• The American League's Philadelphia entry had yet to procure a place to play ball and league president Ban Johnson attributed the problem solely to “red tape” and the “Philadelphia way of doing things” rather than to any effort by the National League's Phillies to block the move

< Dec 14, 1900 Back to Calendar Jan 3, 1901 >

• The American League's Philadelphia team was trying to lease grounds at 26th and Jefferson, the site of the old Athletics during the American Association days, but the city's Property Committee delayed a vote on the matter to give potential opponents more time to submit their arguments

< Jan 1, 1901 Back to Calendar Jan 5, 1901 >

• A bit in Sporting Life repeated a story attributed to the Milwaukee Sentinel that the American League's Philadelphia team was “backed by Milwaukee capital”

< Jan 3, 1901 Back to Calendar Jan 9, 1901 >

• All seven current American League teams, including Philadelphia, submitted 51 percent of their team's stock and rights to land for ballparks in trust to the league to prevent the possibility of defection during what was expected to be a costly battle with the National League for survival

< Jan 5, 1901 Back to Calendar Jan 13, 1901 >

• Connie Mack said he had talked to about 75 potential players so far about joining his team and that he expected to be able to form a roster from that group

• American League president Ban Johnson said that work would begin on a Philadelphia ballpark on the 17th, but didn't say at which site

< Jan 9, 1901 Back to Calendar Jan 16, 1901 >

• The Philadelphia city council considered, but made no decision about, the team's request to lease grounds for a ballpark at 26th and Jefferson

• Representing the team at the meeting were sportswriters Frank Hough and Samuel Jones

• One of the council members said that the terms of the lease—$1,000 per year for three years—were too low and a local land developer complained that a ballpark would reduce property values in the area and would increase vandalism, though several council members objected strongly to this assertion

• Due to procedural reasons, the council could not vote on the measure at this meeting and planned to bring it up again in a week at their next meeting

< Jan 13, 1901 Back to Calendar Jan 19, 1901 >

• The team announced the hiring of Billy Sharsig as business manager

• Sharsig had been a founding member of the Athletics team in the old American Association and had been their field manager for a few seasons in the late 1880s

< Jan 16, 1901 Back to Calendar Jan 20, 1901 >

• Connie Mack voiced his hope that the council would approve the team's lease of the grounds at 26th and Jefferson, but that the team had options three other sites: 29th and Columbia, 22nd and Lehigh, and 6th and Lehigh

< Jan 19, 1901 Back to Calendar Jan 21, 1901 >

• Though the team had yet to announce they had signed a lease on a site, Connie Mack said they were ready to receive bids from construction firms for the building of a grandstand

• American League president Ban Johnson said he expected the team to complete an agreement within a week

< Jan 20, 1901 Back to Calendar Jan 22, 1901 >

• The team announced they would continue a local tradition and call themselves the Athletics

• The team also announced they had signed a ten-year lease on the grounds at 29th and Columbia for the construction of a ballpark

• The site was bounded by 29th Street on the east, 30th Street on the west, Columbia Street on the north, and Oxford Street on the south and enclosed a space 400 feet by 460 feet

• The grandstand would be built by a firm headed by James Foster at an estimated cost of $35,000

• Total capacity would be 12,000, with 4,000 in a single-tier grandstand behind the plate, and the remaining 8,000 to be divided between two sets of bleachers down each foul line

• A separate one-story building was to be built for locker rooms and the completion of all structures was scheduled for April 1

< Jan 21, 1901 Back to Calendar Jan 26, 1901 >

• While attending league meetings in Chicago, Connie Mack said he had signed “many” players, but would not identify any of them

< Jan 22, 1901 Back to Calendar Jan 28, 1901 >

• At the organizational meeting in Chicago, the American League formally granted a Philadelphia franchise to the Athletics and Connie Mack was invested as team president

< Jan 26, 1901 Back to Calendar Jan 29, 1901 >

• Manager Connie Mack was named to the American League's rules committee along with Baltimore manager John McGraw and Chicago owner Charles Comiskey

• While the Inquirer reported a week ago that the team had decided to call themselves the “Athletics”, Mack said nothing had been decided and added that “so long as our team performs to suit the fans, I don't care what name they use to designate our team”

