Mlb s 16-Team Structure
For a 50 year period from 1903 to 1952, MLB s 16 team structure (split into the American and
National Leagues) remained intact. No franchises were relocated during this period, and five
markets Boston, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, and St. Louis had two or more teams.
According to authors Andy McCue and Eric Thompson, The less financially successful clubs in two
team cities were finding it increasingly difficult to compete by the early 1950s.[1] In addition,
population changes in the United Stateswere leading to many citizens moving away from the
Northeast, where many MLB teams were based, to southern and western locations.[1]
From 1953 to 1955, three franchises were relocated, all of which had been in markets with two
or more teams. Prior to the 1958 season, the two New York City teams in the NL, the Brooklyn
Dodgers and New York Giants, moved westward; the Dodgers relocated to Los Angeles, while
San Francisco became the new home of the Giants.[1] New York City sought a replacement NL
franchise, and by December 1958 MLB had created an Expansion Committee.[1] Despite the
formation of the group, MLB displayed little intention of adding a New York team.[2] The city had
beaten MLB to planning for future expansion, with the formation of the Mayor s Committee shortly
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In addition, MLB was facing pressure from the U.S. Congress, which indicated that efforts to
prevent future expansion would arouse interest in weakening the sport s exemption from antitrust
laws.[3] Congress voted on a bill aimed at repealing the exemption, but it failed to pass.
However, MLB moved to expand after a rival league became a possibility.[2] MLB formed an
expansion committee, which voted in favor of adding four new teams, two in each league, by
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