Most of the players came from this National League and the others came from a league in the midwestern states which was working its way towards being a Major League. This league was known as the Western League. Ban Johnson had plans to change the name of this league to the American League but after consultations with WRL Owners, it was decided to combine the resources, have baseball in only 10 cities and manage the league closely to avoid the same problems all the former leagues had. A new National Agreement was signed and the WRL was was awarded exclusive Major League status.
The charter teams in 1901 of the upstart Way Retro League were the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Brooklyn Superbas, Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Athletics in the Mathewson Division. The Cobb Division was represented in St Louis (Cardinals), Baltimore (Orioles), New York (Giants), Boston (Americans) and Pittsburgh (Pirates). Baltimore moved to Cleveland and became the Blues immediately after the 1901 draft finished. The initial player pool was the 1901 Major League Players. The top 5 selections of the WRL 1901 draft were Nap Lajoie NY (NL), Cy Young Brooklyn, Honus Wagner to St Louis, Ed Delahanty to Cincinnati and Christy Mathewson to Pittsburgh. Never would a more talented group of players be seen in one room in the history of the game.
Talent was so high in the WRL that the fields were filled with patrons every afternoon for the games. Every game featured a sure future Hall of Famer. Then, in a move original to the WRL and repeated in other leagues, the Way Retro League owners were given the opportunity to own a franchise 50 years into the future so that it would finish the history of baseball in 13 years instead of 26. The Way Retro League now has two branches. One began with the 1901 season and the other with 1951. The 1951 league began in February of 2002. Both leagues use 11 week seasons. They complete approximately 4 seasons per calendar year. Another thing that seperates us from other "entire history" replay leagues is that home teams play every game on the schedule. There are no Auto-play periods. Still another difference in this league from probably every league in the country is that the Commissioner has gathered a collection of baseball fanatics around the country to become the Way Retro League Hall of Fame Committee. The HOFC will vote for Hall of Fame selections beginning in 2004.
Below you will see the links for the playing history of each of the leagues in the WRL. After each season, I will write a little synopsis of the season. I will also include links to things that other owners write about special players or teams in this league. For the HOFC, you may find some valuable information here to make your decisions on voting for Hall of Fame Candidates. Enjoy!!
History of the WRL 1901-1905
