Leagues Apart Trivia Quiz

Answer: American League

Originally formed in 1887 as part of the American Association, the Cleveland Spiders lasted twelve seasons, transitioning into the American League when it formed in 1889. Notably, the Spiders have one of the worst season scores of MLB history, ending off their last year with a 20-134 record.

In 1901, Cleveland would take on several new team names over the years including the Lake Shores, the Naps, and eventually the Indians in 1915, a name they would remain with until becoming the Cleveland Guardians in 2022.

Answer: American League

Originally formed in Philadelphia in 1901, the Athletics may have a familiar name. It's because after leaving Philly in 1954 they became the Kansas City Athletics and then moved again in 1967 to become the Oakland Athletics. From 1910 to 1930, Philly took home five total World Series Championship wins with players like Jimmie Fox and Lefty Grove, the latter considered one of the best left-handed pitchers to ever play, on the roster.
You might ask-- didn't Philly still have a team? They did-- the Philadelphia Phillies started as part of the National League in 1883.

Answer: American League

Don't remember the Pilots? You might not-- they only lasted a single season. Seattle's MLB team played at Sick's Stadium in 1969 before getting moved to Milwaukee and becoming the Brewers in the following year. Seattle would return to the MLB fold in 1977 when the Seattle Mariners were added to the team roster.

Answer: American League

Taking only three seasons in Kansas City, the Athletics ended up there after leaving Philadelphia in 1955; they'd proceed onward to Oakland after their stop-off in Missouri. Despite the short time there, Municipal Stadium saw high attendance numbers.

In 1969, Kansas City, Missouri got its replacement in the form of the Kansas City Royals. It does mean the city had a decade-long gap without a baseball team.

Answer: American League

St. Louis is an interesting case as they've had a team, intermittently, across many periods of the city's sporting history. The St. Louis Cardinals formed in 1875 but within the next decade they also saw the appearances of the St. Louis Brown Stockings and the St. Louis Maroons.

The St. Louis Browns lasted longer than the other odd teams, however, managing to be a part of the American League from 1902 to 1953. At that time, they shifted to Baltimore, becoming the Orioles. Interestingly, they originally came from Milwaukee, where they were known as the Brewers before 1902.

Answer: National League

The Louisville Colonels managed a full couple decades of play in the late 19th century as part of the early National League but the team was dissolved in 1899. The team had highs and lows, occasionally being a strong team but, in some cases, breaking records for losses in a season.

Early in the team's life they were known, for a few years, as the Louisville Eclipse (playing out of Eclipse Park). And they weren't the first Louisville team, either; the Louisville Grays played for a season in the National League back in 1876.

Answer: National League

Brooklyn's had a bit of a run with teams, names, and iterations because as you're likely to know, the 'Dodgers' name ended up with Los Angeles in 1958. Before that, however, they were the Grays, the Robins, the Grooms, the Bridegrooms, and on and on, all based in Brooklyn, New York.

In all that time, they won a single World Series in 1955. By the end of the twentieth century, the Los Angeles Dodgers would have six World Series wins.

Answer: National League

Formerly a team out of Boston (even being known as the Braves for most of the 1940s), the Milwaukee Braves lasted from 1953 until 1965 at Milwaukee County Stadium, winning the 1957 World Series during this time (against the Yankees). Notably, Hank Aaron was one of the key figures on the roster during this era.

The Braves proceeded onward to Atlanta in 1965. Milwaukee would get its own team again in the '70s when the Brewers came back into being.

Answer: National League

A part of the National League from 1969 (the year of the Montreal Expo), the Expos were the first Canadian team in the MLB, even if the term 'National' would imply all-American. They wouldn't be the last though-- the Toronto Blue Jays would join the American League in 1977. Season 2004 marked the end for the Expos as, in the next season, the franchise moved to D.C. and became the Washington Capitols.

Answer: National League

Another long-term team, the Giants lived in New York as a rival to the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1884 until 1957 when both teams flipped over to the west coast. While Los Angeles got the Dodgers, San Francisco got the Giants, housing them at Candlestick Park for nearly four decades (before moving them to Oracle Park at the turn of the century).

The Giants won five World Series titles before their move across the States. San Francisco wouldn't win one with the Giants until 2010.