< Jan 28, 1901 Back to Calendar Feb 6, 1901 >

• The team signed left-handed pitcher Billy Milligan

< Jan 29, 1901 Back to Calendar Feb 10, 1901 >

• A story was making the rounds that Connie Mack had signed Phillies second baseman Nap Lajoie, though both Mack and Phillies owner John Rogers said it wasn't true

< Feb 6, 1901 Back to Calendar Feb 12, 1901 >

• The team signed catcher Doc Powers on or before this date

< Feb 10, 1901 Back to Calendar Feb 13, 1901 >

• One of the great mysteries around the new Athletics franchise was who was bankrolling the operation

• Connie Mack wouldn't say who, but he did say the available capital was better than $100,000

• The fence around the new ballpark was complete and work had begun on the grandstand

< Feb 12, 1901 Back to Calendar Feb 17, 1901 >

• The effort to find out who was bankrolling the Athletics franchise turned up the name of Cleveland owner Charles Somers on the ballpark grounds lease and the grandstand construction contract

• Rumor said Somers owned a piece of the Boston team, too, and the news reinforced jibes that the American League was guilty of “syndicalism”

< Feb 13, 1901 Back to Calendar Feb 19, 1901 >

• The team's ownership picture cleared somewhat by the election of Philadelphia sporting goods manufacturer Ben Shibe to the position of team president by the still- unidentified members of the board of directors

• At the same meeting, the team officially named Connie Mack field manager and team treasurer

• Phillies manager Bill Shettsline accused Mack of trying to poach one of his best players, though according to Shettsline, the unnamed player told Mack that he was still under contract to the Phillies and wouldn't break the agreement

• When asked about the matter, Mack said “he really cannot say which player Mr Shettsline refers to” as he had “talked with a number of his men”

• Later reporting in Sporting Life suggested the player in question was center fielder Roy Thomas

< Feb 17, 1901 Back to Calendar Feb 20, 1901 >

• The team reported that they expected ballpark construction to be completed by March 15 and added that work would begin on the playing field by March 1, supervised by John Murphy, considered to be one of the best in the business

< Feb 19, 1901 Back to Calendar Feb 28, 1901 >

• After weeks of rumors and denials from the principals, it was generally reported around the country that the team had signed Phillies second baseman Nap Lajoie

< Feb 20, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 2, 1901 >

• Manager Connie Mack was out West on what was assumed to be a recruitment tour, with right-handed pitcher Amos Rusie reputed to be on his list of potential talent

< Feb 28, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 4, 1901 >

• Manager Connie Mack was in Cincinnati trying to scare up players for his new team, including left-handed pitchers Theodore Breitenstein and Jesse Tannehill, middle infielder Tommy Corcoran, and shortstop Bill Gleason

• The team had yet to report any official signings

< Mar 2, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 5, 1901 >

• The team signed third baseman Lave Cross on or before this date.

< Mar 4, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 6, 1901 >

• Manager Connie Mack continued his recruitment trip in the Midwest and had reported signed seven players, with another seven on the hook

• The team wouldn't confirm any of the names that had been rumored, though third baseman Lave Cross, who had played for Brooklyn and St. Louis in the National League last year did affirm his intention to sign with Mack

• First baseman Pat Crisham and outfielder Socks Seybold were signed on or before this date

< Mar 5, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 7, 1901 >

• Manager Connie Mack held forth on a number of topics, including player signings, the reserve clause, and the work of the league's rules committee

• Mack said he had signed 12 players, but declined to name any of them

• He did, however, say that none of the following were on that list: right-handed pitcher Amos Rusie, left-handed pitcher Jesse Tannehill, catcher Ed McFarland, and outfielder Elmer Flick

• Regarding the reserve clause he said the National League “haven't a leg to stand on,” implying that the presence of the clause in a player's contract wouldn't dissuade him from signing NL players

• He said the American League would not be adopting any of the recent rule changes made by the National League, including the rule that foul balls in a 0- or 1-strike count would now be called strikes, calling it a “doggy” rule, and the new rule that batters would not automatically be awarded first base upon being hit by a pitch, saying it was an invitation to trouble

• The American League announced that each team would play a 140-game schedule and that the season would be a little longer than usual, given that the Eastern cities didn't allow play on Sundays

