennsylvania Elmira Elmira, New York Harrisburg Ponies Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Hartford Bluebirds Hartford, Connecticut Hartford Cooperatives Jersey City Jersey City, New Jersey Lancaster Maroons Lancaster, Pennsylvania New Haven Texas Steers New Haven, Connecticut New York Metropolitans New York, New York Newark Colts Newark, New Jersey Norfolk Jewels Norfolk, Virginia Paterson Silk Weavers Paterson, New Jersey Paterson Giants Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Reading Coal Heavers Reading, Pennsylvania Richmond Bluebirds Richmond, Virginia Scranton Miners Scranton, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilmington Peaches Wilmington, Delaware Total league size 6 8 8 8 8
Notes: In 1896, New Haven disbanded on July 12; Lancaster entered the league on July 13; New York was expelled on July 13 and was replaced by Philadelphia. In 1899, Paterson disbanded on July 4, and Scranton followed on July 9. In 1900, Philadelphia moved to Harrisburg on June 4; Newark and Jersey City disbanded on June 2; the league disbanded on June 14. Source:
Results by season Teams denoted in italics disbanded during the season.
1896 (Class A) April 23–September 13 Team W L Pct. GB Newark 8261.573— Hartford 7356.5661 Paterson 7460.5523.5 New York / Philadelphia 5769.45213 Wilmington 5879.42320 Lancaster 2630.464N/A New Haven 2138.356N/A New York was 30–32 when replaced by Philadelphia
1897 (Class A) April 26–September 19 Team W L Pct. GB Lancaster 9045.667— Newark 8952.6314 Hartford 7855.58611 Richmond 7159.54616.5 Norfolk 6672.47825.5 Paterson 6879.46328 Philadelphia 4989.35543 Reading 40100.28651
1898 (Class B) April 25–September 10 Team W L Pct. GB Richmond 7744.636— Lancaster 8250.6210.5 Reading 7256.5638.5 Paterson 6570.48119 Allentown 5567.45125.5 Newark 5871.45026 Hartford 5776.42929 Norfolk 4779.37335.5
1899 (Class A) April 27–August 6 Team W L Pct. GB Richmond 6325.716— Wiles-Barre 4937.57013 Lancaster 5142.54814.5 Reading 4640.53516 Allentown 3747.44024 Newark 4254.43825 Scranton 2538.397N/A Paterson 2151.292N/A
1900 (Class A) April 30–June 14 Team W L Pct. GB Scranton 267.788— Wiles-Barre 2413.6494 Reading 1616.5009.5 Allentown 1420.41212.5 Philadelphia / Harrisburg 1017.37013 Elmira 1119.36713.5 Newark 812.400N/A Jersey City 712.368N/A Philadelphia was 10–11 when replaced by Harrisburg
Soby Cup The Soby Cup, made of silver, was given to the league by tobacco businessman Charles Soby of Hartford, Connecticut, in September 1896. In its first season, the cup was to be awarded to the winner of a postseason series between the league's top two teams; in subsequent years, the holder of the cup would play a series against the league's top finishing team.
Standings at the end of the 1896 season, which had Newark finishing first, were formally protested by the Paterson team, claiming that some of Newark's games were actually exhibitions. With that protest pending, the next two teams in the standings—Paterson and Hartford—arranged to play a series for the Soby Cup. Paterson won the seven-game series, four games to two. The protested standings were not ruled upon until the league's annual meeting in late November; despite inconsistencies in record-keeping, Newark was declared the pennant winner.
Following the 1897 season, the Soby Cup series should have been contested between Lancaster, that year's top team, and Paterson, who had won the cup in 1896. However, league officials decided to have the top two teams of 1897—Lancaster and Newark—play for the cup. After Lancaster and Newark could not agree to terms for a series, the Soby Cup was awarded to Lancaster, the pennant winner.
Prior to the 1898 season, the league abolished the postseason Soby Cup series, and returned to the cup to its donor. By 1951, the cup was at the Baseball Hall of Fame, where it remains .
Notable players
Notable players in the Atlantic League (1896–1900) include:
Oyster Burns Bill Carrick Bill Clymer Joe Delahanty Ned Garvin Dan Kerwin Fred Ketchum Sam Leever John Newell Jerry Nops Hal O'Hagan Casey Patten Socks Seybold Lee Viau Tom Vickery Honus Wagner Piggy Ward Harry Wilhelm Rasty Wright Joe Yeager
See also Atlantic Association
References