Premise: 

In 1886, American workers carried out a national strike demanding the 8-hour workday as the normal legal working day. While it would take another 54 years before their demand became the standard (the Wages and Hours Law of 1940, which also provides for time and a half pay for over 40 hours a week), we commemorate that historic movement with a new Progressive League: 

The 8-Hour Progressive League will be a 12-team league starting in 1886. We will use WIS league format D, which allows for two leagues of 6 teams with inter-league play. 

In 1886 there are in the WIS Database 181 position players with full or combined seasons, essentially full individual seasons (188 full or combined player seasons, with 7 repeats that I found, so 181 actual players available). This is 15 per team in a 12 team league. 

There are 76 pitcher seasons that are full or combined, of which 6 repeat giving us 70 pitchers, or 71 actual pitchers. This comes to 6 and one-third pitcher per team. 

So we would be about 5 players per team short of 25. We will fill our rosters by drafting 200k players in the Draft Center (which may also be used) and with 6/4 Below Average AAA. 

The player numbers go up around the turn of the 20th century, so at some point we will discuss expansion to 16 teams when it becomes feasible, and it may be that before that we can do without the 200K and AAA players. 


Draft Rules:

The 1886  Founding Draft will be random order and serpentine. Subsequent Drafts will for the first 3 seasons - 1887-9,  use W-L record to determine draft order in round 1 (the team with the worst record drafting first) and then be serpentine in order. From 1890 on, the cumulative W-L record over the previous 4 seasons will be used to determine draft order, with the team with the fewest wins over that 4 year period drafting first in round 1 and again using a serpentine order for all subsequent drafts. 



Ball Parks and Teams:

Two rules to give our league a good sense of fake authenticity : 

1. NO MAJOR LEAGUE FRANCHISE CITIES: all teams must have a city or region name but these must not be the cities or states  that have been represented by MLB in the 20th and 21st centuries. 

So let's have Newark, Syracuse, Louisville, Durham, Terre Haute, Austin, Homestead, Little Rock, Mobile, Burlington and other places represented by teams. Team names can be what owners like but anything that reflects the origin era ("the industrials", "the beaneaters", "the white stockings" etc.) will be more fun. 

2. We will use almost only very early stadiums for the first decades of our league. A list of parks will be posted after dinner time in Italy, cause I have to put chicken and potatoes in the oven now. 

More later. 

"Friendly neighborhood italyprof". 

Okay, I am back with enough time before the chicken cooks to post the list of available ballparks: 


American League Park I   Washington 1901-2

American League Park II Washington 1903-10

Baker Bowl  Philadelphia 1895-1938

Bennett Park  Detroit 1901-11

Braves Field  1915-1952

Columbia Park  Philadelphia 1901-8

Comiskey Park Chicago 1910-90

Cubs Park Chicago 1920-25

Ebbets Field Brooklyn 1913-1957 - taken 

Exposition Park III  Pittsburgh 1891-1909

Forbes Field Pittsburgh 1909-1970

Griffith Stadium Washington 1911-1960

Hilltop Park New York 1903-1912

Huntington Avenue Boston 1901-11

Jefferson Street Ground Philadelphia 1871-1891

League Park I  Cleveland 1901-09

League Park II Cincinnati 1890-1901

Lloyd Street Grounds  Milwaukee 1901-11

National League Park II Cleveland 1887-90

Navin Park Detroit 1912-37

Oriole Park Baltimore 1901-2

Palace of the Fans 1902-11 taken 

Philadelphia Baseball Grounds Philadelphia 1887-1894

Polo Grounds IV 1891-11

Redland Field Cincinatti 1912-33

Robison Field  St. Louis 1893-1920

South End Grounds III  Boston 1894-1914

South Side Park III 1901-1910

Sportsman's Park II St.Louis 1902-08

Washington Park III Brooklyn 1898-1912

Weeghman Park Chicago 1916-19

West Side Grounds Chicago 1894-1915

OBVIOUSLY THE TEAMS, BEING IN SMALL CITIES NOT REPRESENTED HISTORICALLY IN MLB, WILL BE FROM DIFFEERENT CITIES THAN THE PARKS THEY PLAY IN AS THEIR HOME FIELDS. 


SIGN UP


1. italyprof
2.mini157 - Eastern Idaho Potato Pickers. Palace of the Fans
3.bluecrewfan -                                                   Ebbets Field Brooklyn
4.
5. 
6. 
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. 
12. 

This sounds great. I'm new to progressives, but if that's no problem sign me up for the Palace of the Fans, home of the Eastern Idaho Potato Pickers.

I'd like to jump on board. I'll take Ebbets Field Brooklyn

Welcome mini157 and bluecrewfan ! 

What the heck, bump. Let's see if there is more interest now. The Hudson Valley Apple Pickers would love to play ball. 

I've enjoyed your Geography Progressive so far, I'm in. Navin Park in Detroit will be our home. Team Name Traverse City Cherries.

I'm in.  Gold Hill Miners - Huntington Avenue, Boston.  [Gold Hill was a mining boom town in NC before the California Gold Rush. It had one church and 20 saloons.  It still exists but as a tourist attraction / wedding destination.  Live about 3 miles away.  My wife's great-grandfather was a gold miner there in the 1890's when the mines reopened for a short period.  We live on land he purchased with his "earnings."]  
Since we are sharing some history.  The first gold discovered by white men in America was in NC in 1799.  The Reed Gold Mine, located about 15 miles from Gold Hill, is a State Historical Site.  You can tour the mine and pan for gold.  

Oh wow... I was actually thinking just the other day what happened to this league; I figured it was long since dead. Anywho, glad to see some life put back into this league.

SIGN UP


1. italyprof  - Hudson Valley Apple Orchards  Hilltop Park  New York
2.mini157 - Eastern Idaho Potato Pickers. Palace of the Fans
3.bluecrewfan -                                                   Ebbets Field Brooklyn
4.shawbigred  - Traverse City Cherries           Navin Park  Detroit 
5. benfc    -    Gold Hill Miners                       Huntington Avenue Boston
6. 
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. 
12.