• The team signed outfielder Dave Fultz on or before this date

< Mar 6, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 8, 1901 >

• The team signed catcher Harry Smith on or before this date

< Mar 7, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 9, 1901 >

• The team, for the first time, offered confirmation of a player signing: outfielder Phil Geier

• The Reds considered Geier to be “under reserve,” but he was in a dispute with the team over transportation costs and considered himself to be a free agent

< Mar 8, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 10, 1901 >

• The Record reported that the team had signed outfielder Lefty Davis and pitcher Vic Willis, though these signings were unconfirmed by the team

• The team reported that the ballpark stands were to be “practically completed” within a week, with a seating capacity of 10,500

• That figure included 3,500 seats in the covered grandstand, 4,000 in the bleachers along the left field line, and 3,000 in the bleachers along the right field line

• Home plate would be in the southeast corner and the distance down the lines would be 354 to the left field corner and 290 feet to right

• Bad weather had prevented the grading and leveling of the playing surface, but according to the contractor, little work was needed as the field was within eight inches of being level already

• Manager Connie Mack said he expected to begin team workouts on April 1

• The team's first exhibtion was scheduled for April 6 against Roxborough at their park on the northwest end of town and their first game in the new park would be against a “picked team” called Moss's Professionals on April 8

< Mar 9, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 14, 1901 >

• Manager Connie Mack retured from a recruitment trip saying he had signed “ten or twelve good, fast players” and that there would be both stars and surprises on the list

• He added that he had signed only players who wouldn't “'bullfrog' it back to the National League tomorrow”

• Still, catcher Ed McFarland, who ha reputedly signed with the Athletics was, in fact, “bullfrogging” it back to the Phillies after having second thoughts

• The team was reputed to have signed left-handed pitcher Win Kellum

< Mar 10, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 16, 1901 >

• Sporting Life reprinted a story originally published in the Chicago Journal that included what purported to be 1901 salaries owed by the Athletics to several players

• To wit: third baseman Lave Cross ($3,000), outfielder Elmer Flick ($3,000), second baseman Nap Lajoie ($3,500), catcher Ed McFarland ($2,800), left-handed pitcher Win Mercer ($3,000), and right-handed pitcher Vic Willis ($2,700)

• By the time of the reprint both Flick and McFarland had said they would be returning to the Phillies

• Catcher Harry Smith, a recent Athletics signee, was likely to be the subject of a lawsuit by the Pirates, who claimed they held his rights following a trade with Milwaukee

• Athletics manager Connie Mack said it was nothing to do with him and that the Pirates should take up the matter with Milwaukee

• The team signed right-handed pitcher Chick Fraser

• Fraser had played for the Phillies and presumably that team still believed had a reserve on him

• According to some sources the signing was performed by American League president Ban Johnson, not the team

< Mar 14, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 18, 1901 >

• The team reported that the new ballpark was “practically ready”, that the infield had been graded, and that the laying of sod would begin tomorrow

• After weeks of rumors, the team definitively announced the signing of third baseman Lave Cross

• Following the news, manager Connie Mack said the team that would take the field in 1901 was largely in place.

< Mar 16, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 20, 1901 >

• American League representatives gathered in Philadelphia to work out a schedule and announced the league would start play April 24

• While it was an open secret for several weeks, the team officially acknowledged the signing of second baseman Nap Lajoie and named him team captain

< Mar 18, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 21, 1901 >

• Phillies manager Bill Shettsline responded to news of Nap Lajoie's signing by the Athletics, saying his team would contest the matter “immediately”

• Outfielder Lefty Davis, who had reputedly signed a contract with Connie Mack earlier in the month said he would stay with Minneapolis, his old team

• The American League announced their complete schedule, though a least one conflict had already been spotted

• The Athletics would open at home on April 24 against Washington and close on September 28 in Cleveland for a double header

• Twenty-two of the 70 home dates coincided with Phillies home dates

• Both Washington and Philadelphia were scheduled to play each other at home on July 3, a conflict that would have to be resolved in the coming days

< Mar 20, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 22, 1901 >

• The team announced they had signed right-handed pitcher Bill Bernhard to a contract

• Bernhard had played with the Phillies last year and that team considered him to still be under contract to them via the reserve clause

