The Baltimore Orioles very well could've not existed for the most forgotten reason. Enjoy the alternate history as well! #Orioles #MLB #Browns #California www.etsy.com/shop/RemarkableR...
The St. Louis Browns were much less successful than the Cardinals to be sure. However, in 1944 the Browns won their only American League Pennant and faced the Cardinals in the World Series. The Cards won it and 10 years later the Browns were gone. As a kid growing up in St. Louis I saw Satchel Page pitch for the Browns, probably around 1952. He kept arguing with the umpire that he couldn't see home plate and wanted him to sweep it. I think he was just messing with the hitters. (Page later pitched for the Kansas City A's, around 1962, so no telling how old he was then!)
As a lifelong Baltimore Orioles' fan, I often thought that an alternate timeline in which the Phillies moved to Baltimore and became the Orioles would've been interesting. Bear in mind that for much of their coexistence in Philadelphia, the A's were actually more successful. It was really the last decade or so of that period that drove them out of town. Had the situation been reversed, I could see the A's still in Philadelphia, the NL Orioles (the former Phils) in Baltimore, the relocated Browns across the state of Missouri in KC, and an expansion team in Oakland
The Philadelphia Athletics won 5 World Series over 50, while the Phillies have won only 2 World Series titles over 140 years. Yet, it was the A’s who moved. What is surprising the A’s are still the winningest team in Philadelphia sports.
I was thinking Baltimore would eventually get an expansion team, but you're probably right on the Phillies moving there. The Baltimore Phillies... hmm, gonna need some work
Very few know this and not sure why you didn't mention it but the Baltimore Orioles' very first year in the American League was in 1901 and their home was Milwaukee as the Milwaukee Brewers. They then moved to St Louis in 1902 and you picked up the story accurately after that... great vid!
Fun facts: Babe Ruth played for the minor league team "baltimore orioles" before the red Sox. He was born in baltimore. The first Washington baseball team (now the Minnesota twins) was known as the nationals and senators. They were officially the senators from 1901 to 1904 then the nationals from 1905 to 1955, the back to the senators from 1956 till they became the Minnesota twins. The reason for the name change was because they changed beer sponsorship from senate beer to national bohemian beer. And every baltimore citizen knows national bohemian (natty bo). The episode of the "simpsons" when Homer was the baseball teams mascot. Dancin Homer season 2. Was Unintentionally copy of real life orioles fan, Wild Bill Hagy. Who did almost the same chant and cheers as Homer in the show but way before. The orioles organization was apposed to the Montreal expos moving to Washington in 2004. They couldn't stop the move so they made a compromise to have the rights to air Washington and baltimore games on a TV network called MASN. Many fans including me that grew up in the DC metro area were baltimore fans because of the lack of a Washington team in the 70s to 90s. In the time period after the colts left baltimore and before the browns became the ravens, when baltimore had no football team... the Canadian football league had their first USA based team in baltimore. Called the baltimore stallions (they fought to be named the baltimore colts but the NFL shut that down). There were brothers that played professional sports: tiki and Ronde barbers, Payton and Eli manning, Jim and John Harbaugh, the gracies of Brazilian jiu-jitsu... but what about two brothers and the father playing for the same team? Cal ripken Jr played for 20 years, Bill ripken for 6 (but also played for other mlb teams), and cal Sr served the orioles for 36 years.
There's another scenario: Cardinals owner Fred Saigh takes the deal from the Houston or Louisville groups in 1953 and the Cardinals leave St Louis, leaving the Browns as the only team. That came very close to happening
I think there's one major factor you're missing in this theory, which is there is no way that the American League expands to both Washington D.C. and Baltimore at the same time.
The St Louis Browns were much more popular in St. Louis until the gas house gang game to town. There was even a time where the owner of the browns could’ve run the cardinals out of town by not permitting them to use his ballpark. Just read a really good book about that franchise. They also almost moved back to Milwaukee. I think they’d have the same logo but different colors bc their current colors derived from the one year of being the Seattle pilots. … also I hate the Yankees but they are right … I used to think they “were” the Baltimore orioles but if you follow the chain of events the Baltimore Orioles of 1901-02 folded… it’s not like the original Milwaukee brewers moving the I St. Louis after one season… all the players lost their team and no one from Baltimore went to New York. It’s why John McGraw refused to play in the World Series in 1904 … the Highlanders appeared to be on pace to win the AL and he feared losing to the franchise that replaced his failed orioles in the same city he was managing. His refusal was a front.
Assuming the Browns move to LA... The New York Giants were originally looking to relocate to Minneapolis. Say that happens in 1957 and the Washington Senators stay put for 1961. Do you think they would allow an expansion team in their back yard? After all, the Orioles fought many attempts to relocate or add a team to Washington after the second Senators team left town for Arlington in 1971.
It's interesting that the Orioles and the Ravens were both known as the Browns before they moved to Baltimore. What are the odds? Also, the Baltimore Orioles had a long history in the late 1800s and early 1900s, winning several championships.
The 1890s NL Baltimore Orioles manager went on to be the giants manager when the NL went from 12 teams back to 8, and took the Orioles colors with him. Also, the Mets blue and orange are an homage to the dodgers and giants who had just left ny
Here is one you should do. Perhaps the strangest story of all the Brooklyn Dodgers of the NFL ! The only franchise to leave the NFL to join a rival league. After years in the NFL the owner Dan Topping creates the biggest story of the year by taking his team including players out of the NFL to join the rival AAFC league in perhaps the biggest bonehead move of all time. Upon joining the AAFC he renames his team the New York Yankees plus approves giving the Brooklyn Dodgers name to another AAFC team. After 4 years of football war the AAFC & NFL do a partial merger. However the NFL wants no part of a owner that bolted to the rival league so the NFL creates a New York Yankees team under a different owner but the same players. The team soon fails in New York within 2 years leading to the creation of the 1st Dallas franchise the Texans who last one year before going belly up also leading to the creation of the Baltimore Colts.
Let's say that the Phillies were being forced to Jersey City, NJ and the Athletics had stayed in Philadelphia, PA. The mlb Cardinals stay in St Louis and the Browns are forced to move to Kansas City, MO.
The Browns moving to Los Angeles in the early 40's wouldn't have worked. The Pacific Coast League was already established there and had big name stars like Babe Herman, Lefty O'Doul, and Pepper Martin. There were also two teams in that area, the Los Angeles Angels and Hollywood Stars, that had a huge following especially among celebrities who many owned shares in the team. The Browns would have never survived there.
It'd interesting to think about what the mlb would look like today if it went through. Would there still be 3 teams in New York? I believe the dodgers wanted to move west and convinced the giants to follow them, with LA taken, would they be the SF Dodgers? The San Diego Giants? Or maybe the giants would have ended up in Oakland
If the Browns move to LA, I don't think that O'Malley moves his team there. For starters, that land that was in Chavez Ravine probably goes to the Browns (LA Angels). I think that was one of the driving forces behind the move in reality. Either the Dodgers go to Dallas (Walter's second choice), or they reluctantly take Shea Stadium for 15-20 years before building a stadium in Brooklyn (then, the Jets reconfigure Shea to their liking instead of moving to Jersey. The baseball Giants go to Minnesota in this world, if you are wondering, as SF probably gets an AL expansion team in the 40's).
