Major League Baseball Relocation of the 1950s - 1960s

Major League Baseball

See also: Major League Baseball relocation of 1950s–1960s

• 1902: Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri and became the St. Louis Browns.
• 1903: Baltimore Orioles moved to New York and became the Highlanders. The team was renamed the Yankees in 1913.
• 1953: Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee. This was the first relocation in 50 years. During those 50 years, there had also been no expansions or contractions—Major League Baseball had consisted of the same 16 teams, 8 in each league, playing in the same 10 cities without interruption for half a century.
• 1954: St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Orioles.
• 1955: Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City, Missouri.
• 1958: Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles; New York Giants moved to San Francisco. These were the first major league teams on the West Coast; the teams moved simultaneously to facilitate travel for other National League (NL) teams.
• 1961: Washington Senators (original) moved to the Twin Cities area and became the Minnesota Twins. Not wishing to alienate Washington, D.C. and its powerful baseball fans, the American League (AL) granted the city a new expansion franchise, also called the Senators.
• 1966: Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta, Georgia.
• 1968: Kansas City Athletics moved to Oakland, California. Because Charles O. Finley broke a recently signed lease and public bonds were already issued for the building of what is now known as Kauffman Stadium, Major League Baseball was in danger of anti-trust legislation from Missouri Senator Stuart Symington. As a result, the AL granted Kansas City a new expansion franchise in 1969.
• 1970: Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee and became the Brewers. The AL would grant Seattle a new expansion franchise in 1977.
• 1972: Second Washington Senators moved to Arlington, Texas and became the Texas Rangers.
• 2005: Montreal Expos moved to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals. The Expos had split time between Montreal and San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2003 and 2004. This was the first relocation in 33 years.

Teams No Longer Existing in Their Original Cities

Of the 16 clubs that existed unchanged for fifty years (1902-52), the following legendary names no longer exist as living, breathing entities in their original cities:

American League

Philadelphia Athletics
St. Louis Browns
Washington Senators **

If the new 3rd incarnation of a Washington club in 2005 really wants the name "Senators", they will have to buy it from the Texas Rangers, who own the rights from their brief term in Washington as the 2nd coming of that club.

National League

Boston Braves
Brooklyn Dodgers
New York Giants