< Mar 21, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 23, 1901 >

• The team still lacked a left fielder, but manager Connie Mack said he had two men in mind, but would not identify them

• Bad weather was causing delays in work on the ballpark, but the bleachers and the roof over the grandstand had been finished, as were the wooden walls and brick facade of the exterior

• However, the grandstand's folding seats were not yet installed and the outfield had yet to be graded

< Mar 22, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 24, 1901 >

• The team announced that the total seating capacity of the ballpark had been increased to 13,000, with 4,000 in the grandstand and a combined 9,000 seats in the left field and right field bleachers

< Mar 23, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 26, 1901 >

• The team, which was being called the “Athletics” more often in the press, announced their home uniform colors would be blue on white, with the letter “A” on the left breast, and their road uniforms would be blue on gray, with a similar insignia

• Phillies owner John Rogers said he was preparing paperwork to request an injunction from the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas to prevent Bill Bernhard, Chick Fraser, and Nap Lajoie from playing for the Athletics

• A rumor appeared in the press that the team was negotiating a contract with right-handed pitcher Christy Mathewson

• The team signed outfielders Fred Ketchum and Johnny Flournoy

< Mar 24, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 27, 1901 >

• First baseman Pat Crisham reported to the team, making him the first player to do so

• Phillies owner John Rogers filed an injunction request with the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in the hope of preventing Bill Bernhard, Chick Fraser, and Nap Lajoie from playing for the Athletics

• The request specifically argued that the players were still under reserve to the Phillies and that by signing with Connie Mack, they were in breach of their contracts

< Mar 26, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 28, 1901 >

• The American League issued a revision of their 1901 schedule to resolve the conflict that had both the Athletics and Washington playing against each other at home on July 3

• According to the new schedule, the teams would play in Philadelphia on July 3 and the game in Washington would be added as part of a double header on an as yet unspecified date in early August

< Mar 27, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 29, 1901 >

• Team president Ben Shibe announced that uniforms would be provided free to players

• This was in contrast to National League teams that billed players $30 for their playing togs

< Mar 28, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 30, 1901 >

• Nap Lajoie filed a demurrer with the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas requesting that the court dismiss the injunction request filed by Phillies president John Rogers on the 27th

• The request specified several grounds for demurrer, including that his contract for the 1900 season covered that season only, that the document had been signed by fewer than the requisite three “team managers,” and that, despite Rogers's assertion to the contrary, the services Lajoie provided to the Phillies could readily be provided by many other people

< Mar 29, 1901 Back to Calendar Mar 31, 1901 >

• Manager Connie Mack revealed that both right-handed pitcher Christy Mathewson and outfielder Lefty Davis had signed contracts two months ago to play for the Athletics and that they had each received monetary advances against those contracts

• This while both players were stating their intention to return to their old teams

< Mar 30, 1901 Back to Calendar Apr 1, 1901 >

• The team officially gathered for the first time, for a quick introductory meeting

• Among those attending were right-handed pitcher Bill Bernhard, left-handed pitcher Billy Milligan, catcher Doc Powers, first baseman Pat Crisham, second baseman Nap Lajoie, and outfielders Fred Ketchum and Dave Fultz

• Crisham left town almost immediately for his home in Altoona after learning that his daughter was serious ill

• Chick Fraser, Phil Geier, Socks Seybold and Christy Mathewson were expected to arrive tomorrow

• Lave Cross, Harry Smith, and Vic Willis were expected to arrive later in the week

• The team signed outfielder Jack Hayden and left-handed pitcher Wiley Piatt

< Mar 31, 1901 Back to Calendar Apr 2, 1901 >

• First baseman/outfielder Socks Seybold reported to the team

< Apr 1, 1901 Back to Calendar Apr 3, 1901 >

• A storm blew threw town overnight forcing the team to cancel what would have been the team's first practice

• Instead, the players gathered in the clubhouse and began to get to know one another

• The Inquirer reported that pitcher Vic Willis was reneging on his Athletics contract and was returning to Boston, his old team

• Manager Connie Mack said he didn't believe the report until he actually heard it from Willis, pointing out that the team had given him a $450 advance on his 1901 salary

• The team announced an 11-day exhibition schedule, beginning with a road game against Roxborough on the 6th

< Apr 2, 1901 Back to Calendar Apr 4, 1901 >