Over the history of Major League Baseball, numerous franchises have moved or become defunct. Many played in the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), today's two existing major leagues, but other franchises played in one of the 11 major leagues that have gone defunct. The classification of the major leagues is based on Major League Baseball's recognition of historical leagues.

Major league baseball emerged in the 1870s, and four major leagues, including the NL, played at least one season of baseball in the nineteenth century. During this period, dozens of franchises were founded, but most went defunct, leaving just twelve NL franchises by the 1892 season and eight after the 1899 season. In 1901, the American League emerged with several new franchises. The Federal League (FL) challenged the AL/NL primacy for two seasons, but went defunct with all of its teams after the 1915 season. Numerous Negro leagues operated during the first half of the twentieth century; seven leagues that operated from 1920 to 1948 were later recognized as major leagues by Major League Baseball.

The most recent NL or AL team to cease operations is the Baltimore Orioles, which went defunct after the 1902 season. The first NL or AL team to move was the Boston Braves, which went to Milwaukee after the 1952 season. Several teams moved over the next twenty years, often to the Southern or Western United States, ending in 1971 when the Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers. The next move of any sort came in 2005, when the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals. In 2025, the Oakland Athletics temporarily moved to West Sacramento, California, and branded themselves as the "A's" and "Athletics" with no city name attached, until they permanently move to Las Vegas in 2028 or later when their new ballpark is completed.

List of defunct and relocated major league franchises since 1892 National, American, and Federal League franchises

These franchises played in the National League, the American League, or the Federal League after the 1891 season and either went defunct or moved. Some franchises appear more than once in the table; for example, the Braves franchise appears twice because they moved to Milwaukee in 1952 and to Atlanta in 1965.

League The league the franchise was in at the time of their move First First year in Major League Baseball Last Last year in Major League Baseball Post–change status The status of the franchise after moving or becoming defunct Current status The current status of the franchise P League championships won WS World Series victories ^ City would later receive a new franchise

+Defunct and relocated Major League Baseball teams Team League First Last Seasons Post-change status Current status P WSReason for move/disbandment Louisville Colonels NL 1882 1899 18 Defunct 1 0 Contraction of National League Baltimore Orioles^ NL 1882 1899 18 Defunct 3 0 Contraction of National League Cleveland Spiders^ NL 1887 1899 13 Defunct 0 0 Contraction of National League Washington Senators^ NL 1891 1899 9Defunct 0 0 Contraction of National League Milwaukee Brewers^ AL 1901 1901 1 St. Louis Browns Baltimore Orioles 0 0 Poor attendanceBaltimore Orioles^ AL 1901 1902 2 Defunct 0 0American League wanted a franchise in New York City Indianapolis Hoosiers FL 1914 1914 1 Newark Peppers Defunct 1 0 Poor attendance Kansas City Packers^ FL 1914 1915 2 Defunct 0 0 Disbandment of Federal League Chicago Whales^ FL 1914 1915 2 Defunct 1 0 Disbandment of Federal League Baltimore Terrapins^ FL 1914 1915 2 Defunct 0 0 Disbandment of Federal League St. Louis Terriers^ FL 1914 1915 2 Defunct 0 0 Disbandment of Federal League Brooklyn Tip-Tops^ FL 1914 1915 2 Defunct 0 0 Disbandment of Federal League Pittsburgh Rebels^ FL 1914 1915 2 Defunct 0 0 Disbandment of Federal League Buffalo Blues^ FL 1914 1915 2 Defunct 0 0 Disbandment of Federal League Newark Peppers FL 1915 1915 1 Defunct 0 0 Disbandment of Federal League Boston Braves^ NL 1876 1952 77 Milwaukee Braves Atlanta Braves 10 1 Poor attendance and competition with the Boston Red Sox St. Louis Browns^ AL 1902 1953 52 Baltimore Orioles Baltimore Orioles 1 0 Poor attendance and competition with the St. Louis Cardinals Philadelphia Athletics^ AL 1901 1954 54 Kansas City Athletics Athletics 9 5 Poor attendance and competition with the Philadelphia Phillies New York Giants^ NL 1883 1957 75 San Francisco Giants San Francisco Giants 17 5 Declining attendance and desire for a new ballpark Brooklyn Dodgers NL 1884 1957 74 Los Angeles Dodgers Los Angeles Dodgers 13 1 Declining attendance and desire for a new ballpark Washington Senators^ AL 1901 1960 60 Minnesota Twins Minnesota Twins 3 1 Poor attendance and owner Calvin Griffith’s desire to have less black fans attending games Milwaukee Braves^ NL 1953 1965 13 Atlanta Braves Atlanta Braves 2 1 Declining attendance and the owner's desire for a larger market Kansas City Athletics^ AL 1955 1967 13 Oakland Athletics Athletics 0 0 Poor attendance and the owner's desire for a larger market Seattle Pilots^ AL 1969 1969 1 Milwaukee Brewers Milwaukee Brewers 0 0 Poor attendance and desire for a larger ballpark Washington Senators^ AL 1961 1971 11 Texas Rangers Texas Rangers 0 0 Poor attendance and financial problems Montreal Expos NL 1969 2004 36 Washington Nationals Washington Nationals 0 0 Poor attendance and desire for a new ballpark Oakland Athletics AL 1968 2024 57 Athletics Athletics 6 4 Poor attendance and desire for a new ballpark

