The longest-running professional baseball league is the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs. More simply called the National League (NL). On February 2, 1876, the Senior Circuit, a.k.a. the NL, was formed twenty-five years before its’ younger brother the American League, which is occasionally called the Junior Circuit. But what of the shortest professional baseball league? What league takes that unwanted title? Sure there are those leagues that never played any games, but that would be too easy. What we’re talking about here are the leagues that got off the ground; that played games and got dirty. Enter the Southern California Trolley League.
Southern California Trolley League
Back in 1910, when the first public radio broadcast took place, a group of baseball magnates were sitting around a pool hall in Los Angeles, California on South Spring Street. James McCormick was the owner of the hall. He had a great idea to start a year-round baseball league that would only play Sunday doubleheaders. That’s right, the season would never end. The thing that was rare about this idea was that during the early 1900s certain activities were restricted on Sundays. This was due to blue laws that recognized Sunday as a day of worship and rest. And while this wasn’t the first time that Sunday games had been attempted it was still an abnormal practice that would have garnered some attention.
The other magnates jumped at McCormick’s proposal and a six-team league was born. They applied for recognition with the National Baseball Commission and six franchises were granted. The Southern California Trolley League was to be a “Class D” League (the lowest professional classification at the time) with teams in Los Angeles (two teams), Pasadena, Redondo Beach, Santa Ana, and Long Beach.
Class D leagues were all the rage in 1910. And another thing that was all the rage with Class D leagues is that they didn’t last very long. Unfortunately for the Southern California Trolley League, they were to be at the top of the short-lived list.
Ding-Ding Went the Trolley
So why not just Southern California League? Why add “Trolley” in there? Is it just because it has a nice ring, or better yet, ding to it? And while it is a catchy name for a league, aesthetics are not the only reason. There was a practical reason as well. Back in 1910, Los Angeles and the surrounding areas were connected with a spiderweb of trolley tracks. The Los Angeles streetcar system was largely operated by Pacific Electric and was a popular form of transportation for the blossoming city. The Pacific Electric trolley system would go on to be the largest in the world by the 1920s.
In 1910, Pacific Electric was well on its way to dominating the Los Angeles area as the main form of interurban transportation. The idea behind the Southern California Trolley League’s Sunday doubleheaders was that two teams would play each other and for the second game, which would be played in a different location, the teams/fans would take the trolley to the next game. That’s right, the teams would take the same trolley as the fans. You have to remember that back in the early 20th Century ballplayers were regular people, they weren’t the famous 1% that they are now. And while doubleheaders were not necessarily played every Sunday, the trolley was most surely taken to and from the games by both players and fans alike.
A Short-Lived Circuit
The Trolley League began play on Sunday, April 3, 1910, with scattered attendance. The opening game of the league took place at Long Beach between the Long Beach Clothiers (also known as the Sand Crabs) and the Redondo Beach Wharf Rats. The Wharf Rats came out on top 4 to 1 “in a well-played game.” There were two more games that opening weekend, one between the Pasadena Silk Stockings and the Los Angeles Maiers. The Maiers, who were owned by the local Maier Brewery, won 6 to 4. The other game was between the Los Angeles McCormicks (named after the aforementioned James McCormick) and the Santa Ana Yellow Sox, with the McCormicks victorious.
Everything was hunky-dory. And then a month after Opening Day the Silk Stockings and Maiers folded. The Silk Stockings finished with and 0-4 record and the Maiers were 1-3 upon their demise. We aren’t quite sure why they folded, but there were a few whispers that it was for financial reasons, possibly they weren’t drawing enough at the gate. That left four teams. Nearly a month after that on June 13, the league officially disbanded, most likely for financial reasons as well. The Wharf Rats took the flag with a 9–2 record. Santa Ana finished one game out of first going 8-3 on the season. The Clothiers were 4–5 while the McCormicks were 2–7. And thus, the Southern California Trolley League became the shortest running league in professional baseball history. A most undesirable title for certain.
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