The Baltimore Terrapins were one of the most successful teams in the short-lived

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

of professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

from to , but their brief existence led to litigation that led to an important legal

precedent Precedent is a judicial decision that serves as an authority for courts when deciding subsequent identical or similar cases. Fundamental to common law legal systems, precedent operates under the principle of ''stare decisis'' ("to stand by thin ...

in baseball. The team played its home games at Terrapin Park.

1914 Baltimore Terrapins season

Most of the professional baseball teams in Baltimore have been called the Orioles, in reference to the

Baltimore oriole The Baltimore oriole (''Icterus galbula'') is a small icterid, icterid blackbird common in eastern North America as a migratory breeding bird. It received its name from the resemblance of the male's colors to those on the Flag of Maryland, coat- ...

bird. There was already a minor league Baltimore Orioles, and the new Federal League club built their ballpark directly across the street from the Orioles park. The new club chose to call itself the Baltimore Terrapins, after the

diamondback terrapin The diamondback terrapin or simply terrapin (''Malaclemys terrapin'') is a species of terrapin native to the Brackish water, brackish coastal tidal marshes of the East Coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico coast, as well as in Bermuda ...

, the state reptile of Maryland. That nickname would later become primarily associated with the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

sports teams called the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...

. Baltimore gathered for spring training in Southern Pines, North Carolina at the Southern Pines Golf Club, previously used by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1909 and 1910. Terrapins manager Otto Knabe had played for these Phillies teams and trained in Southern Pines. While the team posted a respectable 84–70 record and finished only 4½ games out of first place under

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

Otto Knabe, the team was less than successful at the box office, even though four of the eight teams in the league (

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, and

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

) were competing with one and even two (Chicago and St. Louis) other major league teams in the same cities.

1915 Baltimore Terrapins season

In an attempt to turn this situation around and attract a marquee player to help them at the box office, the team recruited

Chief Bender Charles Albert "Chief" Bender (; May 5, 1884There is uncertainty about Bender's birth-date. He was voted the SABR "Centennial Celebrity" of 1983, as the best baseball player or figure born in 1883. However, the SABR ''Baseball Research Journal'' ...

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

champion

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

. The Athletics had sold off several future Hall-of-Famers like

Eddie Plank Edward Stewart Plank (August 31, 1875 – February 24, 1926), nicknamed "Gettysburg Eddie", was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, Plank played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 through 1914, th ...

Eddie Collins Edward Trowbridge Collins Sr. (May 2, 1887 – March 25, 1951), nicknamed "Cocky", was an American professional baseball player, manager and executive. He played as a second baseman in Major League Baseball from to for the Philadelphia Athle ...

and Frank "Home Run" Baker after being swept by the surprising

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

in the

1914 World Series The 1914 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's 1914 Major League Baseball season, 1914 season. The 11th edition of the World Series, it was played between the American League champion and defending Wor ...

. Bender had come off an impressive 17–3 season where he compiled seven

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

s and a 2.26

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

in 1914. However, his 1915 season at Baltimore was a low point of his

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

career when he slumped to a 4–16 record, no shutouts, and a 3.99 ERA. Baltimore's collapse to a 47–107 record, 40 games out of first, was overshadowed only by the collapse of Bender's former team who went from a 99–53 league championship season to a dismal 43–109 record, 58½ games out of first in 1915. Bender and the Baltimore Terrapins never made a full recovery from 1915. The incident did show the Federal League could compete seriously with the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

and

on a professional baseball level and led to the buy-out truce which ended the Federal League for good. However, the Baltimore team's owners were not offered a part in this buyout.

Impact

When the Federal League started, the Terrapins severely cut into the minor league

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

' attendance, causing financial problems for the owner. As a result, several players, including the young left-handed pitcher

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

, were offered for sale to major league teams. Ruth's contract was purchased by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

, after being turned down by Connie Mack and the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1914, Ruth began his career with the Red Sox of the rival

. After the demise of the Federal League and the Terrapins, Baltimore would not see major league baseball again until , when the former

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

moved into town and became the present-day

. As the Terrapins' owners were not offered any part of the buyout offer made to most Federal League teams by the American and National Leagues, they decided to sue, alleging that the buyout was in violation of the

Sherman Antitrust Act The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce and consequently prohibits unfair monopolies. It was passed by Congress and is named for S ...

. The resulting case led to the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

deciding that the scheduling and playing of "base ball games" did not constitute "

interstate commerce The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and amon ...

" in any sense envisioned by the Framers of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

; therefore, the Sherman Act and other federal laws and regulations did not apply to baseball. The case, '' Federal Baseball Club v. National League'', was not ultimately decided until 1922. The minor league Orioles moved into Terrapin Park, a wooden ballpark. This move began a chain of events which would eventually lead to the return of major league baseball to Baltimore.

References

{{Federal League Baseball teams established in 1914 Baseball teams disestablished in 1915 Defunct Major League Baseball teams Federal League teams 1914 establishments in Maryland 1915 disestablishments in Maryland Defunct baseball teams in Maryland

1914 Baltimore Terrapins season

1915 Baltimore Terrapins season

Impact

See also

References