Negro major league franchises

In 2020, Major League Baseball extended major league recognition to seven Negro leagues:

Negro National League (NNL I), 1920–1931 Eastern Colored League (ECL), 1923–1928 American Negro League (ANL), 1929 East–West League (EWL), 1932 Negro Southern League (NSL), 1932 Negro National League (NNL II), 1933–1948 Negro American League (NAL), 1937–1948

The listed years in the table below indicate the first and last years that the franchise played in a major league as recognized by Major League Baseball; many franchises existed before or after playing in a major league. Franchises that played only as associate clubs of a major league are not included. From 1924 to 1927, and from 1942 to 1948, the top Negro leagues crowned a champion through the Negro World Series.

+Overview of Negro League franchises with MLB-recognized records Team League First Last NWS championships NWS appearances Atlanta Black Crackers NSL, NAL 1932 1939 0 0 Bacharach Giants ECL, ANL 1923 1929 0 2 Baltimore Elite Giants NNL I, NSL, NNL II 1930 1948 0 0 Baltimore Black Sox ECL, ANL, EWL, NNL II 1923 1933 0 0 Birmingham Black Barons NNL I 1924 1948 0 3 Brooklyn Eagles NNL II 1935 1935 0 0 Brooklyn Royal Giants ECL 1923 1928 0 0 Chicago American Giants NNL I, NSL, NNL II, NAL 1920 1948 2 2 Chicago Giants NNL I 1920 1921 0 0 Cincinnati Tigers NAL 1937 1937 0 0 Cleveland Browns NNL I 1924 1924 0 0 Cleveland Buckeyes NAL 1942 1948 1 2 Cleveland Elites NNL I 1926 1926 0 0 Cleveland Hornets NNL I 1927 1927 0 0 Cleveland Red Sox NNL II 1934 1934 0 0 Cleveland Stars EWL 1932 1932 0 0 Cleveland Tate Stars NNL I 1922 1923 0 0 Cleveland Tigers NNL I 1928 1928 0 0 Columbus Buckeyes NNL I 1921 1921 0 0 Columbus Blue Birds NNL II 1933 1933 0 0 Cuban House of David EWL 1932 1932 0 0 Cuban Stars (East) ECL, ANL 1923 1929 0 0 Cuban Stars (West) NNL I 1920 1930 0 0 Dayton Marcos NNL I 1920 1926 0 0 Detroit Stars NNL I 1920 1931 0 0Detroit Stars NAL 1937 1937 0 0Detroit Wolves EWL 1932 1932 0 0Harrisburg Giants ECL 1924 1927 0 0Hilldale Club ECL, ANL, EWL 1923 1932 1 2Homestead Grays ANL, EWL, NNL II 1929 1948 3 5Jacksonville Red Caps NAL 1938 1942 0 0Indianapolis ABCs NNL I 1920 1926 0 0Indianapolis ABCs NNL I, NSL, NNL II 1931 1933 0 0Indianapolis Athletics NAL 1937 1937 0 0Indianapolis Clowns NAL 1943 1948 0 0Kansas City Monarchs NNL I, NAL 1920 1948 2 4Lincoln Giants ECL, ANL 1923 1929 0 0Little Rock Grays NSL 1932 1932 0 0Louisville Black Caps NNL I, NSL 1930 1932 0 0Memphis Red Sox NNL I, NSL, NAL 1924 1948 0 0Milwaukee Bears NNL I 1923 1923 0 0Monroe Monarchs NSL 1932 1932 0 0Montgomery Grey Sox NSL 1932 1932 0 0Newark Browns EWL 1932 1932 0 0Newark Eagles NNL II 1934 1948 1 1Newark Stars ECL 1926 1926 0 0New York Black Yankees NNL II 1936 1948 0 0New York Cubans NNL II 1935 1948 1 1Philadelphia Stars NNL II 1934 1948 0 0Pittsburgh Crawfords NNL II, NAL 1933 1940 0 0Pittsburgh Keystones NNL I 1922 1922 0 0St. Louis Stars NNL I 1920 1931 0 0St. Louis Stars NAL 1937 1937 0 0St. Louis–New Orleans Stars NAL, NNL II 1938 1943 0 0Toledo Tigers NNL I 1923 1923 0 0Washington Black Senators NNL II 1938 1938 0 0Washington Pilots EWL 1932 1932 0 0Washington Potomacs ECL 1924 1925 0 0

