The Continental League

Paul Dickson, who knows a thing or two about baseball books, reviews Michael Shapiro’s “Bottom of the Ninth” for the Washington Times. Click here to read his review. Here’s a snip:

The shadowy Continental League is the subject of a new book by Michael Shapiro and it is the fascinating story of a “third major league” that was proposed by New York lawyer William Shea on paper in November 1958 in response to the New York Giants’ and Brooklyn Dodgers’ announced plans to move to California and leave New York without a National League team.

The new league was formally announced in July 1959 with septuagenarian baseball visionary and former Dodgers president Branch Rickey at the helm. It was composed of a motley collection of investors interested in cracking the 16-team National and American League structure and gaining profitable franchises. Teams were to be placed in commercially viable cities that did not have a major league team, with the notable exception of New York, which was at the head of the list.

The CL dissolved without playing a single game in August of 1960 after both the National and American Leagues announced plans to expand into new cities. Shea got his team — and, ultimately, his name on the New York Mets’ new stadium — when the NL added the Mets to its list of franchises along with the Houston Astros. The AL reneged on its part of the agreement, adding one team in an existing NL city in Los Angeles (the Angels) and another in an existing AL city — Washington, D.C.

But there is more to this book — another story that amounts to a second narrative under one cover. It is the story of Casey Stengel’s final two seasons as manager of the New York Yankees and his struggle to maintain traditional dominance of the game itself.

After winning the 1958 World Series, the Yanks slipped to third in ’59, even spending time in the cellar at one point. Rebounding to win the 1960 AL pennant, the Yanks were upset by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series, and Stengel, then 70, was not-so-gently shoved out the door. The book actually begins and ends with the 1960 World Series, which is won when Bill Mazeroski of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers the first walk-off home run in the history of the World Series. The Yankees are beaten by a team they had outscored, outhit and outplayed.

Mr. Shapiro’s book argues that the failure of the Continental League to take shape — and the parallel success of the American Football League — was the turning point that led to baseball’s loss of status as America’s favorite sport. It is the decline of baseball that is the arc of Mr. Shapiros story, and he contends the eclipse began in the ninth inning of the seventh game of the 1960 World Series with the Mazeroski home run.

The cities that were to be part of the Continental League were Atlanta, Buffalo, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Denver, Houston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York City and Toronto. And, now, all those locations have big league teams – sans Buffalo.

I wonder…could it be possible to start another “major” league today…say…with teams in San Jose, Las Vegas, Indianapolis, Columbus, Memphis, Charlotte, Nashville, and New Jersey and see where it goes? And, if such a team would be in New Jersey, would it take any money out of the Yankees’ pocket? That would be an interesting thing to see…

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