List of major league franchises that went defunct before 1892

The franchises in the following list went defunct before the 1892 season, and played in the National League, the American Association (AA), the Players' League (PL), the Union Association (UA), or some combination of the four leagues. The NL has played continuously since 1876, the AA existed from 1882 to 1891, the UA existed for one season in 1884, and the PL operated for one season in 1890. Several franchise names have been used by more than one team.

In 1968–1969, Major League Baseball's Special Records Committee defined the major leagues as consisting of the NA, NL, AA, PL, UA, American League, and Federal League—and not the National Association (NA), which operated from 1871 to 1875. Some baseball writers have argued that the NA should be considered the first major league, but NA franchises are not included below unless they later played in the National League.

+Major league teams that went defunct before 1892 Team League First Last PennantsPhiladelphia Athletics† NL 1876 1876 0New York Mutuals† NL 1876 1876 0Hartford Dark Blues† NL 1876 1876 0St. Louis Brown Stockings† NL 1876 1877 0Louisville Grays NL 1876 1877 0Cincinnati Reds NL 1876 1879 0Brooklyn Hartfords NL 1877 1877 0Milwaukee Grays NL 1878 1878 0Indianapolis Blues NL 1878 1878 0Providence Grays NL 1878 1885 2Syracuse Stars NL 1879 1879 0Troy Trojans NL 1879 1882 0Cleveland Blues NL 1879 1884 0Buffalo Bisons NL 1879 1885 0Worcester Worcesters NL 1880 1882 0Detroit Wolverines NL 1881 1888 1Philadelphia Athletics AA 1882 1890 1Columbus Buckeyes AA 1883 1884 0New York Metropolitans AA 1883 1887 1Altoona Mountain Citys UA 1884 1884 0Baltimore Monumentals UA 1884 1884 0Boston Reds UA 1884 1884 0Pittsburgh Stogies UA 1884 1884 0Cincinnati Outlaw Reds UA 1884 1884 0Indianapolis Hoosiers AA 1884 1884 0Kansas City Cowboys UA 1884 1884 0Milwaukee Brewers UA 1884 1884 0Philadelphia Keystones UA 1884 1884 0Richmond Virginians AA 1884 1884 0St. Paul Saints UA 1884 1884 0Toledo Blue Stockings AA 1884 1884 0Washington Statesmen AA 1884 1884 0Washington Nationals UA 1884 1884 0Wilmington Quicksteps UA 1884 1884 0St. Louis Maroons UA/NL 1884 1886 1Kansas City Cowboys NL 1886 1886 0Washington Nationals NL 1886 1889 0Indianapolis Hoosiers NL 1887 1889 1Kansas City Cowboys AA 1888 1889 0Columbus Solons AA 1889 1891 0Brooklyn Gladiators AA 1890 1890 0Brooklyn Ward's Wonders PL 1890 1890 0Buffalo Bisons PL 1890 1890 0Chicago Pirates PL 1890 1890 0Cleveland Infants PL 1890 1890 0New York Giants PL 1890 1890 0Pittsburgh Burghers PL 1890 1890 0Rochester Broncos AA 1890 1890 0Syracuse Stars AA 1890 1890 0Toledo Maumees AA 1890 1890 0Boston Reds PL/AA 1890 1891 2Philadelphia Athletics PL/AA 1890 1891 0Cincinnati Kelly's Killers AA 1891 1891 0Milwaukee Brewers AA 1891 1891 0

†Indicates a franchise that played in the National Association before joining the National League

Timelines

Franchise and league timeline